China's development path: Can Uganda borrow a leaf?

Jul 01, 2016

China, amid all these political assaults has afforded to pull through its turbulent past

By Henry Mayega

The Yoweri Museveni administration, through sublime military combinations, pacified the country by the early 2000s.

The guns went silent, the country breathed change for better thanks to the additional weight of public censure and private tragedy of a host of uncharitable rebel groups. War-mongering was not an exclusive problem of Uganda.

However, china was politically assaulted by Europeans (just like we were) as well as the imperial Japanese with debilitating consequences.

China, amid all these political assaults has afforded to pull through its turbulent past dotted with imperial as well as colonial subjugation and is on the brink of an economic miracle.

China's economy is now second to the US because of a number of reforms that predate the current leaders and are traced back to the late 1970s when Deng Xiaoping took over from Chairman Mao Tsetung.

First, the Deng Xiaping leadership introduced reforms (economic) that provided the bed-rock of China's current economic progress.  Most if in not all China's enterprises prior to 1978, were state owned and in a stoical realization that government was not a good manager of business, the state began to let up and liberalize the business space by allowing private entities to thrive. 

This was a significant step; rolling back state control over enterprises to a bare minimum as well as converting several government departments into business enterprises whose management aimed at increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

In the early 1980s Deng Xiaping advocated for "reform and opening up" and in his own words he said, "our modernization programme … will be doomed if we don't reform now", apparently adding, "unless we persevere … we shall have no way out and no hope of modernizing the country".  A series of ten year development plans were rolled out and China's GNP doubled in both the 1980s and 1990s. 

China's economic reformation of course, went hand in hand with political, cultural, scientific and technological advancement.  As I write now, China has a high speed trains that play across vast expanses of the country. 

President Yoweri Museveni has always pointed out the oppressing bottlenecks temporising Uganda's economic development (which China also had) which are being addressed and with time we will be there. 

The Yoweri Museveni administration liberalized, the economy and the benefits of those measures have included an annual average economic growth of 6%, increase in taxable income, an improved balance of payments, increase in effective demand, burgeoning of the housing sector, increase in infrastructural development etc. 

All these have simultaneously upped our national sovereignty by way of funding our budget by over 80%.

Secondly, China has ensured national stability for decades since the Second World War as exemplified in the conversation between this country's Foreign Minister Li Zhao Xing of the 1990s who responded to US's former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright's question of defining the Sino foreign policy thus, "peace and development".  Fortunately, Ugandans learn from their past mistakes fast. 

The instabilities and insecurities of the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s have schooled us in appreciating that whenever faced with desolating prospects, we turn to history for guidance; and we must admit that for long, Uganda has been environed with difficulties and so development began taking root in the 1990s.

China's long path of stability has afforded that country a large measure of growth that has benefitted its nationals because of the long-term relief from the instabilities of the Second World War. 

That stability dictated robust government interventions that included road, railway, bridges, ports, airports construction in all the over 30 provinces irrespective of whether those far flung areas had viable economic activities or not.  Overall, the whole of China is built up in terms of infrastructure. 

Before Uganda built sufficient capacity for infrastructural development, funders of projects would try to dissuade the Yoweri Museveni administration from road construction leading to areas perceived by them as economically unviable.  A case in point is the repaired road between Mbale and Soroti. 

Eventually this project was done using our own resources.  The Chinese authorities in their quest to evenly develop their country undertook expanding infrastructure networks throughout the country.

Thirdly, land in China is state controlled.  The Chinese authorities in their quest to do massive projects have had no resistance to such development. 

At the heart of the conundrum is the fact that there is usually a lot of altercation whenever a government project (e.g. road construction) is being undertaken in Uganda either because of duplicity of land titles belonging to those who are due for compensation or sheer connivance between land valuers and tenants ending up inflating compensation figures. 

These things do not happen in China because once the routing of such projects is decided; no one can stand in their way. As such there are no delays to the realization of projects.  The KCCA in fulfilment of its mandate has, for instance set aside funds for tarmacking Kigowa Road in Nakawa Division. 

This project is being delayed because a lady whose land is to be crossed by the proposed road has demanded for compensation yet KCCA does not have such a vote!!

Fourth, the Chinese had to rebrand their work ethics to include timeliness, sincerity, corruption free behavior as well as respect for clients and customers. 

These elements are responsible, to a large measure, for spurring a robust business climate with as much industry that they have become global competitors in trade. 

As Ugandans we ought to recast our work ethics and we do away with indolence, late-coming for work, cheat/corruption as well as being disrespectful to clients or customers irrespective of whether we have public commissions with government or we are involved in business.

A story is told of Ugandan workers at Isimba Dam who would, during the life of that project construction, take off entire days to go for incessant burials, weddings, last funeral rites until the Chinese Company Officials complained only for politicians from the area to side with the un-ethical!!

Fifth, would Ugandans want to borrow a leaf from the conduct of business by the Chinese Peoples' Congress (Parliament) which convenes once in a year for two weeks, receives business from the State, discusses it and moderate, where necessary and members return to their respective professions. 

Well, there we are.  The Parliament of Uganda has long sessions and recesses periodically.  At least let us revise the work methods of the August House for it to rhyme with the UK Parliament's modus operandi.

Lastly, the saving culture of the Chinese has been one of the most important factors that have led to that country's astronomical economic growth.  Well above 50%, that culture has ensured that there are enough re-investible funds to spur further growth. 

Many Ugandan folks save nothing or a bare minimum and reinvestment may be unheard of.  President Yoweri Museveni, through his magnanimous effort, has toured the entire country educating nationals about increasing household income.  Let us all to the same.

The writer is the Uganda's deputy head of Mission Beijing, China

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