NRM has tackled the bottlenecks to devt

Honourable Members. I greet you all. I caused the convening of this Retreat because the more I read what the likes of Dr. Kanyeihamba, Dr. Onyango Oloka and others from the Westminster Foundation, the more I remember the passage in the Church of Uganda book of common prayers, (page 6), where the prayer of general confession says: “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done and there is no truth in us”. I used to listen to those passages at Kyamate Church of Uganda and they are still stuck in my head. In Runyankore it says “Bakaleka ebibashemereire kukora, bakora ebibatashemereire kukora, namazima tigari muribo” [See also Isaiah 53:6]. Therefore, the Dr. Kanyeihambas and Dr. Onyangos are agents of disorientation.

Agents of disorientation
During the days of the resistance, we resisted and exposed errors of the agents of disorientation; that is why we succeeded. There were the Kayiiras who were preaching adventurism – doing things before conditions were ready. They were also sectarianists – preaching tribalism – having an “Army for Baganda”, an “Army for Banyankore, etc.
There are the Ssemwogereres who aided in the splitting of the UNLF – also for opportunistic and sectarian reasons. I will never forget the Kikunyu Conference in August, 1982 where, we exposed the mistakes of Kayiira before the peasants of Luwero and united our people around the National Resistance Movement (NRM). The exposure of Kayiira’s mistakes went hand in hand with other vigorous measures against the mistake-makers. This included the public execution of Zabuloni and his colleague at Mulule near Semuto for killing ‘Wanainchi’. These and other measures – political and ideological battles as well as disciplinary measures – endeared the NRM to the people of Central and Western Uganda during the phase of resistance.
Similarly, in this phase, after the Minimum Recovery period, we need to wage a vigorous ideological and political struggle against the agents of disorientation – the likes of Dr. Besigye, Dr. Kanyeihamba, Dr. Onyango-Oloka, the persons from Westminster Foundation and other groups. This is in order to defend our correct ideological line and political line hammered out at the Kyankwanzi Conference of 26th March 2003. This is the line of nationalism as opposed to sectarianism; pan-Africanism as opposed to balkanization; modernisation and industrialisation as opposed to neo-colonial perpetual dependency based on a wrong international division of labour that concentrates on only exporting raw materials and no value-addition.
As opposed to this strategic line of the NRM, the Besigyes, Kanyeihambas, Onyango-Olokas, perpetually, try to divert the public’s mind to purely tactical (short or medium term) questions such as ‘Kisanja’ on top of incredible mendacity. Dr. Kanyeihamba, for instance, made the following mendacious statements:
l“NRM Government is concentrating on political games of how to stay in power only”; He said this at an Induction Retreat for MPs on 18th June, 2006;
l“Recycling Ministers, Cabinet after Cabinet causes public discontent and conflict in society”; yet we recycle judges and professors;
l“Nowadays, NRM leadership is riddled with blatant ethnicism, nepotism and personal patronage and that employment in public service depends on one’s loyalty to the NRM leadership and not to the Nation of Uganda”;
l“NRM leadership abandoned its socialist, nationalistic and popular policies in preference for ultra-capitalistic economic ones in which its top leaders or those closest to them benefit personally;
Onyango Oloka in brief, strongly re-echoed all Kanyeihamba’s accusations (like No. 1 and No. 3 above), and many other utterances that he dramatised and exaggerated.
Other politicians like Dr. Besigye have also been making the following mendacious and subversive statements against the NRM:
l“NRM Government will be toppled before the year 2011”, said Dr. Besigye on the Masaka-based Radio Buddu, on Sunday 30th April 2006;
l“NRM President, Museveni, should be booted out of office to save the country from total collapse”. Sunday Vision of 25th June 2006, the FDC boss, Besigye, said that. He also noted that “the NRM supporters and the public would dethrone themselves”. He insisted that “there is no way the NRM Government will stay in power”. “It is a matter of time because the people are disgusted!!”
lHe further emphasised that “NRM Government would collapse because of dictatorial politics, corruption, and the current power supply which has rendered the people helpless;”
Much of this is not only false but also illusory — It is morbid self-delusion. If you concentrate on what they are saying, you will be implementing what is written in the Protestants’ prayer book that I have quoted above.
The Europeans, following the Renaissance, faced the same problem. The crucial ingredients that would propel the European society forward were the economic theories that were evolved by various European philosophers. Some bullionists, such as Thomas Milles (1550-1627) and Gerard de Malynes (1586-1641), believed in an economic theory that defined wealth by the amount of precious metals owned by a country. The Physiocrats, like Richard Cantillon, on the other hand, who were based in France, said that agricultural production was the source of all wealth.

However, the classical economists, such as Adam Smith, correctly pointed out that the correct way forward was specialisation, division of labour and industrialisation. Adam Smith gave the example of manufacturing a pin. He pointed out that that process was broken up into 36 parts. By one person just specialising in one part, the process was very efficient. There were the mercantalists who went abroad, partly robbed, partly traded and made profits from the 16th to 18th Century. They believed that a nation’s wealth came primarily from the accumulation of gold and silver. Nations without mines could obtain gold and silver only by exporting more goods than they would import from abroad and it was a modified form of Bullionism.
Later on Karl Marx castigated private property saying that “it is the source of all evil” and predicted the abolition of private property. These ideological meanderings (like the children of Israel wandering in the desert) caused stagnation, disorientation and tremendous damage to human societies: wars, genocide, slave-trade, colonialism, etc. Yet it is now clear that all this was unnecessary. It is clear that through industrialisation and free trade human societies, provided they are optimally organised, can maximize their welfare. Sweden or Norway did not, in recent centuries, participate in colonialism, slave trade and genocide abroad like England, France, Spain, Portugal, etc did. Yet they are very prosperous today through industrialisation and trade.

The strategic bottlenecks of Africa
This reminds me of Jesus’s conversation with a rich man in Mark 10: 17-21 when he asked Jesus: “What do I need to do in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus answered: “Why do you call me good?” “No-one is good except God alone.” Then Jesus told him all the commandments of God. The man said: “I have done all this since I was a boy.” Then Jesus said: “There is one thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor then you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come and follow me”.
Similarly, the question for Africa, especially Black Africa, is: “What does Africa need to do in order to transform herself from Third World to First World?” to use the words of Lee Kuan Yew – the long-time former Prime Minister of Singapore (many bisanjas). When I addressed the G.8 at Sea Island in the U.S.A on the 8th–10th of June 2003, I pointed out that Black Africa has not only stagnated but actually declined since 1498, when Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, or, to be more precise, since the 15th Century when the first slaves were taken from Sierra Leone, because of eight strategic bottlenecks:

A vast continent, with a lot of natural resources, but with a small population.
Man evolved in Africa first about five million years ago. All human beings today (Indians, Chinese, Europeans, Arabs etc) were Africans until about 100,000 years ago. That is when they started leaving Africa to become, on account of the different environments they found themselves in, the different peoples they are today on various continents.
Nevertheless, the population of the mother Continent remained small compared to the population of the Diaspora. By 1900, the population of the whole of Africa was only 129 million while out of African population was 500 million to almost 2,000 million. Why did the population of Africa stagnate? The main reasons were the diseases of the Tropics caused by the mosquitoes (Malaria), Tsetse flies (sleeping sickness), etc.

Disadvantages of a small population amidst vast resources
1. Complacency among the people. Many Africans waste resources. They are not economical. They are extravagant with the natural resources.
One African author, Cheik Anta Diop, on page 159 of his book “The African Origin of Civilisation: Myth or Reality” points out that the Black populations de-emphasised the art of writing while within the Tropics; yet, as you all know, the art of writing started in Egypt. Ancient Egypt was always linked to the Great Lakes region. Linguistic and art forms evidence proves this. Certainly, the Banyankore retained vestigial forms of writing in heiroglyphics. To take some examples:

meant, obviously a cow;

Y meant enkukuru (cactus euphorbia) – it could also have meant a meeting place for, especially, women because they used it a lot for that purpose; etc etc.

However, among the Banyankore, this art of writing was only used for decorations on walls of buildings (okulaba). Why? The reason could be that in the Tropics record-keeping was not as important as in Egypt where you had to monitor the levels of the Nile, record harvests, etc. Natural resources were too plentiful to bother recording them. Hence, plenty creates complacency.
The other big disadvantage was the failure to form big kingdoms or having formed them, sustaining them. By 1830, Tooro and Bunyoro were still one kingdom. Never mind about the earlier much larger kingdom of the Bachwezi that included Ankole, Buganda, Busoga, North-Western Tanzania etc. Nevertheless, this smaller Bunyoro Kingdom of the 1800s was also quite large. It included much of what is now Buganda (the so called Lost counties – they are not lost, they are within Uganda) as well as the real lost Counties that were put in Congo (Bunia, Butembo, Mbooga etc) and Tooro. Yet the break up of the Bunyoro–Tooro Kingdom was quite casual. The King of Bunyoro (Kyebambe-Nyamutukura) had lived for a long time (Kuhwiita). His son, Kaboyo, became impatient. He, therefore, curved off Tooro and declared himself a King. When the armies wanted to go and attack him, Kyebambe stopped them. He told them: “Do not kill my son. Let him also take that part.” Why this casualness? Plentiful natural resources and a small population.
This was not so bad as long as we were by ourselves – Africans versus Africans. The peoples from Cameroon to South Africa, from the pre-Arab Egypt to South Africa were either the same or linked linguistically and culturally. The other night I was watching a Nigerian film where the Igbos were making a whistling sound by applying their mouths to their hands (esheegu as it is known in Runyankore). Yet these similar people were fragmented into numerous kingdoms and chiefdoms. These tiny kingdoms could not withstand the onslaught of European Colonialism. They were too small. Some people try to say that Africa was colonised because of low level of technology. This is only part of the story.
China and Japan were not yet using gunpowder when they came into contact with the Europeans. They, however, defeated the Europeans who tried to conquer them, preserved their independence and they have now overtaken the Europeans. China is about to overtake America in development. Why? Partly because of size. China was not swallowable. The size of China was its guarantor. Therefore, Africa’s failure to evolve and sustain large pre-colonial political kingdoms was one of its greatest strategic disadvantages when we faced the more organised foreigners. The small, pre-Colonial tribal units were the greatest enemies of the Black race in the past and even today. Yes, our tribes had evolved very rich languages, cultures, medicine and science that we are preserving (I am writing a Runyankore–Rukiga dictionary), the Natural Chemo-therapeutic centre at Wandegeya etc.
However, the tribe was a weak unit politically and strategically. By 1900 the whole of Africa had been colonised except for Ethiopia. That was the greatest vote of “no confidence in the tribe”. Ethiopia defeated colonialism for a time because it was reasonably large. However, they were also briefly conquered later in 1935 because of the feudal leadership that was in charge of the country that failed to organise a People’s protracted war.

It is amazing, therefore, to see modern African scholars not emphasising this weakness. In spite of these small tribal units, the people of Africa had made great strides in science, medicine, language, culture, etc. They had developed agriculture. African Blacksmiths could identify iron ore (obutare), heat it in the presence of charcoal (amakara) in order to cause the oxygen in the Ferrous oxide (obutare) to combine with the carbon (charcoal), forming carbondioxide and leaving free iron for further shaping into the required implements. This was great science for that time.
In fact it is only recently that other races have gone a step beyond this by evolving synthetic materials for space–ships, etc. The problem, however, was the weak political units – the tribal units or the short–lived supra-tribal units such as the Bachwezi Empire or the Bunyoro-Kitara Empire.
2. Disadvantage number one above led to disadvantage number two – the conquest of the whole of Africa except Ethiopia by 1900 and the consequent privations that were visited on Africa – wars, slave trade and, above all, loss of sovereignty. Loss of sovereignty meant the loss of independence in decision-making. This, then, led to the total distortions in the production patterns, wiping out or interfering with the millennia old scientific gains (iron industry, wood industry, leather industry, ceramics, medicine, etc). They also interfered with the rich culture, etc.
Instead of “Africa producing what we consumed and consuming what we produced, Africa after colonialism, started producing what we did not consume and consuming what we did not produce.” These were the beautiful catchwords of the Lagos Plan of Action that was the harbinger (fore-runner) of the ECOWAS, COMESA, etc of today.
3. The curse of producing and exporting raw materials and importing finished goods was born. This meant the introduction into world trade of the unfair and parasitic international division of labour. Uganda had to now grow cotton, gin it and stop there. The spinning, the weaving, the printing of colours and patterns as well as tailoring would be done outside. Translated into today’s prices, this means that while Uganda would get US $ 1 per kilogram of lint cotton (after removing the seeds), the foreigners who buy our cotton would transform it into garments and get US $ 14 for the same kilo of cotton. Hence, Uganda, for the last 100 years, has been aiding Britain and other countries abroad with US $ 13 in every one kilogram of cotton exported. This also means that we export the spinning, weaving, printing and tailoring jobs to the foreigners.
Exporting of raw-materials is a strategic mistake because the prices are always going down due to sometimes an over-supply of the concerned commodities since they are easy to supply by many of the countries in the tropics (Vietnam, Colombia etc); as science changes, less of the raw materials are used or alternative ones are found; due to protectionism in Europe, Japan and North America on sugar, beef, milk, cotton, wheat etc, the backward countries are forced to crowd on the few with free access such as coffee, tea, etc; and they, then, drive the prices down with oversupply.
4. The colonisation of Africa did not cure the original problem of Africa – fragmented political units. The 53 colonies, which later on became independent countries, were still too fragmented. They worsened the situation by introducing rigid borders and so-called citizenship, trying to imitate the European countries. Hence, they tore up communities such as the Bakonjo, Banyankore, Banyarwanda, Bamba, Banyoro, Alurs, Lugbara, Kakwa, Acholi, Karamojong, Pokot, Teso, Samia, Bahaya, Bakooki etc. The borders cut off people from their natural resources – rivers, lakes, the coast etc. Africa has the highest number of landlocked countries. You may be efficient in production in the landlocked country. You will, however, be stifled by how the coastal states manage the railways, the ports etc. In the pre-Colonial dispensation, there was, actually, freedom of trade and freedom of movement of peoples.
Textiles, glass beads (enkwanzi), guns etc were being brought by Abarungaanwa (Waungwaana) who were the Wanyamwezi from Tabora in Tanzania and would be exchanged for ivory, leather, gold, salt and other forms of mercantile. There were no delays and no customs duties other than occasional gifts to the chiefs. Besides, a member of any Kingdom could go and pledge loyalty to the King of another Kingdom (Kwehonga) and he would, thereafter, become “the man” of the new King (Omushaija w’omugabe, Mussajja wa Kabaka etc). Therefore, what is equivalent to “citizenship” today was dependent on loyalty (kwehonga – to pledge loyalty) rather than the frozen concept of citizenship of today. Hence, the pre-colonial dispensation guaranteed freer trade and freedom of movement of people than today’s neo-colonial situation. The balkanization continues. The 53 states are, individually, too small to be strategically viable except for Congo, if it was well governed. These small countries, have got small populations that do not provide a big market that would encourage local industries and lure foreign investors. Look at China and India. They are now roaring successes never mind that China is still a Communist Country without “multi-partyism”, “term limits” etc so loved by the Kanyeihambas and Onyango Olokas. China has now overtaken all the European countries and will, in the next 20 years, overtake the U.S.A. Of course, the issue of democracy will, at some stage, be dealt with by the Chinese themselves – not by foreigners. How can a huge population of educated, skilled people fail, in the end, to evolve a system of “Government of the people, by the people and for the people?”
The point, however, is that the vast China (3 million square miles, 1.3 billion people) has got the ingredients for modernisation, transformation and, eventually, enlightened democracy in contrast to the fragmented neo-colonies of Africa without the stimulus of a big market. China now is exporting more than any country in the world. Why? On account of its huge internal market, the enterprises in China become very profitable. What they do not sell within China, they export cheaply and, therefore, under-sell the producers in small countries like Uganda. By selling to their huge internal market, they become viable. They can, then, afford to sell cheaply abroad.
Point No. 9 of the NRM Ten-Point Programme called for the “ending of the balkanization of Africa” (the political fragmentation). There was also Point No. 5 of the same programme of “building an integrated, self-sustaining economy through industrialisation” that answers the problem of exporting raw-materials above. The radios, the Kanyeihambas, however, are 99 per cent busy with petty issues like “Global Fund”, “Kisanja” and others. If there are thieves, the NRM Government is best placed to catch them because it has dealt with worse problems in the past. The danger with the phenomenon of continued balkanization is that we are not engaged in strategic technological scientific research.
The economic integration processes going on in Africa do not answer this problem (ECOWAS, EAC, SADDEC etc). Why? Because the ECOWAS members do not do scientific research together; they do not plan or execute defence research together. Yet, individually, none of the African countries can do this strategic research by itself because they are too small. Consequently, you get countries like the U.S.A. who are now aiming at what they call “four-dimensional superiority” – superiority on land, air, sea and space!! Where does that leave the Black race? We defeated colonialism in Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and South Africa itself because the Europeans did not have superiority or even presence in space. What will happen to us since they are now achieving this? In the meantime, the whole of Black Africa are busy watching and shouting at the ‘World Cup’ on European and American televisions? We are like sheep waiting for slaughter.

Undeveloped human resource People without education and in poor health leave a lot of their potential latent. However, mis-education is also dangerous. To have our people, supposedly educated, worshipping the oppressors and preaching subservience or obscurantism is a disaster. It must be resisted and defeated. Otherwise, education and patriotism is a sine qua non of transformation. Look at China and India. Indian scientists put on their pyjama-looking attires and are not bothered with imitating anybody. Guided by Nehru, Mao tse Tung and Deng Hsiao Ping, India and China have chartered an independent path of development and made it. Black Africa will do the same. However, we must defeat the ideological disorientation. Without patriotism, you may have educated people who do not build their country and who, instead, emigrate to other countries.
In the case of Uganda, we have started addressing this bottleneck. We started UPE that has proved a roaring success. Approximately, 3.6 million pupils have gone through Universal Primary Education (UPE) in the last nine years, and 1,958,764 students have passed their examinations for the last seven years. We are now moving towards Universal Secondary Education (USE). We are also laying emphasis on science education.
On health, we have controlled HIV-AIDS. We have introduced Uganda National Expanded Programme for Immunisation (UNEPI). The Ministry of Health has been directed to work out a strategic master plan to ensure that 90% of the sicknesses are prevented rather than waiting to treat them. Our limited interventions, their limitations notwithstanding, have already resulted in the expansion of our population from 14 million in 1986 to 28 million today. I am not one of those worried about the “Population explosion.” This is a great resource. We must, however, industrialise to cope and profitably utilise this great resource – the population. Japan has no oil, no gold, no land for agriculture. It is, however, the second richest economy in the World today. Why? On account of their human resource – educated, skilled, healthy and patriotic. The NRM is not like UPC who, in 1962, promised to introduce UPE but failed to deliver it.

Infrastructure Underdevelopment
The lack of easy communication is pre-colonial Africa, on account of thick forests, deserts, etc., also accounted for the slow spread of ideas, and impacted negatively on growth. Poor infrastructure today (electricity, rails, roads, harbours, etc) means high costs of doing business, which undermines our competitiveness. The FDC elements in the 6th Parliament sabotaged us on electricity and Uganda Airlines. We are, however, now moving, never to stop again. The power dams will be built; the railways will be upgraded, etc. What we have already done has been commendable.
On social infrastructure (schools, health centres, etc) we have done a great job. The permanent classrooms were, for instance, 28,000 in 1986. They are now 74,000 classrooms.

Suppressing the private sector
The phenomenon of our leaders suppressing the private sector through “nationalizations” or disrupting the “investor” populations, such as the Indians in 1972, held Black Africa back in the 1960s. By independence, Ghana and Nigeria were much better off than South Korea and Singapore. Uganda was not badly off compared to the two. Today, South Korea and Singapore are far ahead. Why? Interfering with the private sector in the 1960s.
The NRM led the crusade in the late 1980s of removing the obstacles from the private sector. It was considered heresy in Africa at that time to take that road. Everybody in Africa has now imitated us. Uganda has benefited from the removal of this bottleneck. Our annual average rate of GDP growth has been 6.1% per annum in the last ten years. The size of the GDP of Uganda has more than tripled to US $ 33 billion if you use the PPP method. If the political class resolutely supported the private sector, the growth and transformation would be faster. By the NRM resolving this strategic bottleneck as well as taming the Army and other security forces, the NRM, at one stroke, ensured Uganda’s minimum recovery, the other unresolved issues (transport to the sea, high interest rates, etc), notwithstanding. Goods and services have been plentiful for a long time, inflation has been low and many other economic achievements have been registered. The problem of unemployment and a narrow tax base is because other strategic bottlenecks have not been resolved.

Lack of personal freedoms (democracy)
While I do not agree with the obscurantists like Kanyeihamba who behaves as if a certain variety of democracy or some of its element is the only strategic bottleneck for Africa’s growth, it will only improve performance when human freedom and dignity are protected.

One factor that aided colonialism was the cruelty of the kings of the small pre-colonial tribal states. The cruelty of Mwanga vis a vis the Christians at Namugongo aided the colonialists in taking over Uganda. The Christian message of “all people being equal before God” had attracted Ugandans when they contrasted it with the cruelty of the kings – arbitrary killings, confiscation of property (kunogora) etc. The Soviet Union, following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, developed very fast, overtaking the Western countries. It is the Soviet Union that defeated fascist Germany the noise and the self-praise by the Western countries notwithstanding. By the 1930s, USSR Scientists such as Audrey Nikolayevich Tupolev had invented the jet engine for air-crafts, far ahead of the West. However, the dictatorial system of Stalin would stifle them. However, Russia has now emerged again under Putin. The Chinese, on the other hand, led by the resolute Communist Party and the time–tested Red Army, resisted the clownisim of Gorbachev and the schemes of the West. They, instead, liberalised the economy first under conditions of stability and discipline. The issue of wider democracy will be dealt with by the Chinese people in their own way, at their own pace.
The NRM, long ago, rejected the idea that certain external forces, completely devoid of any moral authority, administering lectures about how Uganda should move in terms of democratic freedoms. We first targeted the colonially-fomented sectarianism (religious and tribal). We used individual merit competition until we judged that time was ripe to go for group competition (multi-partyism). We were pioneers in Africa on freedom of the press. The challenge is to discipline these elements of media so that they do not tell lies and, therefore, confuse people. This will be handled firmly and decisively as you all know.
In my view, the eight factors above have been the strategic bottlenecks that caused Africa to lag behind other continents in terms of development; caused the slave trade; colonialism; economic distortions and poverty; are still responsible for the present stagnation of Africa; and still pose a threat to the future prosperity or even survival of the Black race.
The NRM has solved four of the eight strategic bottlenecks: private sector-led growth; started addressing the infrastructure issues; started addressing human resources development through U.P.E, U.S.E, science education and general expansion of education at all levels; and pioneered, developed and consolidated democracy in the country including the taming of the army and undermining sectarianism.
Together with our partners in Kenya and Tanzania and, hopefully, other interested neighbours, we are vigorously pursuing the cause of ending Africa’s political balkanization on this side of our continent. A federated East Africa will be approaching the size of India. Such a unit can engage in strategic research, would create a big market, rationalise the use of natural resources, etc. The NRM has long struggled to address the issue of exporting raw materials. Point No.5 of the NRM Ten-Point programme addressed this. We have moved in a few areas: fish and milk. Eventually, we shall export, on a sustained basis, textiles, processed coffee, leather, etc. Internally (import–substitution), we produce soap, batteries, textiles, etc.
The problem of a small population in the midst of plentiful natural resources is being solved by population expansion on account of improved health services.
What has emerged from this discussion is that a Country like China which does not have the sort of liberal institutions that are so much emphasised by some of the elite of Uganda, is doing better economically than Countries like Senegal, Kenya, etc. that have been following liberal policies. This is because China long ago addressed some of the bottlenecks that had crippled Africa. The most prominent of those ingredients is the size of China in land area and population. Even without democracy as we understand it in the West and other parts of the World, China is a roaring success because it has addressed the other bottlenecks.
I thank you.
Ends