The future does not lie in promises

Your Platform Leaders or aspiring leaders must not be allowed to deceive, despise or cheat the people. Poverty and corruption will not evaporate when one is elected president. Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere writes that lies will be the undoing of presidential aspirants. Uganda has many claims to its name. It is the pearl of Africa. This is because of its natural endowments. Yet at the same it has produced such a monster as Amin who is reported to have talked to the heads of his killed opponents, imagined or real. Uganda has also produced a people-based struggle in a post-independence era that has attracted admirers worldwide. Uganda's economic growth, certainly not transformation yet, has also put it on the world map in the last 15 years. But what is happening to its politics? In 1962, the leader of the winning party became the leader of government. It was Obote of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) since Kiwanuka had been kept out of being a parliamentarian by Mengo. In the strictest sense, there was only one party leader who could lead the country. So Obote led or misled as the case may be, until he was overthrown by his army commander, Idi Amin, in 1971. Amin was the sole candidate for leadership. Whoever showed a slight interest or was imagined to be interested in power lost his or her head to Amin's executors. For eight years Amin ruled supreme until he made the mistake of attacking Tanzania. He became Uganda's second exiled president. Lule and Binaisa followed. Their story is well known. Both were chosen by a handful of Ugandans. Both of them failed to keep the office. Both left office before they tested popular will. Muwanga who led UPC to the 1980 elections is well known as the chief thief of elections. The supposed winner the election, Paul Ssemogerere of the Democratic Party (DP), saw State House occupied by Obote. Here was Obote, a king made by Muwanga. It is not yet fully investigated as to how much Muwanga contributed to the Lutwa coup of 1985. There is no doubt he played a role in the change that saw Obote go to exile again. He ended up in Luzira Maximum Prison before he died. Lutwa went into exile, but he came back to be the only leader of Uganda who came back from exile and die at home. That is a change of no mean proportions. Since 1986, when the NRM took over political command, Uganda has witnessed many changes which are there to be recognised, some very positive, others not so positive and some even negative. On balance, however, there has been progress. But will this progress survive the presidential candidature saga? At the time of writing this paper, the newspapers are writing about as many as 19 candidates! Is this a sign of democratic maturity? Or political anarchy? Has Uganda so fundamentally changed that everyone is presidential material or is Uganda going through an elusion? In 1996, three candidates stood for the highest office namely: Museveni, Ssemogerere and Mayanja. This was a major improvement compared to the previous record. The office of president was being competed for openly throughout the whole country. This had never been the case. Museveni won convincingly much as neither Ssemogerere nor Mayanja conceded defeat. Even if anyone could claim unfairness in that election, it could not have been as bad as the case of the recent Bush/Gore election. Yet Gore picked the courage to concede defeat. Mayanja-Kibirige is in the race again. What has Mayanja done in the last five years that has improved his rating on the popular will scale? What has happened in Uganda that now assures him that this time he will not be cheated, if indeed he was cheated? Is it possible that all Ugandans qualify, are able and convincing that they can become president? Something is wrong somewhere. Can Ssebaggala be minister of finance as vote-catcher Awori says? It seems to me that many people do not know what it is to be a president. What is the responsibility of leading a country like Uganda? A car factory in Teso; here is federo; forget about taxes, there will be no poverty; corruption will evaporate, neighbours will be friendly, there will be free education in primary and secondary, there will be peace everywhere and democracy will reign high. If Uganda is going to become a heaven because so and so has entered State House, I beg to keep in hell where I will keep with sinners, who at least made God angry as to be punished. Leaders or aspiring leaders must not be allowed to deceive, despise or cheat the people. Every aspirant is saying I will do this, I will do that. Please be humble enough to say that we shall do this or do that – include others in your vision of tomorrow. Include the people. What is the difference between you and our past dictators? Dear aspirants, you will soon find corruption in your campaign teams if you have not found it already. Poverty is not primarily a political concept. It is an economic and social problem. I am yet to see much analysis of what causes poverty; what causes corruption or how to stop it. If what we are going to be told is, "elect me first and then you will see," I am sorry, I have heard it before. Will Awori get rid of corruption when he is saying it is now the turn of the easterners to eat? Will peace and stability in Uganda come out of federo? What formula are you going to use to make neighbours friendly? The future of Uganda does not lie in how many candidates we field for the presidency; the future lies in the transformation of economically backward Uganda into a viable economic entity. Too many lies are being told to catch votes. Promise people air and you will not last in the presidency. The very day you will win will be the very day you will lose. Unfortunately Ugandans will be the sufferers. Dear aspirants tell the people how you will work with them to economically change Uganda instead of telling them that you have the answer to all the problems. That is a lie. Respect the people; respect their power. A president alone is very powerless. Ends