Change is good, Pike says at farewell party
Dec 26, 2006
“I think change is not a bad thing. There is need to change,†the outgoing managing director of The New Vision, William Pike, said during his emotional farewell speech on Saturday.
By Geresom Musamali
“I think change is not a bad thing. There is need to change,†the outgoing managing director of The New Vision, William Pike, said during his emotional farewell speech on Saturday.
“When you have spent time in a place, complacency might set in. A new person who comes in notices these things. I do not leave with the sense of despair that The New Vision is about to collapse. I leave with the confidence that the company will move to greater heights.â€
Pike, who headed the paper for 20 years, called upon the staff to cooperate with the new team and continue to improve the quality of the paper.
The senior presidential adviser on media affairs and public relations, John Nagenda, was the guest of honour at the function, which also doubled as the staff end-of-year party. It was held at the company’s head office in the presence of Pike’s wife Cathy Watson, his mother-in-law and his two children.
Pike, who said he was under instructions from his wife not to weep, assured the gathering that Uganda’s leading newspaper is still very strong. “It is still in the lead by about 30% over its competitors.â€
He recalled the miserable conditions of 1986, when he and a few others founded the flagship paper. The initial plot, he said, was occupied by a brothel and a bar for crude waragi. He narrated how he had no knowledge of balance sheets or accounts when he arrived from London to take up the job.
“There was just a man who would put the money received from the sales in a drawer and take from that same drawer to pay whoever needed money. We have moved a long way from there. Now we have a sound accounting system.â€
He expressed gratitude for having had the chance to serve at The New Vision. “It has been a tremendous opportunity for me to be here. I know much more now. Uganda and The New Vision have made me what I am.â€
The man who has become a legend in the Ugandan media assured the public he would remain in the country. “I do not think this is the end of my relationship with The New Vision and with Uganda. I am not leaving Uganda. I say goodbye but only for now.â€
Pike came to the country in the early eighties to cover President Yoweri Museveni’s guerrilla war for the British newspaper The Observer and South Magazine.
He was called back to head The New Vision in 1986, after the NRM had captured power.
Nagenda in his address revealed that Pike took the job which he declined at the time because he believed there were no facilities on the ground to guarantee a good media product.
“I am glad that I did not accept the job, otherwise you would not have returned to our country,†Nagenda said.
He cautioned incoming managing director, Robert Kabushenga, that it would be very difficult to step into Pike’s shoes, considering he has size 14.
“I think change is not a bad thing. There is need to change,†the outgoing managing director of The New Vision, William Pike, said during his emotional farewell speech on Saturday.
“When you have spent time in a place, complacency might set in. A new person who comes in notices these things. I do not leave with the sense of despair that The New Vision is about to collapse. I leave with the confidence that the company will move to greater heights.â€
Pike, who headed the paper for 20 years, called upon the staff to cooperate with the new team and continue to improve the quality of the paper.
The senior presidential adviser on media affairs and public relations, John Nagenda, was the guest of honour at the function, which also doubled as the staff end-of-year party. It was held at the company’s head office in the presence of Pike’s wife Cathy Watson, his mother-in-law and his two children.
Pike, who said he was under instructions from his wife not to weep, assured the gathering that Uganda’s leading newspaper is still very strong. “It is still in the lead by about 30% over its competitors.â€
He recalled the miserable conditions of 1986, when he and a few others founded the flagship paper. The initial plot, he said, was occupied by a brothel and a bar for crude waragi. He narrated how he had no knowledge of balance sheets or accounts when he arrived from London to take up the job.
“There was just a man who would put the money received from the sales in a drawer and take from that same drawer to pay whoever needed money. We have moved a long way from there. Now we have a sound accounting system.â€
He expressed gratitude for having had the chance to serve at The New Vision. “It has been a tremendous opportunity for me to be here. I know much more now. Uganda and The New Vision have made me what I am.â€
The man who has become a legend in the Ugandan media assured the public he would remain in the country. “I do not think this is the end of my relationship with The New Vision and with Uganda. I am not leaving Uganda. I say goodbye but only for now.â€
Pike came to the country in the early eighties to cover President Yoweri Museveni’s guerrilla war for the British newspaper The Observer and South Magazine.
He was called back to head The New Vision in 1986, after the NRM had captured power.
Nagenda in his address revealed that Pike took the job which he declined at the time because he believed there were no facilities on the ground to guarantee a good media product.
“I am glad that I did not accept the job, otherwise you would not have returned to our country,†Nagenda said.
He cautioned incoming managing director, Robert Kabushenga, that it would be very difficult to step into Pike’s shoes, considering he has size 14.