President Museveni is not Atlas, the Greek god
Oct 13, 2008
President Yoweri Museveni has been traversing the country popularising and opening people’s eyes to the Bonna Baggaggawale—prosperity for all —programme.
KARORO OKURUT
A LITERARY AND SOCIO-POLITICAL ANALYST
President Yoweri Museveni has been traversing the country popularising and opening people’s eyes to the Bonna Baggaggawale—prosperity for all —programme.
The programme, which was
the hallmark of his 2006 election
campaign, is premised on the idea that for a nation to move forward, there ought to be a balance between economic growth (the general increase of wealth in the economy) and economic development (the translation of that wealth into meaningful improvement in the lives of people across the board).
Bonna baggaggawale is critical
for Uganda because it is possible
to have wealth kept in the hands of a few people, while the rest are poor, something which would not only be unequitable, but also capable of fomenting discontent, rebellion and terrorism.
Bonna baggaggawale is a seven-pillar package focusing on production and productivity,
provision of marketing and agro-processing with emphasis
on value addition, increasing
access to financial services and
provision of water for production.
It also includes post-harvest handling, rural infrastructure and developing a community information system.
One problem Uganda is facing
is that people have zeroed in on
the financial pillar and disregarded
the rest, a misconception that can actually be dangerous because you could end up with lots of people all waiting to be given cash.
We have seen people in many places asking “where is the bonna baggaggawale money?†That is all they are waiting for.
These seven pillars are mutually
interdependent and come as a package – you cannot separate one from the rest.
A keen look at global trends will tell you that most of the world’s poor live in countries where governments lack either the will or the ability to raise living standards on their own.
Donor aid to such governments,
therefore, has often not helped
their neediest citizens.
Since the end of World War II, roughly $1 trillion has been spent on grants and loans to fight poverty all over the world.
But in spite of that, almost three billion people – half of the world’s population – still wallows in poverty, living on less than two dollars a day; a fifth get by on less than one dollar.
As a matter of fact, donor aid has sometimes even worsened
the plight of the poor, by sustaining the corrupt or otherwise inefficient governments that caused their misery in the first place.
In such mismanaged countries—
which number close to 70—a way must be found to change the basic system. What the President is trying to do therefore is, reduce poverty by attacking its causes.
I liked the words of a Havard
professor who said: “In much of
the developing world, the poor
lack faith that changing their lives is possible. Few believe in the existence of a social or economic ladder that, with the proper education, they could use to climb out of their poverty.
As a result of such despondency,
children are not encouraged to go to school; many fail to attend at all or drop out early.â€
Museveni is therefore spot-on in going around the country teaching people that if they would just believe in themselves, and embrace the available solutions, poverty can become history before long.
In my own constituency in
Bushenyi, I know many people
who have taken up the President’s clarion call and are engaged in various enterprises — livestock, cultivation, commerce, etc. Things are certainly looking on the up for them. But the President cannot do this alone—he is not the Greek god Atlas, who carried the whole world on his shoulders.
Therest of the country needs to play their part, especially those in strategic places.
As a responsible leader, the
President has provided the conducive atmosphere essential for
prosperity to thrive and he is investing time in waking up the
nation to embrace the new possibilities.
The rest of us need to take it up from here. With over 100 FM radio stations spread around the country, Uganda has a unique opportunity to take the Bonna baggaggawale message to every corner.
In developed countries, when a government has a public benefit
programme that it wants to popularise, the media take it up
free of charge for the simple
reason that it is for the common
good. It would be critical for Government to introduce a policy to this effect.
If you had all the radio stations
belting out the same message
to Uganda’s millions of people, the impact would be incredible. They do not have to do this all day everyday; a few minutes on a daily basis devoted to public interest broadcasting would be effective.
For example, if they took a few minutes to explain poverty alleviation interventions, or urging people to take their children to school or fight early marriages
and dropping out of school,
that would be an immense contribution.
One justification for running
these messages free is that the
benefits are long-term and
across the board.
When Uganda emerges out of poverty, everyone benefits. Those with something to sell have more
buyers, those with a service to
offer have more users, and
those who spent most of their
income in donating to the less
privileged would no longer
have to keep donating.
There would be something for
everyone – we’d all be partners
in profit.
A LITERARY AND SOCIO-POLITICAL ANALYST
President Yoweri Museveni has been traversing the country popularising and opening people’s eyes to the Bonna Baggaggawale—prosperity for all —programme.
The programme, which was
the hallmark of his 2006 election
campaign, is premised on the idea that for a nation to move forward, there ought to be a balance between economic growth (the general increase of wealth in the economy) and economic development (the translation of that wealth into meaningful improvement in the lives of people across the board).
Bonna baggaggawale is critical
for Uganda because it is possible
to have wealth kept in the hands of a few people, while the rest are poor, something which would not only be unequitable, but also capable of fomenting discontent, rebellion and terrorism.
Bonna baggaggawale is a seven-pillar package focusing on production and productivity,
provision of marketing and agro-processing with emphasis
on value addition, increasing
access to financial services and
provision of water for production.
It also includes post-harvest handling, rural infrastructure and developing a community information system.
One problem Uganda is facing
is that people have zeroed in on
the financial pillar and disregarded
the rest, a misconception that can actually be dangerous because you could end up with lots of people all waiting to be given cash.
We have seen people in many places asking “where is the bonna baggaggawale money?†That is all they are waiting for.
These seven pillars are mutually
interdependent and come as a package – you cannot separate one from the rest.
A keen look at global trends will tell you that most of the world’s poor live in countries where governments lack either the will or the ability to raise living standards on their own.
Donor aid to such governments,
therefore, has often not helped
their neediest citizens.
Since the end of World War II, roughly $1 trillion has been spent on grants and loans to fight poverty all over the world.
But in spite of that, almost three billion people – half of the world’s population – still wallows in poverty, living on less than two dollars a day; a fifth get by on less than one dollar.
As a matter of fact, donor aid has sometimes even worsened
the plight of the poor, by sustaining the corrupt or otherwise inefficient governments that caused their misery in the first place.
In such mismanaged countries—
which number close to 70—a way must be found to change the basic system. What the President is trying to do therefore is, reduce poverty by attacking its causes.
I liked the words of a Havard
professor who said: “In much of
the developing world, the poor
lack faith that changing their lives is possible. Few believe in the existence of a social or economic ladder that, with the proper education, they could use to climb out of their poverty.
As a result of such despondency,
children are not encouraged to go to school; many fail to attend at all or drop out early.â€
Museveni is therefore spot-on in going around the country teaching people that if they would just believe in themselves, and embrace the available solutions, poverty can become history before long.
In my own constituency in
Bushenyi, I know many people
who have taken up the President’s clarion call and are engaged in various enterprises — livestock, cultivation, commerce, etc. Things are certainly looking on the up for them. But the President cannot do this alone—he is not the Greek god Atlas, who carried the whole world on his shoulders.
Therest of the country needs to play their part, especially those in strategic places.
As a responsible leader, the
President has provided the conducive atmosphere essential for
prosperity to thrive and he is investing time in waking up the
nation to embrace the new possibilities.
The rest of us need to take it up from here. With over 100 FM radio stations spread around the country, Uganda has a unique opportunity to take the Bonna baggaggawale message to every corner.
In developed countries, when a government has a public benefit
programme that it wants to popularise, the media take it up
free of charge for the simple
reason that it is for the common
good. It would be critical for Government to introduce a policy to this effect.
If you had all the radio stations
belting out the same message
to Uganda’s millions of people, the impact would be incredible. They do not have to do this all day everyday; a few minutes on a daily basis devoted to public interest broadcasting would be effective.
For example, if they took a few minutes to explain poverty alleviation interventions, or urging people to take their children to school or fight early marriages
and dropping out of school,
that would be an immense contribution.
One justification for running
these messages free is that the
benefits are long-term and
across the board.
When Uganda emerges out of poverty, everyone benefits. Those with something to sell have more
buyers, those with a service to
offer have more users, and
those who spent most of their
income in donating to the less
privileged would no longer
have to keep donating.
There would be something for
everyone – we’d all be partners
in profit.