President Museveni should be congratulated for observing Article 101 (1) of Uganda’s Constitution that requires the head of state to address Ugandans through Parliament on the state of the nation. I have had the opportunity to read the president’s annual addresses and other policy statements and have made critical comments on them.
To understand fully the state of the nation, one needs to read the president’s address very carefully to find out what was omitted. The president has mustered the art of summarizing selectively macroeconomic developments such as economic growth, per capita income and inflation control without saying much about their impact on the welfare of Ugandans.
On economic growth, the president has generally given figures higher than other reporters raising questions about his source of information. With an economy growing at the reported average of 8.4 per cent over the last five years, one would have expected the president to also report its positive impact on poverty level and jobs created. The diseases of poverty that cannot be hidden anymore have made it difficult to report on the level of poverty which is omitted. It must be stressed that economic growth is not an end in itself but a means to bring about qualitative improvements in the lives of Ugandans. Regarding mobile phones, questions have been raised about their contribution to investment, capital accumulation and improvement in the quality of life of the majority of users.
The president reported on external sector performance. He was careful not to mention the food component because of the criticism his government has received for that bad policy. The production for cash rather than for the stomach has created serious food security problems. In some food surplus regions, child under-nutrition has reached 50 percent because parents are selling most of the nutritious food and feeding their children on inadequate portions of cassava or maize which are nutritionally deficient. To reverse this situation, peasants should be advised to sell surplus over and above domestic requirements.
On education, the president reported on the familiar gross enrolment in primary schools and the narrowing of the gender gap. While acknowledging that quality and accessibility remain problematic, the president should have elaborated on the corrective steps that were taken during the reporting period.
It has been established that school feeding programs improve attendance and performance of school children especially girls. That is why NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) adopted a resolution urging all African countries to introduce or expand school lunches using locally produced foodstuff with the help of development partners including WFP. In Uganda this has not happened because the government has not accorded it high priority. WFP should be urged to export surplus food only after it has satisfied school lunch and deficit area requirements. In Uganda 12 percent of children are born underweight with permanent disabilities because their mothers are under-nourished. The government needs to address this deficit as well.
I agree with the president that a ‘healthy nation is a wealthy nation’. Why then has the health sector been so neglected to the extent that diseases that have been eradicated in many parts of the world are wreaking havoc in Uganda – a country with an average economic growth rate of over 8 percent over the last five years? Pictures of scabies, jiggers, malnutrition, trachoma, patients sleeping on the floor including in referral hospitals etc, have discredited the NRM government and defined it as non-caring.
Complaining about corruption in the health sector year after year is not helpful. Either the government takes meaningful action to end corruption or it stops hoodwinking the public.
On reproduction health and family planning, two things should be watched. Family planning clinics should be well staffed with qualified personnel to monitor and correct side effects and to ensure that women are not coerced. They should voluntarily seek family planning help because doing otherwise is a violation of their human rights.
The president’s address on peace, security and law and order is incomplete. He left out food, job and urban environment security concerns, domestic violence against women and children, human sacrifice and excessive alcohol consumption. While providing police, prison and judiciary services is essential, it is not a sufficient condition to end crime. These services need to be combined with poverty eradication programs beginning with public works which have made significant contribution in reducing unemployment in developed and developing countries.
While the government should be applauded for its efforts to increase Uganda’s visibility on the international stage through participation in high profile organs such as the United Nations Security Council and hosting important international conferences and summits, the costs of such activities should not diminish resources for domestic development needs. Ugandans should understand that campaigning for election to these organs and hosting these conferences and summits is very costly in money and labor terms.
Finally, the development plan launched in April 2010 marks a major departure from structural adjustment program that was launched in May 1987. The president should have elaborated on institutional changes to be introduced and defined the exact role of the state and parliament.