Butime, Rugumayo were right!
Jun 19, 2006
SIR — Some people have blamed Tom Butime for resigning his ministerial appointment as state minister for karamoja affairs. But I am happy he has. First of all, the whole concept of having a ministry for a region says volumes about the region.
SIR — Some people have blamed Tom Butime for resigning his ministerial appointment as state minister for karamoja affairs. But I am happy he has. First of all, the whole concept of having a ministry for a region says volumes about the region.
A ministry for karamoja will not solve its problems. A different approach will have to be adopted.
What is the budget for karamoja if it exists and what has the NRM done for Karamoja since 1986? It seems the portfolio was given to Butime for lack of something better!
He has held the portfolios of minister of state long enough and needs to get on.
Apparently, it seems the Toro region is only good enough for ministers of state. Adolf Mwesige is once again a minister of state but at least he is not as senior as Tom Butime. True, the appointing authority can decide who goes where but there should also be some measure of discretion in the decision.
Some people suspect it was done deliberately to frustrate him. In a society where tribal sentiments are very high, certain political decisions are interpreted to be targeting particular groups. This may be played down as petty but we only have to look at other appointees and where they come from to make some assessment.
Butime’s appointment comes after Prof Edward Rugumayo was dropped from the ministry of trade and tourism and posted to France as an ambassador. Rugumayo is an old man in his 70s and had lived abroad for many years, so why couldn’t the appointing authority be sensitive about such issues?
Rugumayo, like Butime, also declined the appointment and I think it was a wise move. Uganda’s missions and embassies operate on a shoe-string budget and a diplomat is not expected to explain oneself to the host country.
Why should the old man have accepted to suffer in the cold weather of France as if he can’t serve his country better here at home?
When he should have been settling down at home that was when it was considered appropriate to send him to France! Why is it that it is becoming a habit for the President to reserve inconsequential positions for certain people?
Now Butime will serve as Mwenge North MP and this will demonstrate that there is life beyond being a minister in Uganda. Not everybody can jump at the opportunity like Eriya Kategaya has done.
Johnson Kwebiha
Kyenjojo
A ministry for karamoja will not solve its problems. A different approach will have to be adopted.
What is the budget for karamoja if it exists and what has the NRM done for Karamoja since 1986? It seems the portfolio was given to Butime for lack of something better!
He has held the portfolios of minister of state long enough and needs to get on.
Apparently, it seems the Toro region is only good enough for ministers of state. Adolf Mwesige is once again a minister of state but at least he is not as senior as Tom Butime. True, the appointing authority can decide who goes where but there should also be some measure of discretion in the decision.
Some people suspect it was done deliberately to frustrate him. In a society where tribal sentiments are very high, certain political decisions are interpreted to be targeting particular groups. This may be played down as petty but we only have to look at other appointees and where they come from to make some assessment.
Butime’s appointment comes after Prof Edward Rugumayo was dropped from the ministry of trade and tourism and posted to France as an ambassador. Rugumayo is an old man in his 70s and had lived abroad for many years, so why couldn’t the appointing authority be sensitive about such issues?
Rugumayo, like Butime, also declined the appointment and I think it was a wise move. Uganda’s missions and embassies operate on a shoe-string budget and a diplomat is not expected to explain oneself to the host country.
Why should the old man have accepted to suffer in the cold weather of France as if he can’t serve his country better here at home?
When he should have been settling down at home that was when it was considered appropriate to send him to France! Why is it that it is becoming a habit for the President to reserve inconsequential positions for certain people?
Now Butime will serve as Mwenge North MP and this will demonstrate that there is life beyond being a minister in Uganda. Not everybody can jump at the opportunity like Eriya Kategaya has done.
Johnson Kwebiha
Kyenjojo