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Museveni needs to reshuffle his administration and bring in new blood

News about Uganda is very depressing and has damaged our national pride, reminiscent of Amin’s days when Uganda was defined as a failed state with a dictatorial regime as now. Wrongdoing cannot be hidden any more thanks to advanced technology. Images of sleeping government leaders and advisers when the president was presenting the State of the Nation address (and it happened last year) have raised questions as to whether that is the best team he can find among 34 million Ugandans. Many Ugandans are convinced beyond any shadow of doubt that Uganda is in a political, economic, social, moral and environmental crisis, no matter what NRM government officials and friends abroad may say. That is not the team that will pull Uganda out of its endemic difficulties including unemployment, poverty and environmental decay. This is the moment when we ought to collectively put our heads together and find a lasting solution. Leaders who ignore the views of others and insist on governing by divine right cause harm to themselves and their nations as history has taught us.

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Mentioning ethnicity practiced openly has remained taboo

One of the reasons NRM was received warmly when it entered Kampala and immediately thereafter is because of its commitment to take ethnicity out of Uganda’s political and economic life. Previous regimes had been accused of practicing tribalism in political, economic and social spheres. To demonstrate that NRM was different in this regard, the first appointments to the cabinet and civil service were truly inclusive politically, ethnically, religiously and regionally. The anti-sectarian law was initially welcomed as NRM’s determination to stamp sectarianism out once and for all. Appointments, promotions, reassignments, scholarships etc would be awarded on individual merit.

As time passed, however, individual merit turned out to mean that individuals could be picked from one family or one tribe. A pattern developed and key and strategic positions began to go to one particular group whose members are scattered in all parts of the country. For example, look at key appointments in security forces, finance and foreign affairs. Look at who is getting scholarships. You cannot fail to see sectarianism at its highest level. What is painful is to see well qualified and experienced Ugandans from other tribes languishing in exile or marginalized at home.

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Ugandans are hurting and demonstrating against the government

The sketchy sad news reaching us through the New Vision report of a police officer killed in the nation’s capital Kampala, use of tear gas to disperse demonstrators and arrest of opposition leaders including the president of FDC and the Mayor of Kampala. Since 2009 demonstrations are increasingly becoming common especially since the fraudulent presidential and parliamentary elections of 2011. It is important to realize that demonstrations take place to register that something is wrong and needs to be corrected by the authorities elected to represent the interests of the people who are sovereign.

In Uganda many things have gone wrong led by corruption and the situation is getting worse. The public’s outcry and advice from other sources have been ignored by the government. The economic crisis and the attendant unemployment of youth, hunger, disease and poverty have reached intolerable levels. The emergence of rare diseases affecting children including the nodding disease and the one deforming children limbs is a cause of deep concern. Market forces and the private sector are not equipped to address all these mushrooming problems. The state has to step in and ease the suffering of the people of Uganda.

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Soldiers and protection of the public – lessons for Uganda soldiers

From time immemorial when people as individuals or groups complain or demonstrate, it means that something has been wrong for a while and needs correcting by the authorities. Responsible governments would engage in a dialogue and find a solution. But more often than not this is never done. Instead brutal force is used to silence dissent.

Peasant revolts that engulfed France, Germany, Britain and Russia among others during and after the Middle Ages represented efforts to end their suffering. Instead of dialogue, they were killed in large numbers. Those who survived were told to endure suffering on earth in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Their children watched and listened and did not like what they saw and heard. They vowed their parents would not die in vain. They continued the struggle with better organization and leadership until feudalism was over. In Africa and Europe individuals like Machal, Mondlane, Tambo, Mandela, Neto, Pankhurst, Lenin and many others watched what was happening to their people or gender. They did not like it and dropped everything including their good careers and wonderful families and began the struggle to change the status quo and make life better for all.

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Russian women got tired and rebelled

I know that change is coming to Uganda. But what kind of change: peaceful or bloody change; change from below or from above? Although some readers have distorted my message for whatever reason, I have consistently pleaded orally and in writing for peaceful change – to the discomfort of those who want war – so that every Ugandan lives in peace, security, equality, prosperity and happiness. I have encouraged mixing at all levels – political, economic, social and cultural – to minimize conflicts. But to make appropriate changes we need to know what is happening in our society first. It is reporting the findings of what is happening that has caused discomfort in some quarters. And from these quarters we are getting name calling, intimidation and distorted messages. But the impartial analyst has to report research findings. And that is what we have been doing in the great lakes region. Hopefully we shall all end up on the same page.

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NRM can easily be unseated on four conditions

The popularity of NRM among Ugandans at home and abroad including many in NRM itself has sunk to the lowest level. The uncaring attitude of NRM to the suffering of Ugandans particularly women and children especially during the current economic hard times so soon after NRM was re-elected for another five-year term has driven the point home that Museveni – who is the de facto government of Uganda – does not care about Ugandans. He only uses them in pursuit of his imperial ambitions including changing the demographic composition of Uganda by increasing immigrants, ultimately turning indigenous population into a minority in their own country.

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NRP won a ‘Gold’ medal at UDU Boston conference

Under the overall theme of “What is Acceptable in a Free and Democratic Society”, the first conference of United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) took place at Boston College (USA) on October 8, 2011 – on the eve of Uganda’s independence anniversary. The National Recovery Plan (NRP) was presented as an alternative to the failed policies of NRM, noting that since the official termination of the failed structural adjustment program (SAP) the government is at a loss about what to do next. The National Development Plan adopted in 2009 to replace the abandoned structural adjustment program has not taken off yet.

Without exception all commentators in formal and informal conversations praised the NRP for its high quality and relevance to Uganda’s current situation. The question was “What are the next steps”.

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NRP won a ‘Gold’ medal at UDU Boston conference

Under the overall theme of “What is Acceptable in a Free and Democratic Society”, the first conference of United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) took place at Boston College (USA) on October 8, 2011 – on the eve of Uganda’s independence anniversary. The National Recovery Plan (NRP) was presented as an alternative to the failed policies of NRM, noting that since the official termination of the failed structural adjustment program (SAP) the government is at a loss about what to do next. The National Development Plan adopted in 2009 to replace the abandoned structural adjustment program has not taken off yet.

Without exception all commentators in formal and informal conversations praised the NRP for its high quality and relevance to Uganda’s current situation. The question was “What are the next steps”.

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Uganda has failed because of lack of tested leaders

Uganda has everything except good, dedicated, tested and patriotic leaders. When someone suddenly jumps out of a ‘corn field’ onto a political stage and then quickly becomes head of state chances are that that country will experience tremendous difficulties.

Look at Uganda since independence in 1962. Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and Kabaka-Yekka (KY) political parties were formed virtually on the eve of independence, allowing no time to test the leaders. The UPC/KY alliance was a marriage of convenience – not of conviction to unite and lead Uganda to greatness. The alliance was hurriedly put together for the sole purpose of preventing Democratic Party (DP) from forming a government at independence. In this rush thorny issues like the head of state and ‘lost counties’ which could have prevented formation of a UPC/KY alliance were not resolved before independence. The rush gave us a complex constitution with serious repercussions. What happened after independence did not surprise those who followed the negotiations in London or who knew the ideological differences between UPC and KY leaders. We ended up with 1966 catastrophe, a pigeon-hole constitution and Amin in 1971.

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Ugandans need to practice what they preach

As a researcher I have interacted with many Ugandans at different social levels. All want children to do better than their parents. All want to be treated with respect. All those opposed to NRM want unity to succeed etc. However, the surprising part is that there are very few people acting individually or collectively through institutions that practice what they preach.

Look at the NRM government. It has preached modernization of agriculture but practiced very little. It has preached industrialization of Uganda but in practice the country is de-industrializing. It has preached environmental protection and sustainable management of natural resources but is threatening to give away a portion of Mabira forest for sugarcane plantation. It has preached good education in quantity and quality but cannot even provide lunches that keep children in primary school and make them perform better especially girls.

In rhetoric many Ugandans – married or not – feel that Uganda’s population is growing fast and needs to be controlled, but very few are willing to practice birth control. They feel their ‘neighbors’ should do so first.

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