Tag Archives: udu

UDU mourns death of four children in electricity accidents

Press statement

United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) commends the wives and children of police officers who exercised their right through a demonstration in Kampala demanding payment of delayed salaries of police officers in order to restore electricity to their homes. We mourn with parents and relatives the four children who lost their lives in accidents related to illegal electricity connections. May the Lord rest their souls in eternal peace!

These accidents and demonstrations represent external manifestation of long and deep suffering of the people of Uganda. If police officers in Kampala can’t be paid on time, imagine what is happening to those in remote places. This is a clear reflection that NRM has failed the people of Uganda. It is also a clear sign of lack of development.

Development means that the benefits of economic growth are equitably shared so that every household meets basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water and electricity, etc. When that doesn’t happen, as in Uganda, there is no development. Thus, those in Uganda and abroad that praise NRM government for success in development are probably confusing economic growth of Gross National Income (GNI) and per capita income with meeting basic human needs.

Read the full post
Posted on by

UDU Congratulates Winniefred Kiiza on her election to parliament

Press statement

On behalf of UDU, I congratulate most warmly Hon. Winniefred Kiiza on her election as a Member of Parliament for Kasese district. Your resounding success is testimony to your campaigning skills which hopefully you will transform into debating skills in parliament to benefit the women of Kasese district that gave you a list of what they want you to accomplish for them. Remember that as MP you now represent all women of Kasese district. I wish also to congratulate FDC for supporting Winniefred to an election that is reported to have taken place in a relatively free and fair atmosphere.

UDU also thanks NRM, security forces and electoral commission for providing conditions that facilitated campaigning and casting of ballots, counting and announcing results.

If recent by-elections are any guide, then Uganda is about to join other countries where democracy is taking root and people are given the opportunity to choose their representatives and hold them accountable for their commissions and omissions. What is needed now is to improve on voter registration, creation of an independent electoral commission, standardization of campaign finance and restoration of term limits in preparation for 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Read the full post
Posted on by

Discussion is the beginning of solving problems

The 18th century intellectual revolution (enlightenment) in Europe paved the way for revolutions in Europe and America, solving many problems. These intellectuals that included Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Paine disagreed a lot among themselves but the direction and conclusions were clear – absolute rule with divine right, intolerance, abuse of human rights and exploitation were things of the past. Many intellectuals ran into trouble with their governments: were jailed or fled their homeland but never yielded what they stood for.

We had very intense and interactive discussions at the UDU conference in Boston in October 2011. It was realized that there was a severe shortage of information. Our history has distortions, biases, misinformation and misinterpretation of events. It was agreed that civic education should be one of the principal tasks of UDU. It was however stressed that discussions should be civil regardless of the degree of disagreement. None has a right to abuse others with different opinions. I urge that we maintain the spirit of respect for one another especially when discussing controversial topics.

Read the full post
Posted on by

Reporting UDU’s diplomatic progress

Press statement

A year ago, on July 9, 2011, United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) was born in Los Angeles, USA. One of the topics that dominated the brain storming and other formal and informal debates was restoration of political and civil rights so that Ugandans can associate, march and assemble freely; express opinion orally and in writing without harassment; campaign, vote, count the ballots and announce results without interference. Delegates also expressed the importance and urgency of restoring presidential term limits, establishment of a truly independent electoral commission and keeping the military out of politics as well as taking the recommendations of international observer missions seriously (in 2011 the Commonwealth Observer mission reported that the electoral process lacked a level playing field, implying declaring the results null and void). One of the strategies to effect the necessary changes was UDU’s interaction with the international community – at government, United Nations and human rights organizations levels.

Thankfully, UDU’s work was made relatively easy because many of the officials we met with were largely aware of the human rights violation in Uganda which was unacceptable to them. They therefore welcomed our initiative and the National Recovery Plan which contains information about deficits in democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and governance (corruption, sectarianism, cronyism and non-accountability; lack of transparency and mismanagement of public funds). Our working methods have varied depending on circumstances but have produced positive results.

Read the full post
Posted on by

UDU is collecting materials for constructing a new Uganda

UDU’s first conference at Los Angeles in July 2011 was preceded by six months of extensive and frank discussions about Uganda challenges and prospects. There was full transparency and inclusiveness. At the conference there was a brain storming session that covered all aspects of human endeavor. The conference was attended by Ugandans from different parties and organizations and from all regions of Uganda with different backgrounds, demographic dynamics (gender and age groups) and experiences that enriched the discussions. Detailed instructions were issued on preparing a National Recovery Plan (NRP) as a foundation upon which to build a new Uganda. The draft Plan was circulated widely to Ugandans, friends and well wishers a month ahead of the Boston conference in October 2011 for study, consultation and comment. Comments were incorporated into the draft Plan that was prepared by Ugandans.

Read the full post
Posted on by

UDU is about social justice for all Ugandans

Uganda’s society since NRM came to power in 1986 has been dominated by a few rich families that continue to accumulate wealth at the expense of the majority. The rich have been using Social Darwin doctrine – the survival of the fittest – to explain why they are doing well while others are doing very poorly, adding that the poor should be blamed for their poverty and vulnerability. The fact that poverty and wealth have coexisted in time and space, one needs to understand whether or not there is causality. Given my experience in the areas I am familiar with there is a direct relationship. Those who become rich in a particular community exploit those that end up poor.

Read the full post
Posted on by

UDU appeals for calm in Uganda’s current political atmosphere

The politics of Uganda is at a cross-roads. If we take a wrong turn we shall be in trouble for a very long time and everybody will lose something. We therefore need cool minds to resolve our political differences. We, Ugandans need to remember that our nation has experienced war than peace; politics of exclusiveness than inclusiveness; zero-sum games and winner-take-all than compromise and agreement on win-win arrangements. Democracy in the form of elections since 1961 has not produced the desired results. Governance has lacked transparency, accountability and full participation of all Ugandans. We also need to realize that when a country has been dominated for a long time by one party and one leader, the transition is often very difficult. Because of these unfavorable circumstances and quality of leadership, Ugandans have failed to enjoy the endowments in our land and take advantage of our strategic geographic location in the Great Lakes region. Consequently the majority of Ugandans are trapped in absolute poverty and its offshoots of hunger, unemployment, disease and illiteracy. For these reasons, Uganda’s political economy needs to be overhauled.

Read the full post
Posted on by

Differences between NRM and UDU development priorities

There are sharp differences between NRM and UDU development priorities.

1. For NRM urban and export-oriented economic growth and earning hard currency come first. This is a top-down approach where the people come last through a trickledown mechanism which sadly has not worked since it was introduced in 1987. Furthermore, NRM policy has focused on services in urban areas especially Kampala and its vicinity generating 70 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) with a population of less than 2 million out of 34 million Ugandans. NRM policy is designed to service external markets with food and raw materials first. For UDU Ugandans come first. The majority of Ugandans (over 85 percent) who are poor and unemployed live in rural areas. UDU will therefore formulate a bottom-up and pro-poor economic growth program based on agriculture and rural development (agro-processing, infrastructure such as roads – focusing on constructing permanent bridges with central government support – and affordable energy) thereby serving the people first and directly. In contrast to NRM food production will meet the needs of Uganda first and surplus will be exported to neighboring countries and beyond. With planned increased productivity, Uganda will have enough food for domestic consumption and increase exports. Under NRM policy food exports have undermined supplies for domestic consumption especially of proteins which are exported in beans and fish. Eating non-nutritious foodstuffs such as cassava and maize has resulted in neurological disabilities and insanity, undermining human capital formation.

Read the full post
Posted on by

UDU Message to Uganda Mothers

On this Mothers’ Day, United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) congratulates and wishes you all the best. We appreciate the work you do often under difficult conditions at home and abroad. You are wonderful mothers and we thank you. Besides motherhood, you have played and – in many cases – championed work in Uganda’s economic, social, cultural, ecological, spiritual and increasingly political areas. The role of mothers in education, healthcare, nutrition and general hygiene through organizations like Mothers Union is particularly noteworthy. Your current struggle to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms has been noticed worldwide and highly appreciated.

From time immemorial mothers have made history and championed major changes of historic significance. Mothers including in France, Russia, United Kingdom and South Africa played vital roles at critical moments in history. One of the reasons for their struggle was to get empowered so that they can participate fully in decisions that affect their lives. The mothers of Uganda need to be empowered with support of the government, development partners and other organizations.

UDU’s National Recovery Plan (NPR) accessible at www.udugandans.org has accorded gender issues a very high priority. A Department of Gender was created in the UDU Secretariat to ensure that gender issues get all the attention they rightly deserve. The head of the Department is Ms. Dorothy Lubowa.

Read the full post
Posted on by

UDU – Mission and progress report

As 2011 draws to a close, it is appropriate to issue a press release restating the mission of the United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) and reporting activities that were undertaken from July to December 2011.

By popular demand at home and abroad an umbrella organization named United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) was established on July 9, 2011 at a conference hosted by Ugandans to the Rescue in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The mission of the umbrella organization is to harmonize activities of political parties, organizations and individuals at home and abroad opposed to the NRM system and speak with one voice for efficiency and effectiveness.

Conference participants came from the United States, Europe and Canada. Participants came from all regions of Uganda (central, eastern, northern and western).

The conference was convened to establish an umbrella organization; adopt a name for it; elect committee members; and adopt a work plan.

The umbrella organization was established by acclamation. Regarding the name of the organization, many proposals were submitted, followed by voting. United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) got the highest votes and was adopted as the name of the organization.

Read the full post
Posted on by