Why a vote for Museveni was a vote for peace, security

By Dr AVS Ramesh Chandra

At the very outset and on behalf of the Government and people of India, I wish to congratulate H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the NRM Party for the spectacular electoral victory for the 5th consecutive term at the Presidential and Parliamentary elections conducted by the Election Commission of Uganda on February 18, 2016. 

The elections have largely been peaceful and my compliments go to the top leadership of the UPDF and the Ugandan Police Force (UPF) for the effective prevention and control of electoral violence and disruptive campaigns.  This was extremely important and of key significance.

A vote for President Museveni constitutes a vote for peace and security, and for economic and social progress in Uganda. His four tenets of promoting unity, peace, ensuring electricity and good roads may have guaranteed President Museveni's comprehensive victory. Equally, it also provides for important and vitally needed continuity in India's excellent bilateral relations with Uganda.

Securing 61% of the total votes in any democracy as of 2016 is an impressive feat in itself and President Museveni winning in 98 constituencies (leaving only 14 for the major opponent) and at the same time securing 61% of the 458 seats in the Ugandan Parliament is equally important.

If NRM-leaning independents are included, this figure goes up to a whopping 70%. This will ensure a comfortable majority in Parliament which will significantly ease legislation-making and policy formulation. The 305 rallies of President Museveni in over 290 constituencies appear to have borne fruit. This achievement must be seen against the background of over 50 tribes peacefully co-habiting in Uganda and contributing to the process.  

This kind of diversity is not seen in any country in Africa. I wish to commend all Ugandans for participating actively and peacefully in the elections.  As the largest democracy in the world, we in India were delighted to supply the indelible ink used by the Election Commission at the elections and this is an important contribution from India. Once used, the ink would have ensured that the same voter could not have cast a vote for the second time around.

President Museveni's impressive domination of the political landscape came amid Election Observers from the African Union, IGAD, COMESA and the EU alluding to the largely peaceful nature of the elections.

At the same time, we wish to join the others who have urged all sides to refrain from any actions and statements in the immediate future that may incite violence. We urge all parties to abide by the law and resolve any election-related disputes through dialogue and available legal remedies. I remain confident that this will be possible.

President Yoweri Museveni has worked ceaselessly over the past three decades to re-build the confidence of the Indian investors who fled Uganda in the early 1970s due to the atrocities committed by Idi Amin. Over 4,000 properties confiscated by Idi Amin were returned to the owners. It was a pity, though, that some other candidates who contested in the polls did display hatred towards foreigners, holding them responsible for their own misery.  

President Museveni's actions have resulted in several dozens of new Indian investors entering Uganda and over the past 22 months that I have been here as the High Commissioner, the Honourable President personally inaugurated many high-profile projects involving Indian investments such as the Hardware City on the Entebbe road built by the Ruparelia Group, the Tirupati Industrial Park, the Megacity Apartments Complex in Mukono, the Acacia shopping mall in Kampala, the Kamuli sugar factory, the YoKuku poultry project etc, to name a few. 

The contributions of Indian nationals/ Persons of Indian Origin have since grown significantly, including their payments to the national exchequer reflected in URA/ Bank of Uganda statistics available in the public domain.

Your daily of February 28, 2016 lists the top 100 tax payers in Uganda and over 20 of them are Indian companies or are companies owned by Persons of Indian Origin. According to your paper they paid sh1.2 trillion in taxes last year alone.

The Indian community also very diligently undertook several widely-advertised corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities such as free heart surgeries in India, innumerable blood donation drives that resulted in over 22,000 units of blood being collected during 2015 alone and free medical surgeries and eye camps all over Uganda.  

Besides Uganda, I have served in seven countries over these past 26 years including Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but I find the levels of religious freedom in Uganda - allowing all people to practice their respective faiths freely and without fear- to be truly phenomenal.

The Indian community celebrates practically every major Indian festival in Uganda, as is the case with New York where I have had a chance to be during 1998-2002 with the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations. On the business side, I was delighted to be informed by the State House that two prominent Indian entrepreneurs will now be on the President's Investors Round Table (PIRT) which will focus on the issue of ease of doing business in Uganda. This will help immensely.

President Museveni's re-election guarantees a welcome continuity to the excellent cordial and close bilateral relations that India enjoys with Uganda. We will continue to work closely with all the Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Chief Administrative officers and others in the Government of Uganda, besides the UPDF and UPF to further deepen and strengthen our relations, while contributing to further capacity-building in Uganda especially in the education and health sectors. I will also focus on science, technology and innovation spheres where India has important strengths. The ICT Ministry will receive an Indian ICT expert from July 2016 onwards, and will work on e-Governance issues.

I was a bit surprised, though, when 14 key ministers lost in this election including that of Defence, Justice, Energy, Education, Information and Housing, in addition to the Attorney-General.  This reflects the maturity of Ugandan voters when it comes to assessing the credentials of candidates in the fray.

Important lessons to be learnt here. As President Museveni has himself reiterated in his speeches throughout the election campaigns, the Ugandan Government will now need to re-dedicate itself to fighting rampant corruption and cheating that exists and also address vital national issues such as unemployment, malnutrition, disease, etc.

Induction of young and dynamic personalities as ministers who will put the nation above themselves and fully adopt the Ugandan national motto "For God, and my Country" is likely to not only significantly improve service delivery but also has the potential to ensure 9-10 % annual GDP growth over the next 5 years to lift the country from its current status to that of a middle-income nation.

I wish to reassure your readers that India will work very closely with the Government of Uganda to deepen and strengthen our bilateral relations. With every best wish.

The writer is the High Commissioner of India in Uganda.