Your PlatformBy Lillian NalumansiA beggar has no choice, so the saying goes, but in my own experience the reverse is true in Uganda.Yes, in Uganda, a beggar has a choice! I can count beyond my finger tips the number of ‘donation’ occasions I have covered and heard ministers and other public figures use that cliché: “But like Oliver Twist we are asking for more.†Of course we call our well-off counterparts, the Europeans, ‘donors’ since we are grateful they have given us what we cannot afford, but can we have some more?Asking donors for more has become a very acceptable phrase and from my observations; a secretary might be damned if she excludes it from a ‘handing- over-some-items, speech where her boss, a minister or district chairperson will be guest speaker. Thank God I am not a ‘donor’ because I would take back even the little I have offered if I heard that phrase.At a recent European Union donation of eight brand new Ford Ranger double-cabin pick-ups, each worth about sh40m, my fellow country-man started off quite well, and just when I was thanking my God for one who was finally grateful for whatever had been given, the proverbial phrase was blurted out.“I have been spending sleepless nights over the coming of these vehicles (can you imagine?). It has been a long-awaited occasion ...blah, blah, blah,†he said to the highly attentive and smiling European Union Ambassador to Uganda.“We are very grateful for this donation but we are asking for more,†the official continued amidst applause from the district leaders present. “God gracious! I give you a brand new car worth about sh40m and you have the audacity to ask for ‘more’?†I mused to myself.I could write a whole book if I were to list down every single occasion where I have heard this phrase: ‘asking for more’ being said not only by ministers but also Members of Parliament.
