Africans to have their honest say at APRM

Mar 23, 2009

FROM Joseph Conrad’s condescending novel “Heart of Darkness” in 1902 to President Museveni’s exams in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in 2008; from the patronising imperial view of the “Dark Continent” in the 1800s, to a picture of a well-governed, pea

By David Sseppuuya

FROM Joseph Conrad’s condescending novel “Heart of Darkness” in 1902 to President Museveni’s exams in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in 2008; from the patronising imperial view of the “Dark Continent” in the 1800s, to a picture of a well-governed, peaceful, secure, stable and prosperous continent as envisioned by the New Partnership for African Development in the 21st Century.

That is a paradigm shift. It is not often that President Museveni sits for exams about the state of the country he leads. Maybe at the occasional press conference; possibly on the odd foreign tour. The Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has subjected him, and Uganda, to that.

He appeared before his fellow heads of state, at the APRM Forum in Egypt last year, and is scheduled do so again in June 2009, when he presents the first annual progress report on the implementation of the three-year APRM National Programme of Action. It is all about governance — how is Uganda doing in democratic and political governance? What strides have we made in economic governance and management? How have we scored on corporate governance? What can be done to improve and guard our socio-economic development? Where are the shortfalls?

The APRM is a paradigm shift in governance and geopolitics, in that it goes counter to hitherto patronizing relations with foreign powers that dictated the way Africa was governed and viewed.

As an initiative of NEPAD, and locally managed by the National Planning Authority, it offers African views on African issues and, where need be, African solutions. It identifies gaps and best practices and, through peer learning, identifies what is applicable so that development agendas are kept going. Citizens do the initial assessment.

The Uganda Country Review Report (http://www.nepaduganda.or.ug/documents/CountryReviewReport- Uganda.zip) being launched by Museveni this morning is an encyclopaedia of Uganda today. It will showcase the reconstitution from a fragile and failing state to a rejuvenated economy, free society, no longer shackled by gross human rights abuses.

It will however caution that while we have managed conflict, established democratic institutions and a free press, re-introduced multiparty systems, decentralised service delivery, and are struggling with corruption, we must sustain the progress and prevent a reversal that could undermine the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

It will temper impressive economic figures — GDP growth rates, reduction of income poverty, containing inflation, and general macroeconomic stability — with a warning about falling per capita growth, unemployment, widening income inequalities, aid dependence, relatively low growth in productivity, environmental abuse, and alarming population growth as factors that could undermine the economy. The report will say that while corporate governance is still a new concept, it has been taken up by some in a growing private sector.

It is critical of cabinet and Parliament red-tape that has held back revision of commercial laws that would promote private sector led investment and create an enabling business environment. But it will also say that an economy driven by private sector micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, most family- owned, do not apply principles of corporate governance. It will underline the need for policies to encourage and build SMEs and not just big business.

It will laud socio-economic progress like the fight against AIDS/HIV, free education, primary health care, civil society, modernization of agriculture, empowering marginalised groups, and disaster response programmes. But it will also point to corruption, inadequate resources, limited capacity, and politicisation of development programmes as challenges.

How about the land question, now in Parliament as the Land Bill, an issue that has occupied the political, legislative, socio-cultural and economic landscapes? With political transition, corruption, policy implementation gaps, managing diversity, over-dependence on aid, facilitation of decentralisation, and the Northern conflict, land is seen as an urgent issue.

Africans identify Uganda’s other strengths in the facilitation of regional peace and security, a decentralized system of government, and having reputable educational institutions. APRM wants an Africa that has its own standards and can compete against strong blocs like the EU, USA, and the vibrant Asians.

Conrad’s distinctly one-eyed book, painting a stereotype of Africans as savages, was thankfully negated just six years later by a more discerning ‘mzungu’. Sweeping through Uganda in 1908, Winston Churchill made his prophesy of Uganda as the Pearl of Africa. Churchill’s was a vision that brooked no deception. There is no deception in the Uganda APRM Country Review Report. Africans are having their say, and honestly too!

The writer is a media consultant.
dsseppuuya@yahoo.com

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