My Vision of how to transform Uganda into an efficient, prosperous country

Apr 21, 2016

And the people today who know the right buttons and how to press them are those that have not been major players in the last 30 years but have been observing and analyzing the political theatre from a distance.

By Emmex Turyatunga


No doubt, where Uganda stands today, she has immense potential with virtually all sectors still virgin, only requiring to press the right buttons for it to takeoff.

And the people today who know the right buttons and how to press them are those that have not been major players in the last 30 years but have been observing and analyzing the political theatre from a distance.

In a game of football, it is the players who have been on the bench who turn around a game at a stalemate when they enter the field of play.

And the logic is simple, an observer is able to think outside the box in which the players are locked.

If I became President today, I would retain only 20% of the current leadership and bring in 80% of intelligent, experienced Ugandans aged between 35 and 45 years who have excelled in their respective fields.

Uganda is virgin ground. Infrastructure is ready for takeoff, human resource is ready for takeoff, health services are ready for takeoff, groundbreaking research for solutions of home problems is ready for takeoff, name it.

Uganda is endowed with a hardworking, intelligent and ambitious human resource; one just needs to direct the right talent, skills, energy and passion into the right places. If I became president, I would not be in that chair for self actualization or to appease anyone or any region but mine would be a contract with Ugandans with clear terms.

I and my team would be in power as long as the people approve of and are satisfied with the implementation of the contract. Retaining power at all cost would not be my agenda; I would be the first to resign if I failed on my contract.

The biggest problem of unrest and insecurity that we used to have in the past has been solved by His Excellency. President Museveni is a career and professional soldier and has given us his best in that field. The Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) is possibly the only professional Government institution in Uganda today.

Efficiency and effectiveness eludes all other government institutions. Nobody should be surprised why the UPDF is doing well; it has all along been managed by someone who is experienced, has passion, has practiced and has risen through the ranks in army affairs and the institution is given top priority.

During the time when President Museveni was more of an observer, he observed that the problem of Uganda was a mismanaged and unprofessional army and when he took over leadership it was top on his agenda. So if I became president, I would build on what has been achieved and it is important to note that the army is being managed by very intelligent and experienced commanders; I just have to give them a copy of my contract with the people of Uganda for implementation. Their role is to keep peace as I do other things. Ugandans think that if one is not a soldier he/she cannot lead Uganda. That is not true today; as long as everyone sees that I'm genuine and here to execute a contract and everyone is given a role to play, the soldiers would be happy to have me as their commander in chief!

If I became president, there is no way I would appoint a person who did law and never practiced even a single day as Minister of health. Mine would be a government of professionals deployed to do what they know best.

I would appoint a person who knows a thing about human health, a person who has practiced medicine, a person who understands logistics in the medical profession, a person who knows the psychology and dynamics of doctors and patients. I would resource him and give him a free role then my job would be to monitor.

For any incompetence like Abim hospital, I would call him to state house to answer and I would make his return journey to state house a nightmare and put his job on line. Then you would see him perform miracles even when he has never been a disciple of Jesus. My appointments would not depend on tribes, religion, regional balance etc.; but on the skill and experience the individual has. Actually Ministers to be would have to sit interviews with clear terms of reference and through a transparent process they would be appointed. If they all came from Bugisu region I wouldn't care as long as they can deliver my contract with Ugandans. I'm 40 years old but I have never directly benefited from a Minister hailing from my region.

Uganda is a virgin ground, a free country with immense potential. It is a country where you wake up, start a shop and put in the shelves five mineral water bottles as your business and nobody questions you! It is a country where you attend Church once and conceive an idea of starting a Church. Then the next day, you mobilize some timber and start a make shift Church and nobody will question you! Actually if you fail to survive in Uganda then you cannot survive in other countries like Rwanda. The environment in Uganda gives everyone a free role to do what they want but the only thing lacking is guidance.

Have you ever imagined the trials and tribulations the citizens who start small businesses go through? From somewhere, one mobilizes two millions and thinks of starting a shop. He pays rent for three months of UGX 900,000 at UGX 300,000 per month and buys items of 1.1m and off he starts his business.

He/she doesn't know that the business will spend about a year without breaking even! Judgment on proper business location very poor; he/she thinks any room by the roadside makes a shop. After three months, the person cannot pay rent and closes the business. He vacates the shop and another person with 2m wanting to start a business enters.

The cycle continues while the landlord is benefiting while the common man remains in abject poverty. What is lacking here? There is a need for an institution to train people on the basics of business (and possibly free of charge) and regulation on who qualifies to start a business. If you started this institution today you would make money! If I became president, I would set up entrepreneurship institutions countrywide to train Ugandans wanting to start businesses free of charge and put in place an approval process for starting a business. This would promote professionalism and put an end to the wastage of hard earned money.

The problem of Uganda we don't appreciate training! Have you ever imagined that most of the young boys and girls who serve us in bars and restaurants throughout Uganda don't have any form of basic training?

Are you aware that most of these boys and girls cannot last more than three months at the job because of lack of knowledge of what is expected of them? Are you aware of the exploitation they undergo in terms of payment and working 18 hours per day?

There is a need to set up institutions countrywide to train these boys and girls on the basics of service delivery in bars and restaurants and to regulate the business. People nowadays are hiring Kenyans to manage their hotels because they have proved to be good in that business. Ugandans are equally good; the only difference is that there is no concerted effort to train the human resource.

If I became president, I would set up a directorate of research and development. Uganda's problems need scientific and critical thinking. The era of let there be this and it appears ended in the first seven days of creation; today you must think and plan in order to create something reasonable. You cannot go to mars without thinking, planning and use of science; short of that you can only go there in your dreams.

The challenges of Uganda today which include uneven and unrealistic salary scale which is not proportional to work done or outputs, corruption (which is a symptom, not a disease), unemployment, inefficient public service, educated but unskilled work force etc. need critical thinking and systematic approach. The Directorate would be well facilitated so that the researchers wouldn't have to worry about School fees and rent but I would make them work like horses to meet targets.

Let me conclude with an insight into agriculture. About 80% of Ugandans derive their livelihood from agriculture. However, majority of Ugandan farmers still use the knowledge they obtained from their forefathers (unfortunately this knowledge is being challenged by climate change), use the hand hoe and depend on natural rainfall! Are we still in Stone Age?

If you interviewed village farmers about fertilizers majority would still tell you that fertilizers "spoil" the fertility of the soil! I used to hear this when I was young. Don't you think agriculture is a science? If you trained all the Ugandan farmers on the basics of farming for a period of say six months wouldn't you make a difference? Does it make sense to give an ignorant and poor farmer improved seed varieties? An average Ugandan farmer has no capacity to look for better market for his/her produce beyond his/her local market.

How can the problem of lack of reliable and lucrative markets be overcome? Land fragmentation is a hindrance to commercial farming in Uganda but do you think there is no solution? If I became president, these are the type of questions that would give me and my team sleepless nights and you can be sure that where there is a will there is away.

 
Senior Engineer, Ministry of Water and Environment

 

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