How Uganda can learn for Turkey in preserving our history

By Ofwono Opondo

Travelling around the world to old civilisations such as the Roman Empire, Istanbul, Paris, emerging Nordic countries, and new Chinese cities leaves one with the unmistaken impression that the Ugandan public official is a poor learner.

Often, you stop and wonder whether Ugandan officials are really educated, exposed, enlightened and serious or simply dimwits when they travel abroad.

Whether alone or in a group, as my recent travel in the company of 14 Ugandan journalists to Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey proved, you are left speechless, but asking in hashed silence, tinged with anger and disappointment, what good things we learn and bring back home that will make us or generations to come to be proud of our ancestors.

In Turkey, like many other developed countries, there is massive restoration works at many historical, administrative, religious and cultural sites to turn them into tourist attractions.

On the contrary, a visit to the Uganda Museum or kings’ palaces leaves many wondering why public officials there should be paid at all, or why those relics of traditional leaders should be respected anyway. They have neither preserved nor bothered to add anything of value. Is it too expensive to start a modest presidential archive to store some of the important written collections of past presidents, including photographs.

I am sure many would like to see and compare Sir Edward Mutesa, Idi Amin, Gen. Tito Okello Lutwa and Gen. Yoweri Museveni in their various military attires.

Tourists, local and foreign, would pay money to see Museveni’s original stick — AK47 — and metallic mug he came with from the bush in 1986, or the first wooden bed he purchased from Bwaise.

Other items could be that military uniform and the Bible the President used on his first swearing-in ceremony on the balcony of Parliament on January 29, 1986, which would perhaps be a national treasure.

I have also been asking some people if Miria Obote could handover that Kaunda suit and red shirt that former president Apollo Milton Obote wore and the stick he hung on his arms as he emerged from the plane in Bushenyi on his magical return from exile on July 27, 1980. But where would we keep them since Uganda does not value such artifacts, perhaps embarrassed to associate with the past?

In emerging countries like Turkey, rural and urban transportation networks do not show visible marked physical differences as everything appears well-planned, with wide dual-carriage, multi-lane highways, planned and planted urban forests, public, parks, game and nature reserves, sports and picnic grounds, accompanied by landscapes that soothe life.

About 10 years ago, the Government proposed a re-development master plan of the Metropolitan Kampala, which was supposed to incorporate parts of Mukono, Wakiso and Luwero districts. This plan, with minor adjustments, would have Kampala go eastwards to Lugazi, Bombo to the north, and westwards to Kakiri and Mpigi. The expansive Lake Victoria, with its calm waves opening eastwards would provide the much-needed natural freshness for modern urban life.

But apparently, when some squires at Mengo made what many reasonable minds considered misguided noise, the Government backtracked and shelved the plan, even the intention. Now, everyone is engulfed in one huge slum that Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono are growing into and only a few notice it.

The fellows at Mengo, supported by crude opposition groups, claimed that Metropolitan Kampala was a grand design to steal Buganda’s land and thereby shrink the monarchy.

There is visibly no urban or rural physical planning going on in Uganda for transport, industrial, commercial, residential and other social amenities as every small-minded developer with some cash is left to their own wits and ingenuity.

As a consequence, living and working in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono have become a nightmare that one must break every traffic rule available to reach their desired destination.

In addition, every built-up place immediately becomes a huge cesspool reservoir and the proud owners of many properties that appear exotic, soon discover that they are holding poisoned chalices. And often, communities are less co-operative.

With this poor or rather no planning, it is not possible to reach and provide efficient, affordable and quality amenities as clean and safe water, electricity and waste management to urban dwellers, which means many people will continue wallowing in preventable, but contagious diseases like cholera and typhoid.

Yet defined as a human right by the UN in 2010, access to clean water and sanitation, are supposed to be preconditions to improving public health, life expectancy and also allow resources currently spent by the Government and households, on medicines and cleaning up, to be channelled into productivity.


The writer is the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre and leader of Uganda Round Table Foundation (Urtaf), a Kampala think tank