October 12,
2014 was my 55th birthday. One
thing about my birthday is that I share it with my elder sister though we are
not twins! The message I have for the
people of Uganda on my birthday is that I can deliver them to the Promised Land
- the ideal Pearl of Africa. If they can help mobilize to support for the
strategy I have for the biggest chair.
Uganda’s
Problem:
Uganda’s problem is
the mass poverty, ignorance, high youth population figures with majority
unemployed, disease, environmental degradation, the difference between the
budget and budget out-turn of about 30%, corruption, poor governance record due to the fact
that the regime is using all possible strategies to retain power, an
unbelievably huge administrative infrastructure and the too much power which
the President holds. These are greatly
attributed to the bad NRM – O politics.
The article: “UGANDA @ 50; Evils of Poverty, Ignorance, Disease & Corruption Persist,” at the link below is a good resource:
http://www.redpepper.co.ug/uganda-50-evils-of-poverty-ignorance-disease-corruption-persist/
Youthful
population
The
State of Uganda’s Population Report 2012 was released in December 2012, according
to the findings; Uganda has the world’s youngest population, with over 78%
below 30 years, while more than 52% of Ugandans are
below 15 years. Currently, at
least 83% of young people have no formal employment, partly due to slow
economic growth, the small labour market, high population growth rate, the
rigid education system, rural-urban migration and limited access to capital.
67% of Ugandans vulnerable to
poverty
About
67% of Ugandans are either poor or highly vulnerable to poverty, the
expenditure review for Uganda 2012 by the Directorate of Social Protection in
the gender ministry has revealed.
Dr.
Fred Matovu, a senior lecturer of economics at Makerere University, who
participated in the review, said the study was aimed at establishing the number
of Ugandans who require social protection due to their susceptibility to
poverty.
Matovu
said the 67% represented both Ugandans who spend below the poverty line of $
1.20 (about sh3,170)per day and those who are below twice the poverty line,
$2.40 (about sh6,340) per day.
Going by the United Nation’s
Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), Uganda currently has 34.5 million
people, meaning about 23.1 million are prone to poverty, and about 8.4 million
of them (about 24.5%) are trapped in absolute poverty.
Good Governance and Human
Rights in Uganda
Uganda
as a country has a governance record that is positively affected by the NRM – O
wish to be in State House for a very long time.
It is already 28 years with one President. It can be a big miracle for such a Government
not to violate rights of the people in order to retain office. This is the reason that greatly affects the
Good Governance in Uganda.
I.
There
is need to focus on strengthening democratization, protection of human rights,
access to justice, peaceful co-existence and improved accountability in Uganda.
II.
Greater
support to Justice, Law and Order Sector, that is focusing on promotion of the
rule of law. This includes direct support to the Judiciary concentrating on
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the institution.
III.
Enhance
the quality of service delivery through improved local governance and
accountability.
The
Environment situation
1) Many
of Uganda's natural ecosystems are undergoing conversion, degradation, and
decline in a totally unplanned and uncontrolled manner. Examples include:
uncontrolled expansion of agricultural land; erosion of soils and a decline in
soil fertility; falling quality and availability of water; unregulated
encroachment and degradation of wetlands; encroachment of forest reserves;
deforestation and overgrazing of rangelands; and invasion of weed species and
bush encroachment. With the country's current population of 22 million set to
double by the year 2020, these pressures are bound to be insurmountable without
sustainable action at both the national and community levels.
2) Most
Ugandans are completely reliant on natural resources to survive. Forests
provide fuel-wood and cleared land frees arable soil for
agriculture. Uganda loses about 6,000 hectares of forests every 30 days
according. If no action is registered by 2050, Uganda’s per capita forest cover
will be zero (NEMA, 2009). Already 28 districts have lost their entire forest
ecosystem while another 19 districts have forest cover lower than 1%.
As forests give way to agricultural land, the soil is exposed to erosion and loses its fertility. Where cattle are introduced, grazing also affects soil quality, opens the way for invasive species and reduces the diversity of plant species. Other related problems include falling quality and availability of water.
As forests give way to agricultural land, the soil is exposed to erosion and loses its fertility. Where cattle are introduced, grazing also affects soil quality, opens the way for invasive species and reduces the diversity of plant species. Other related problems include falling quality and availability of water.
There
must be a deliberate effort to see sustainable environment management policies
in place through enhancing sustainable conservation and utilization of natural
resources and climate change adaptation and mitigation, strengthen the
capacities of institutions (Government and Civil Society Organisations) to
undertake sustainable environment and natural resources actions aimed at:
- Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems,
- Scaling-up successful SLM models and approaches, (iii) Enhancing Efficient Utilization of Biomass Energy, Renewable Energy Technologies (RET), and reduction in GHG emissions and
- Promoting Climate Change Resilient Development.
Big
administration infrastructure
1. 69 Ministers, 327 Members of
Parliament, 278 political appointees who include 80 resident District
Commissioners and assistants, 75 presidential advisors and 43 private
presidential secretaries and their deputies. This is just a picture of Uganda's
over-the-top public administration. Pearl of Africa as commonly known is argued
that not only is it a sleeping giant but also an over-governed and
unproductive country.
2. It has many administrative
units; 45,000 local councils, 5500 parishes, 1026 sub-counties, 151 counties,
18 municipalities and 80 districts. All these structures have executive 10 man
executive officials. So, the total number of officials is 10 times the number
of every administrative unit.
3. How does this nation manage
its servants? Uganda's expenditure is very enormous and abnormal.
4. A presidential advisor and
his deputy earn 908.5 million Ugandan shillings enough to pay 378 primary
school teachers a salary of 200,000 Ugandan shillings a month.
5. Private presidential
secretary and his assistant earn 7.5 billion shillings enough to; support 2,077
primary schools with 800 pupils each, buy drugs for 890 health centers,
construct 935 classrooms or pay 37,500 primary school teachers. Members of
Parliament altogether earn 57 billion excluding the allowances, the 69
ministers have all sorts of allowances and only government expenditure on
Ministers vehicles fuel, oil and maintenance in 2006/07 was 92 billion Ugandan
shillings.
6. Uganda has over 31 million
people. According to the Ministry of Health, there's one doctor to every
300,000 people. Surprisingly, there's one administrative leader to every 6
Ugandans. Uganda has one of the poorest administrative structures in the entire
world. The poor administration can and only provides poor services to its
citizens. The government at times makes good policies but it's very hard for
them to be implemented leading to all these and many
other deficiencies.
Source:
Major Problems facing Uganda today –
The matter of a huge administrative infrastructure must be addressed in national interest. The NRM - O is using it as a strategy for regime longevity, hence keeps people who should have long retired on pay roll even when they are not productive.
Disease
Over 11 million Ugandans are suffering from Neglected Tropical
Diseases (NTDs) and if not treated some may lead to death.
This
was revealed by the national coordinator of NTDs, Dr. Edridah Tukahebwa during
the launch of the country’s master plan for elimination of NTDs by 2020. Tukahebwa, who is also the assistant
commissioner health services (vector control) in the ministry of health,
disclosed that 2m Ugandans are infected with Bilharzia in 63 districts out of
112 in the country. She said 4.8m are
suffering from Elephantiasis in 54 districts while 4m are infected with River
blindness in 37 districts and 1m are suffering from Trachoma in 36 districts.
Corruption:
The World Bank says that corruption costs Uganda over Shs 900 billion per annum, equivalent to the annual budgets of the government’s biggest departments.
Regionally, Uganda is the third most corrupt
country in the East African region after Burundi and Kenya according to the
Corruption Perception Index 2011 released by Transparency International in
December 2011. Rwanda and Tanzania are “cleaner” than Uganda.
See
more at:
http://www.independent.co.ug/News/news-analysis/5079-corruption-in-2012#sthash.4ISKtcm1.dpuf
Presidential Powers:
The proposals in
place to see to reduced powers of the President have to be debated and
implemented. Uganda should get modern
with a President who suits the modern times, not a dictator who is backed by
the instruments of power, and as the proposals are passed, they should
immediately become law in the same term.
I have not
subscribed as a member to any existing Political Party in Uganda because I am
not satisfied with them. I don’t need to
form a Political Party to day, what is needed is that mass of Ugandans
interested in a clean up in the governance of Uganda, this, together with a
worldwide mobilization of resources to back the strategy.
There is serious
weakness among the opposition candidates in Uganda in that they are even unable
to come up with statistics showing how people voted at various polling stations
throughout the country, hence wait for the figures by the Electoral Commission! This should be made history, in that, at all Gazetted
Polling Stations, there should be manpower that can finally get a copy of the
agreed to results sheet duly signed, meaning that as the Electoral Commission
compiles results, the opposite team is equally compiling and can release the
outcome at liberty if need arises.
I don’t believe in
a policy that Government does not get involved in business. For the sake of employment creation as well
as having our industries competitive enough, Government MUST do business more so
agro – processing industrialization, and ensure that monitoring is well done. This does not leave the areas of cooperatives
and marketing unattended to, Marketing Boards MUST be re- instated.
There must be
motivation to the Medical Doctors and teachers among other professionals so
that they deliver 1st class services to the people in Uganda. Infrastructure for treatment of cases
currently referred out of the country MUST be realized, hence phase out this
treatment from abroad which costs so much the taxpayer.
Regional
Governments have to take shape in a Federal arrangement throughout the country,
and the states must be able to determine their priories for growth.
The Parliament size
has to be reduced so that the 2021 elections come when Uganda has a size of
Parliament that fits the budget, representation must be according to population
figures.
Government
sponsorship which currently does not make economic sense has to be phased out,
instead see reduced tuition fees and a needy scheme as well as a sustainable
loan scheme in place.
Women
Empowerment
I.
Although Uganda has made
considerable strides in gender equality, especially manifest in the proportion
of women national legislators at 34.9 percent - higher than the world average
of 19.47 percent - there is still a challenge to empower women at domestic
levels. Maternal mortality rates are still high, with 16 women who die while
giving birth every day. UNDP supports the government to create gender-sensitive
policies, budgeting and economic plans. It also works towards social and
economic empowerment of women at grassroots.
II.
The
social domestic setting gives women an unfair start in life compared to men.
The average Ugandan woman spends nine hours a day on labour activities such as
fetching water, firewood and caring for the sick, according to the Uganda MDG
Report 2007.
III.
The
burden of care makes the woman particularly vulnerable when it comes to
competing on the job market as it affects girls’ ability to concentrate on
education and compete favourably. It is no wonder literacy rates for Ugandans
aged 10 years and above is at 79 percent for men, but 66 percent for women,
according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics’ Statistical Abstract for 2012.
For women, dropouts from school are due to financial constraints, family
responsibilities, illness, early marriages and pregnancies.
IV.
Girls
in social settings are handed domestic household chores, usually because their
mothers are working in farm and non-farm activities to supplement household
resources. And although women comprise an estimated 70 percent of those
working in agriculture, they experience unequal access to, and control
over, important productive resources, notably land, which limits their ability
to raise productivity and even move out of subsistence agriculture, according
to the Uganda MDG Report 2010.
Persons with disabilities
According
to the 2002 Population and Housing Census, at least 4 out of every 25, or 16
per cent of the population, are disabled.
There is
need to promote more chances/opportunities in employment and other areas for
people with disabilities. The need to
improved access to basic education, vocational training relevant to labour
market needs and jobs suited to their skills, interests and abilities, with
adaptations as needed. There is also need to dismantle other barriers – hence making
the physical environment more accessible, providing information in a variety of
formats, and challenging attitudes and mistaken assumptions about people with disabilities.
Agriculture
FOR
a country with fertile land and abundant rainfall which give it a strong
comparative advantage in agriculture, Uganda’s agriculture performance is weak.
Agricultural productivity per worker, at approximately $200 per year, is among
the lowest in the world.
Real
growth in agriculture has averaged only two percent per annum over the last 10
years, less than a third of the average growth of the rest of the Ugandan
economy. Productivity is especially low in the food crop sub-sector, which is
dominated by smallholder farmers, because farmers use rudimentary farm
technology and produce mainly for subsistence rather than the market.
Unless
there are radical changes in our approach to agriculture, our agricultural
performance will weaken further, with very deleterious consequences for rural
poverty, employment, inequality, geographically balanced growth and food
security.
It
is imperative to implement a comprehensive strategy to support smallholder
agriculture if we are to avert a long term decline in the agricultural sector;
a decline which will be accelerated by the exploitation of our oil resources.
If
we can help the broad mass of farmers in this country to become more
productive, raise their yields and sell more of their output on the market, it
will be possible to create a more dynamic agricultural sector which is strong
enough to survive despite the adverse impacts of oil on the real exchange rate.
Furthermore,
by supporting Uganda’s farmers to increase their marketable output, we can
boost agro-processing industries and thus promote industrialization.
Strengthening agriculture will not be possible without devoting more public
resources to support the sector, but how we spend public resources is
critical.
What
should be our strategy for agriculture?
The
goal of agricultural strategy should be to support the modernization of
agriculture. Modernization entails farmers adopting good agricultural practices
to maximize their profit and selling more of their output on the market. It
will bring about a switch towards the production of higher value crops, as well
as raising yields per acre and yields per worker.
A
feasible strategy for agricultural development in Uganda must have at its
centre support for smallholder farmers. Smallholders comprise 96% of Uganda’s
farmers. It is unrealistic to expect that Uganda’s agricultural performance can
be turned around by ignoring smallholders and focusing instead on large
farms.
Modernizing
smallholder farming will entail smallholders making greater use of purchased
farm inputs. Hence modernization will require smallholders having better access
to finance.
Nevertheless
finance is unlikely to be the binding constraint on modernisation of
smallholder agriculture and unless more important constraints are tackled,
enhancing smallholders’ access to finance will be ineffective.
Policy
measures to strengthen the provision of financial services in the rural areas
must be part of a much broader set of interventions to support smallholders to
adopt modern farm technology and produce for the market, of the type I have
already mentioned.
Unless
smallholders have adopted good agricultural practices, such as the use of
improved seeds, proper field preparation, timely planting, weeding and pest
control, proper harvest and post harvest handling, etc – practices which can
improve yields significantly - they will not be able to utilize credit
effectively because their farms will not be profitable.
Information & Communication Technology
A lot to be done to make technology
affordable and wide spread to ease the life of the people of Uganda and their
productivity.
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