Tag Archives: three

I have been a leader since grade three

There is consensus that Uganda is suffering a leadership crisis in NRM and opposition parties, causing Uganda to go silent political issues and to decline economically, socially and ecologically. That there wasn’t a public outcry over the mysterious death of a twenty four year old Member of Parliament and death of a pregnant woman at Mulago Hospital signifies a serious leadership deficit. The public is asking where opposition leaders are. This concern was expressed on Ngoma Radio program that ran on January 13, 2013 from 4 to 6 o’clock, London time. There is therefore a search for leadership to lay a foundation for a better Uganda for all citizens. But what constitutes a good leader?

It is recognized that a good leader should at least have discipline and trust; lead by example and ability to bring and keep people together to solve common problems and take care of the interests of all members of society.

Out of concern for the decadence that has engulfed Uganda, I have humbly offered my services to serve because I believe I have something to offer to solve the challenges we face as a nation. I have experience accumulated over many decades. And experience counts a great deal. Let me illustrate.

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I have been a leader since grade three

There is consensus that Uganda is suffering a leadership crisis in NRM and opposition parties, causing Uganda to go silent political issues and to decline economically, socially and ecologically. That there wasn’t a public outcry over the mysterious death of a twenty four year old Member of Parliament and death of a pregnant woman at Mulago Hospital signifies a serious leadership deficit. The public is asking where opposition leaders are. This concern was expressed on Ngoma Radio program that ran on January 13, 2013 from 4 to 6 o’clock, London time. There is therefore a search for leadership to lay a foundation for a better Uganda for all citizens. But what constitutes a good leader?

It is recognized that a good leader should at least have discipline and trust; lead by example and ability to bring and keep people together to solve common problems and take care of the interests of all members of society.

Out of concern for the decadence that has engulfed Uganda, I have humbly offered my services to serve because I believe I have something to offer to solve the challenges we face as a nation. I have experience accumulated over many decades. And experience counts a great deal. Let me illustrate.

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Comments on Uganda’s Jubilee Speech

On October 9, 2012, in a seven page speech delivered from Kololo airstrip, President Museveni who has been in power for more than half of fifty years of Uganda’s independence addressed the nation and the world. The first two pages of the speech were devoted to protocol requirements and listing invited dignitaries within and without Uganda. The third and part of the fourth pages were devoted to the list of ten strategic bottlenecks inherited at independence in 1962. Before making comments on the speech item by item, let me remark on three things.

First, because there was no agreement on the head of state at the time of independence, the Queen of the United Kingdom remained head of state represented in Uganda by the Governor-General. H. E. the late Mutes II became ceremonial president in 1963, not in 1962.

Second, since 1987 Uganda has been the darling of the west and has received generous donations in financial and technical assistance on a regular – not erratic – basis, at times receiving more assistance than the absorptive capacity. Development partners should therefore be congratulated for that generosity, although there isn’t much to show for it.

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Bread – not guns – is the best weapon against instability

From time immemorial people have rebelled or revolted when they are hungry and feel oppressed including through heavy taxation while at the same time they see their neighbors eating more than enough and living in comfort as in Uganda today. Leaders who understand the dangers of hunger make sure food is available and/or keep prices affordable including through subsidies. The British Corn Laws were designed in such a way that farmers and consumers were protected. In other places soup kitchens are provided to feed hungry people and escape protests. After the Second World War, European countries developed a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to make sure farmers are protected and produce enough food for European consumers at affordable prices. The CAP is heavily subsidized and protected against outside competition.

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Three ideas that have failed in Uganda

Uganda is at a crossroads economically and politically. If we do not take the correct path, the country will under-develop rather than modernize. Three ideas namely comparative advantage, structural adjustment and the ballot box have been tried in Uganda. All three have failed to deliver the desired outcomes. We need to examine each one and recommend a way out.

Comparative advantage means that a country should produce the good (s) in which it has an advantage over others, trade with others and obtain what is not worth producing at home. When the British arrived in what later became Uganda, they found that the people were engaged in a wide range of economic activities according to their natural resources. Some were herders, fishers, crop cultivators, hunters and manufacturers of a wide range of products that included pottery, wooden, iron products and cloth from hides and skins and bark cloth. These producers exchanged (bartered) their goods in local and regional markets in Eastern and central Africa. Production and barter benefited equitably those involved. On balance, the terms of trade were favorable.

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As father of the nation Museveni has failed Uganda children and must go

In my culture – and I believe in all cultures – parents have three principle responsibilities: to feed their children adequately so that they do not fall sick; prepare them for successful adulthood; and preserve land for them. I watch movies about wild life a lot. What is common among all creatures – birds and animals alike – is that they make sure their young are fed well and protected against danger; the young are taught how to survive and succeed in a dangerous environment on their own and cared for when need arises; and protect the territory for present and future generations. Recently I watched a movie in which a lion strayed into monkeys’ territory. All the monkeys – young and old, male and female – gathered around the lion and harassed her until she left the area. The monkeys re-conquered their territory with great joy!

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Kashambuzi is theoretical and ignorant

In her response to my article in Observer (Uganda) titled “Why Bahima men will not marry Bairu women”, Ms P. Kesaasi reduced me to a theoretical and ignorant individual regarding the history of and current events in the Great Lakes Region. She challenged me to produce evidence or lock up my pen and drafting pad.

I have studied the Great Lakes Region in particular Burundi, Eastern DRC, Rwanda and South West Uganda for over forty years. I have written three books on the region: (1) Uganda’s Development Agenda in the 21st Century and Related Regional Issues (2009); (2) Rethinking Africa’s Development Model (2009), and (3) For Present and Future Generations: Using the Power of Democracy to Defeat the Barrel of the Gun (2010). These books are available at www.johnsharvest.com. I have also created a blog at www.kashambuzi.com. I invite everyone to visit the blog and read the three books and contact me at [email protected] for further discussion as and when necessary. Let me add at this juncture that debate is important and I welcome it provided it is constructive and civil.

Symbiotic or antagonistic interethnic relationships

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