Tag Archives: protect

Use your voting birth right wisely in Uganda elections

People all over the world have struggled to reclaim their birth right to vote, some losing their lives in the process. Uganda’s independence restored our right to elect representatives in parliament, district councils and lower houses. The purpose of electing representatives in these institutions is to promote and protect interests of all the people in the constituencies they represent. In ancient Greece all eligible citizens met regularly to discuss matters that affected them. As such they didn’t have representatives. This arrangement worked when numbers were small and distances short. When they are large over a wide area it becomes impossible, hence election of representatives.

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Applauding security forces that protect demonstrators rights and freedoms

Uganda’s men and women in uniform have been reminded that, like their counterparts in other countries, their responsibility is to defend the nation against external invasion and to prevent abuse of citizens’ rights and freedoms by their governments. Demonstrations take place to draw to the attention of authorities that something is wrong and needs fixing. Demonstrations are not about overthrowing governments. Governments get overthrown when they refuse to pay attention to the needs of all the people. For example, in Ethiopia the early 1970s were marked by economic hard times and famine which the government ignored and covered up. People were unemployed and hungry. In 1974 they demonstrated not because they wanted to overthrow the regime. They wanted relief. The government did not respond appropriately. Instead demonstrators were attacked by police. Ultimately, security forces including the military which had remained neutral realized that the government had no intention of helping its citizens. The military joined in and presented its demands which too were not addressed, leading to a bloodless coup in 1974. From time immemorial, security forces have protected citizens when attacked by external and internal forces as the case studies below demonstrate with regard to internal forces.

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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).

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