Don’t mix national concerns with party issues
May 13, 2011
THE Sunday Vision lead story, “Opposition, NRM meet in Tanzania†published last week must have caught many readers’ attention.
THE Sunday Vision lead story, “Opposition, NRM meet in Tanzania†published last week must have caught many readers’ attention.
In times of uncertainty like now, a mere thought of the Government and the Opposition being seen to be solving their differences seems like a welcome relief. But what was beyond the headline?
The story was about a certain group of naïve politicians being flown out of the dusty Kampala city for a cup of coffee in Dar es salaam.
There was definitely no meaningful discussion relevant to the situation that necessitated dialogue.
The current situation is not an issue for the Inter-Party Organization for Dialogue (IPOD) because while IPOD is a forum for political parties, the skyrocketing prices of commodities and fuel were observed by Activists for Change (A4C) while the political parties were looking on! A4C brings together all concerned people irrespective of their political side.
If Government wants to have talks, such talks should be sought with A4C; not only because A4C founded the campaign, but also (and more importantly) because they are more likely to rationally discuss the issue at hand without dragging into the discussion perennial party differences. What did Augustine Ruzindana and Daudi Migereko have to discuss about the necessary political steps to resolve the current economic hardships Ugandans are exposed to?
Was it about the ‘free’ dime splashed by the Dutch? I think we have let political opportunists have their way too much! These ‘donors’ are in essence economic strategists. Their money will surely be recovered whether or not calm reigns!
But their money is not the problem here; we are having political schemers on both the governing and opposing sides, who continue to misrepresent issues of national importance and turn them into issues between political parties. I heard recently Security minister Amama Mbabazi making a statement about the current situation. He was speaking as either NRM secretary general/member IPOD or security minister. All he told the nation was about security and party talks as if that is what we are asking for now!
The issues that led to the walk-to-work campaign are economic.
If the Government were to respond in a relevant manner, either the governor of Bank of Uganda or the finance minister should have been the responsible person(s) to make a statement on the matter. Instead, we first saw Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, being the “official†Government spokesperson!
Dun tukwatse
Activists for Change
In times of uncertainty like now, a mere thought of the Government and the Opposition being seen to be solving their differences seems like a welcome relief. But what was beyond the headline?
The story was about a certain group of naïve politicians being flown out of the dusty Kampala city for a cup of coffee in Dar es salaam.
There was definitely no meaningful discussion relevant to the situation that necessitated dialogue.
The current situation is not an issue for the Inter-Party Organization for Dialogue (IPOD) because while IPOD is a forum for political parties, the skyrocketing prices of commodities and fuel were observed by Activists for Change (A4C) while the political parties were looking on! A4C brings together all concerned people irrespective of their political side.
If Government wants to have talks, such talks should be sought with A4C; not only because A4C founded the campaign, but also (and more importantly) because they are more likely to rationally discuss the issue at hand without dragging into the discussion perennial party differences. What did Augustine Ruzindana and Daudi Migereko have to discuss about the necessary political steps to resolve the current economic hardships Ugandans are exposed to?
Was it about the ‘free’ dime splashed by the Dutch? I think we have let political opportunists have their way too much! These ‘donors’ are in essence economic strategists. Their money will surely be recovered whether or not calm reigns!
But their money is not the problem here; we are having political schemers on both the governing and opposing sides, who continue to misrepresent issues of national importance and turn them into issues between political parties. I heard recently Security minister Amama Mbabazi making a statement about the current situation. He was speaking as either NRM secretary general/member IPOD or security minister. All he told the nation was about security and party talks as if that is what we are asking for now!
The issues that led to the walk-to-work campaign are economic.
If the Government were to respond in a relevant manner, either the governor of Bank of Uganda or the finance minister should have been the responsible person(s) to make a statement on the matter. Instead, we first saw Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, being the “official†Government spokesperson!
Dun tukwatse
Activists for Change