2017 is here: Why I want to be the change that I have always wanted to see

By Crispin Kaheru

It is that time of the year when we sit down to reflect on what we've bagged and lost.  It is always such a painful experience because many times the losses are usually heavier than the accomplishments.  Yet still we have to go through the same tradition again; make those lofty New Year's resolutions - most times informed by past mistakes or even amnesia. Without sounding too generic, I know of some people who have achieved more than they had actually resolved to achieve at the start of the year. 

If some of those people (who have achieved more) ordinarily took time to do an honest appraisal, they probably would be reminded of the reality that they met their targets not because they were smarter, but because they gambled their success through a range of crafty deals - unfortunately.  Some achieved more than they wanted and lost their entire integrity though.

While sometimes it is because of certain external circumstantial factors that we do not achieve our own resolutions, other times (to a greater extent) it is because of habitual carelessness. We make commitments and rarely live to those commitments.

Here are my personal and professional resolutions for 2017, which I plan to live by:

Eat healthier; alongside eating more food:  I am a generally poor eater.  Over the past years, I have largely depended on ‘not-so-healthy' food.  But even then, my meals have been very irregular - with most times going by just a meal a day. Come 2017, I want to eat healthier, have more regular meals, eat larger portions and drink plenty of water.

Live a stress-free lifestyle:  Eight out of ten times that I visited the hospital in 2016, my doctor's diagnosis revealed that I was stressed.  Of course stress may be an unavoidable side effect of our hectic lifestyles today.  Come the New Year, I resolve to ‘take it easy'.  I will work when I have to work; rest when I need to; relax, play enjoy, be happy. Life is there to be lived. Come 2017, sala puleesa!

Spend quality time with family and friends: I still cannot believe that I have hardly spent quality time with my ‘Linen Group' friends in the year - 2016.  Come 2017, there is not any amount of WhatsApp, Twitter or Facebook that is going to replace my regular physical meetings (and visits) with both family and friends.

Watch more movies, read more books: In 2009, I watched over 500 movies, read over 100 books and authored over 150 pieces in news papers and journals. 2017 is the year to break my own 2009 record - catch more movies, read more useful books and most probably write more.

Use my diary: It is one of my favourite tools.  But in equal measure, it is my most dreaded tool.  I just hate flipping the page to see the appointments lined up for the following day.  There is no two-ways about it, the New Year is going to be one of ‘hakuna mchezo'. I will use my diary faithfully, keep my appointments religiously.

Take more risks:  Over the years, I have learnt that risk is not a bad idea as it has generally been socialised.  Risk is good. I plan to take more risks - both at a personal and professional level.  I am convinced that risk is the mother of novelty. Remember, the higher the risk, the higher the returns!

Give more to those in need:  Many times, we spend more time working with those in need - the ‘indigent'. The question is, do we devote our time and energy to ‘giving' those in need? In the New Year, I want to devote more to ‘working with and giving' those in need.  Not just talking about it, but doing it.

Learn to play a guitar:  This has been on my wish list for the last 10 or so years.  My cousin Maurice Kiirya knows this.  Come the first quarter of 2017, I should have my guitar with me and learn how to play my favourite songs before the end of the first half of the New Year.

Well, those are some of my 2017 personal resolutions, which are born out of deep and realistic reflection.  Now, here are some of my specific wishes for Uganda. The wishes below are going to require collective action if we are to realise them.  We will have to think and act as Uganda - and not in our narrow enclaves:

1. Kick-start a process of a national dialogue in order to obtain consensus on how pending political and socio-economic questions that currently challenge Uganda are resolved.

1. Institute a mechanism for undertaking political reforms that will entrench democratic practice.

1. Make governance in Uganda more inclusive, participatory and believable for all Ugandans.  At the center of this, will be answering the youth question.  2017, the young people must be at the center of their destiny.

1. Review the method of electing LC1 and LC2 officials with the aim of ensuring that lower level council elections adhere to international election standards including guaranteeing secrecy in voting.

Milestones, strategy and commitment form the common denominator in realising resolutions.  This goes for both personal and universal aspirations. 

Each of us must have clarity of mind at the dawn of 2017.  Let us dream, wake up and chase our dreams. 

The year 2017 is operation, ‘be the change you want to see'. Don't be left out.  And like my parents always love to say, remember to ‘count your blessings'.

I wish you a happy and prosperous 2017!

The writer is the coordinator of the Citizens' Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda