Tag Archives: livelihood

Only true democracy will end Uganda suffering and insecurity

Holding regular elections even if free and fair does not constitute democracy. It is just a small part of a bigger package. In Uganda elections are held basically for two reasons: to give NRM legitimacy and to meet the requirement for foreign aid and technical assistance. To many Ugandans true democracy occurs when public opinion helps shape government policies and behavior including accountability. In Uganda what NRM is doing has very little, if at all, to do with public opinion. What Ugandans want is very clear and simple and we have the means to deliver but NRM leadership is not interested. Ugandans want a country and society that is peaceful, stable and free from absolute poverty which Robert McNamara, former World Bank President, described as “a condition of life so degraded by disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, and squalor as to deny its victims basic human necessities” as well as freedom from abuse of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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Ugandans are not cursed by nature, we are impoverished by policies

Many Ugandans falsely believe that they were destined to fail, however hard they worked, because they were cursed at birth or even earlier – at conception. They have given up trying and resorted to destructive practices.

When I returned from exile in 1980, many families in my home village had given up hope. They had cleared all wetlands – began under Amin’s economic war – which provided thatch materials. Accordingly, they were living in houses with leaking roofs. They had also cut down all the trees to sell charcoal and had no firewood to cook beans that provide a rich source of vegetable protein.

One of the reasons my family decided to invest in Rukungiri – my home district – was largely to change this mood of despair by creating jobs. The employees soon realized that their being poor was not a curse after all but lack of opportunities and absence of a caring leadership. With their savings they started small scale projects and are doing pretty well.

Precolonial reports demonstrate that Ugandans enjoyed a comfortable livelihood except during temporary periods of famine and conflict. They produced according to their natural endowments and sold surplus in local and regional markets to obtain what they did not produce.

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