Christmas lessons for Uganda
Dec 26, 2009
As we enter the Christmas season, Ugandans will join the rest of the world to celebrate the birth of Jesus over two millennia ago.
As we enter the Christmas season, Ugandans will join the rest of the world to celebrate the birth of Jesus over two millennia ago.
Even non-Christians have a lot to learn from a man who sacrificed his life in the process of advocating for the poor and the oppressed.
In his teachings, he went against the predominant tradition at the time of glorifying the powerful and the wealthy.
He encouraged sharing with the poor, criticised hypocrites and cautioned the authorities against using their power to oppress the poor.
He also told his audiences not to do to others what they do not want done to them and to use their talents to benefit rather than cheat society.
If those principles had been followed in Uganda, we would not have most of the problems we suffer from today.
We would not have had the conflicts and political turmoil that set us back several decades in development.
We would not have the many cases of corruption and abuse of power we are witnessing today, be it in schools, hospitals, local governments, agricultural services, ministries, courts or the Police.
All these cases in essence amount to stealing from the poor, taking advantage of the vulnerable, and denying them services and opportunities.
Corruption is a documented cause of poverty and death; and it has fuelled a lot of conflicts.
Apart from partying and merry-making, let us also reflect on these values which were advanced 2000 years ago and are valid to-date.
Let us stop glorifying those with ill-gotten wealth and expose them for what they are — parasites on society.
Let us not leave it only to the anti-corruption agencies such as the IGG, the Auditor General and Parliament to fight the battle.
It is the responsibility of every Ugandan to say no to bribery, theft of public resources and abuse of power.
Even non-Christians have a lot to learn from a man who sacrificed his life in the process of advocating for the poor and the oppressed.
In his teachings, he went against the predominant tradition at the time of glorifying the powerful and the wealthy.
He encouraged sharing with the poor, criticised hypocrites and cautioned the authorities against using their power to oppress the poor.
He also told his audiences not to do to others what they do not want done to them and to use their talents to benefit rather than cheat society.
If those principles had been followed in Uganda, we would not have most of the problems we suffer from today.
We would not have had the conflicts and political turmoil that set us back several decades in development.
We would not have the many cases of corruption and abuse of power we are witnessing today, be it in schools, hospitals, local governments, agricultural services, ministries, courts or the Police.
All these cases in essence amount to stealing from the poor, taking advantage of the vulnerable, and denying them services and opportunities.
Corruption is a documented cause of poverty and death; and it has fuelled a lot of conflicts.
Apart from partying and merry-making, let us also reflect on these values which were advanced 2000 years ago and are valid to-date.
Let us stop glorifying those with ill-gotten wealth and expose them for what they are — parasites on society.
Let us not leave it only to the anti-corruption agencies such as the IGG, the Auditor General and Parliament to fight the battle.
It is the responsibility of every Ugandan to say no to bribery, theft of public resources and abuse of power.