Katikkiro needs people’s mandate
Jan 11, 2006
Taxpayers world over are legitimate constituents who have a duty to engage those managing public policy issues for purposes of accountability.
Taxpayers world over are legitimate constituents who have a duty to engage those managing public policy issues for purposes of accountability.
This duty is noble because in our midst are the good, the bad and the ugly handling our social engineering and governance. In my opinion, Mengo is playing too much politics on the issue of the election of the Buganda Prime Minister (Katikkiro).
The executive Prime Minister will handle huge public resources at the apex of the regional tier, from the central government which indeed is taxpayers’ money. The Kabaka and his lieutenants (Bataka) want an appointed Prime Minister by a cultural monarch (born King). The inhabitants of Buganda are not all culturally responsible to the Kabaka but hold a healthy respect for the institution. Is the institution assuming our loyalty to the Kabakaship deliberately or simply arm-twisting the central government on the obvious?
The diversity of Buganda, like any other region of Uganda, does not encourage any structural formation that assumes cultural loyalty when matters of public resources are involved. I can dare say, the appointment of the Katikkiro would technically spell doom for the institution.
Any abuse of public resources, which is now typical of public administration in Uganda, would cause resentment from some of us and we do not fear any of these politicians but respect the Kabaka in his position as a cultural head.
Ugandans must not allow any structural entities formed deliberately to perpetuate predation but those aimed at enhancing production, through popular involvement, so that Ugandans harness their environment for the future generation. The issue of the President of Uganda appointing a Prime Minister of Uganda does not mirror a “born-king†appointing one of his friends to manage public funds.
The president is an elected individual whose tenancy of the highest office in the land is subject to elections unlike the Kabaka. Does anyone see things my way?
To have a Prime Minister, who handles our taxes, appointed by someone (Kabaka) we pay no cultural allegiance to will simply be a negation of the tenets of modern democratic principle. What is the interest of the Kabaka in appointing a Prime Minister to be in charge of public resources? These are not cultural resources. This is our hard earned money from which we expect the handlers to fix our social service interests to further our productivity. To whom does the Kabaka want the Prime Minister to account to? Is the Katitkkiro meant to serve the Kabaka or the tax-payers?
The money to be handed to the regional tier by the centre is not from Mengo but our hard earned money we pay through the multitude of taxes to the state. It therefore means, since the institution is cushioned from embarrassing abrasion typical of modern politics, the only person for ordinary citizens to directly deal with is the Prime Minister whose contract they must renew depending on performance.
Not even electoral colleges must be involved in the election of the Katikkiro. All Ugandans residing in Buganda should go out to vote for that individual who they shall periodically subject to elections as a safety net against abuse, corruption and incompetence.
We do not want a situation where we have a prime minister appointed by the Kabaka becoming a bottle-neck to our aspirations, which could force us to fight him using guns as Ugandans have historically done to all those who have abused our trust. Here we would be fighting the Kabakaship since we would have no alternative. We simply want our natural duty as citizens to terminate our contract with the Katikkiro who fails to deliver on our public policy interests.The roads, sound health systems, security, education system and all those issues of concern to the general public are not for the Kabaka but the ordinary people in Buganda and Uganda.
Mengo must learn to synchronise her interests with that of broader Uganda in order to create political harmony for the country.
The writer is a Network Engineer residing in Buganda
This duty is noble because in our midst are the good, the bad and the ugly handling our social engineering and governance. In my opinion, Mengo is playing too much politics on the issue of the election of the Buganda Prime Minister (Katikkiro).
The executive Prime Minister will handle huge public resources at the apex of the regional tier, from the central government which indeed is taxpayers’ money. The Kabaka and his lieutenants (Bataka) want an appointed Prime Minister by a cultural monarch (born King). The inhabitants of Buganda are not all culturally responsible to the Kabaka but hold a healthy respect for the institution. Is the institution assuming our loyalty to the Kabakaship deliberately or simply arm-twisting the central government on the obvious?
The diversity of Buganda, like any other region of Uganda, does not encourage any structural formation that assumes cultural loyalty when matters of public resources are involved. I can dare say, the appointment of the Katikkiro would technically spell doom for the institution.
Any abuse of public resources, which is now typical of public administration in Uganda, would cause resentment from some of us and we do not fear any of these politicians but respect the Kabaka in his position as a cultural head.
Ugandans must not allow any structural entities formed deliberately to perpetuate predation but those aimed at enhancing production, through popular involvement, so that Ugandans harness their environment for the future generation. The issue of the President of Uganda appointing a Prime Minister of Uganda does not mirror a “born-king†appointing one of his friends to manage public funds.
The president is an elected individual whose tenancy of the highest office in the land is subject to elections unlike the Kabaka. Does anyone see things my way?
To have a Prime Minister, who handles our taxes, appointed by someone (Kabaka) we pay no cultural allegiance to will simply be a negation of the tenets of modern democratic principle. What is the interest of the Kabaka in appointing a Prime Minister to be in charge of public resources? These are not cultural resources. This is our hard earned money from which we expect the handlers to fix our social service interests to further our productivity. To whom does the Kabaka want the Prime Minister to account to? Is the Katitkkiro meant to serve the Kabaka or the tax-payers?
The money to be handed to the regional tier by the centre is not from Mengo but our hard earned money we pay through the multitude of taxes to the state. It therefore means, since the institution is cushioned from embarrassing abrasion typical of modern politics, the only person for ordinary citizens to directly deal with is the Prime Minister whose contract they must renew depending on performance.
Not even electoral colleges must be involved in the election of the Katikkiro. All Ugandans residing in Buganda should go out to vote for that individual who they shall periodically subject to elections as a safety net against abuse, corruption and incompetence.
We do not want a situation where we have a prime minister appointed by the Kabaka becoming a bottle-neck to our aspirations, which could force us to fight him using guns as Ugandans have historically done to all those who have abused our trust. Here we would be fighting the Kabakaship since we would have no alternative. We simply want our natural duty as citizens to terminate our contract with the Katikkiro who fails to deliver on our public policy interests.The roads, sound health systems, security, education system and all those issues of concern to the general public are not for the Kabaka but the ordinary people in Buganda and Uganda.
Mengo must learn to synchronise her interests with that of broader Uganda in order to create political harmony for the country.
The writer is a Network Engineer residing in Buganda