When will Uganda become an independent country?

According to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary independent means, inter alia; not dependent; not subject to the control, influence, or determination of another or others; not subordinate; not depending on another for financial support; self-commanding or self-directing; bold, unstrained and controlling or governing oneself.

After the Second World War, British colonial authorities realized that time had come to involve African participation in colonial administration and to make sure that there was an orderly transfer of power to stable, pro-British governments. The innovative policies designed by Arthur Creech Jones and Andrew Cohen in 1947 represented an attempt to anticipate the growth of nationalism and as the first steps in creating a future ‘informal’ empire. These proposed initiatives were to remain confidential. London was expected to conceal its hand and to “withhold from aspiring colonial politicians the knowledge that Britain had already decided to reward them in the future with political power” (L. J. Butler 2002).

Uganda’s transformation unlikely without industrial protection

Uganda and indeed African countries will not transform their economies and societies without converting their abundant natural resources into manufactured products. The open secret is that they have to protect infant industries against unfair competition. Infant industries are like infant children that require extra care until they have adjusted to the environment and are able to play and compete with others.

In Europe, the first region in the world to develop, protection measures were applied at an early stage. The plague of 1347 that became endemic in Europe reduced population and threatened trade and commerce. “In the non-agricultural sector the most striking result of this crisis was the emerging strength of guilds organized to protect local artisans in response to rapidly declining markets. The strength of the guilds in preserving local monopolies against encroachment from outside competition was frequently reinforced by the coercive power of kings and great lords. On a large scale the Hansean League [a confederation of north German cities] represented such a defensive alliance of cities to protect their shrinking markets from the competition of rival cities”(D. C. North 1981).