International Crisis Group misrepresented Uganda

Dec 05, 2017

ICG also manufactured grounds to blame the woes in Uganda’s opposition political parties on President Museveni.

OPINION | GOVERNANCE

By Moses Watasa

An article, "Uganda's Slow Slide into Crisis" published by the International Crisis Group (ICG), on November 21, 2017 is bad attempt at a parody. The cynicism, hyperboles and concoctions apart, one wonders why ICG seek any basic facts about Uganda.  Hopefully, ICG took note of the insightful articulation by ICT and National Guidance Minister, Frank Tumwebaze on Friday, November 24, 2017 in The New Vision about the Uganda of today. President Museveni who ICG view with cynicism has played a decisive role in pulling the country out of the doldrums and putting on path to reform and progress, hailed near and far.

One bizarre assertion by ICG about Uganda is that; "governance in the country is deteriorating"! However, under President Museveni, Uganda has built some of the strongest pillars of governance in independent Uganda. The 1995 Constitution, which was drafted, debated and promulgated under his tenure, spells out distinct/ separate roles for the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive

Alongside other laws, it guarantees the vibrancy of our governance with regular free and fair elections every five years, through which citizens chose leaders at various levels. Today, Uganda has 1,299,348 elective positions from the centre to the community administrative units. In the quest for inclusion governance, citizens elect varied clusters of like women, youth, workers, people with disabilities and minority groups. Indeed, diversity in our governance structures is manifested right from Cabinet, Parliament to local governments. It is born out of a strong ideology. Thus, the ICG notion that NRM is constructed "not by ideology or policy but by ambition and patronage" is a mirage. Participation of young people under an elaborate youth policy is one hallmark of our foundation. It is, therefore, futile when ICG attempt to describe Ugandan youth as "restless".

The media or "fourth estate" is the other pillar of good governance. Media freedoms are enshrined under Article 41 of the Constitution of Uganda, with other enabling laws such as the Access to Information, 2005.  

Following liberalisation by the NRM government in 1992, we now have 272 operational radio stations, 36 television stations and 68 registered publications. So free is our media that some platforms have adopted the "ICG brand" i.e. speculation, negativity and deceit. Not surprisingly, ICG extensively quoted the like-minded Ugandan media in their article.

Among the wild submissions by ICG is the one about leadership/ succession in Uganda. Of specific obsession for ICG in this regard subject are various members of Uganda's First Family. The subterfuge aside, attaining national leadership and succession in Uganda is a Constitutional matter. With copies of the Constitution widely available, including on-line, ICG are invited to read particularly Articles 102 and 103. 

Boundless in imagination, ICG also manufactured grounds to blame the woes in Uganda's opposition political parties on President Museveni. However, the intra-party acrimony across the opposition is there and so poignant for all to see. The fall-out from the recent party presidential elections in FDC is a case in point. Bigotry, rapacity and intrigue are part of the malaise.  The situation is not any different in UPC, DP and other opposition political parties. Committed to transforming Uganda, President Museveni has no time to expend on opposition parties entangled in an eternal web of self-destruction.  

Imputing that President Museveni denies Ugandans space to voice their concerns is another shameless ICG concoction. Strangely, ICG also accuse him of being over-accommodative with citizen requests, citing what they refer to as ‘proliferation of cultural institutions and administrative units'. President Museveni listens to the masses because he derives his leadership mandate from them. And, under Article 1 of Uganda's Constitution, all power belongs to the people. Cultural institutions and administrative units are created after requests from citizens, which the Government evaluates closely. Prospects for improving service delivery are considered highly in the case of administrative units. For cultural institutions, we have even those that pre-date the NRM government and Uganda as a nation. The "expediency" further cited by ICG in this regard is another ugly case of "alternative facts".       

The other fallacious assertion by ICG is that Uganda's economic performance is "deteriorating"! The minimal slow-down over the last two years notwithstanding, Uganda has enjoyed, over-all, stable and healthy economic growth rates even by global standards. With GDP growth averaging 8%, our economic progress is creditable to prudent fiscal and micro-economic policies pursued over the last three decades. Key indices bear out Uganda's success story under President Museveni. Expansion of our economy and tax-base has precipitated a similar surge in revenue collection from sh5b in 1986 to sh12.7 trillion in 2016. Private investment alone has leaped from 5.2% of GDP to 19% of GDP and of exports from $411m to over $3.2b.  In the same period, power generation increased from 60MW in 1986 to over 860MW. Enabling infrastructure for the economy has also been improving. Coverage of paved roads increased from 1,000km to over 4,200km. With more revenue for social services, primary school enrolment rose from 2,203,824 pupils to 8,437,069 pupils over this period while access to clean water from 16% to 90% of the population.  

The bad news for ICG is that a prognosis for the mini-slow-down of Uganda's economy has evolved some practical solutions and a turn-around is underway. Increased irrigation is, for instance, is ensuring that Uganda does not rely on rainfall alone for agricultural production. Elsewhere, we have more investment and tourists coming in. Besides, ICG should know that performance of economies all over the world is in cycles. Even the mega economies in Europe, America, Middle East and the Far East have gone through boom, recession, depression and recovery. Remember Europe in 2008? What about the US? Did ICG write about them in this condescending manner? 

Elsewhere, ICG extend their negativity to government projects as such; "…urgent infrastructure projects and the long-anticipated start of oil production have suffered delays, further depressing international investment…" This is another hollow assertion. Uganda is making tremendous progress in infrastructural projects, especially with regard to oil and gas resources. We are well on the path towards production of oil and gas now that building the refinery and the oil pipeline is getting under-way. Actually, delay of projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a result of ‘over-democratising' in Uganda. We have unpatriotic elements who either inflate prices for land to extort/blackmail the Government and/ or deny access to land in the designated SGR project area. President Museveni has been personally traversing the country, sensitising people about the value of such projects and calling on our people to avail land.

The other ICG ‘hypothesis' is that the government of Uganda gives people hand-outs which cannot grow the economy and incomes. They wrote; "Government initiatives aimed at stimulating the economy...take the form of handouts, particularly to under-employed youth...." to enlist their support. Support for NRM government emanates, in part from its many anti-poverty programmes. The current ones include the National ICT Initiatives Support Programme, Youth Livelihood Programme, Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme, Operation Wealth Creation, Peace Recovery and Development Programme, Northern Uganda Social Action Fund, among others. Here, Ugandans who meet a known criteria access resources for income generating projects. The net effect is a steady decline in poverty over time. According to UBOS, the proportion of the population living below the poverty line that is $1.9 per day, declined from 56.4% in 1993 to 19.7% in 2013. Now, UNDP is projecting that Uganda will achieve the Vision 2040 target of reducing poverty to 5%. Hand-outs cannot attain this anywhere.

And, possibly because the word it is part of ICG's name, they are fond of the word ‘crisis'. Although there is room for improvement, ICG's description of Uganda's public service as being in "crisis" is an extreme of a hyperbole. A public service in "crisis" would not develop and implement Uganda's National Vision, 2040, National Development Plan and programmes such as the ones highlighted above. Fortunately, in Uganda, we own up and strive to improve.  President Museveni has articulated the need to reform our public service for greater effectiveness and efficiency. Currently, there is an on-going rationalisation of government structures as proposals to stamp out corruption and improve conditions of service are finalised.

Devoid of solid citations, ICG's article is mired in glaring contradictions. About the status of Uganda's stability they wrote; "Uganda is not in danger of renewed civil war or rebel violence…" before ‘prophesying' that Uganda may "slide into uncertainty and instability". Uganda's stability is born out of the tenacious efforts of our security our agencies with President Museveni as Commander-in-Chief. With a little diligence, ICG should have learnt that Uganda has partaken of real peace under the NRM government. The picture ICG attempts to paint is ironically, closer to what obtained in Uganda the mid-1960s, the 1970's to the mid 1980's.  The civil strife, wars and economic decay - we had them all. One wonders! In essence, therefore, ICG are reporting in reverse!

No wonder they contradict themselves in this regard and about President Museveni thus; "He is credited with bringing stability after the 1980s civil wars and eventually defeating the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion…." This is one of the reasons President Museveni remains popular. Ugandans feel safe and envisage brighter prospects with him at the helm. 

In another contradiction, after asserting variously that President Museveni's support is waning, they themselves write that; "Museveni still enjoys personal goodwill for having led the country out of the civil wars of the 1970s and 1980s". This means ICG are actually aware that President Museveni's contribution to pacification causes goes beyond the boundaries of Uganda. One example: Uganda is a decisive actor in the global efforts to return civility to Somalia. This is a country that had become a flash-point too volatile for even big global powers to singly pacify.

The ICG falsely allege that it is the Government that has postponed Local Council elections yet these polls were put on hold by court following a petition by a Ugandan citizen. The country is waiting for the verdict and way forward. Or is ICG rooting for a situation where the Government breaches court orders? What would ICG then publish?

Possibly inadvertently, ICG blow the veil off themselves by "thumbing their noses" at the on-going proposals to review and possibly adjust some Articles in Uganda's Constitution. It is a set of citizen initiated proposals, to whom all power is vested under the same Constitution. Any proposals, if they will ultimately go through as amendments, will have to conform to Constitutional provisions, particularly Article 262. So, by narrowing all of them to what they describe as a "life-presidency", then ICG crudely unmask themselves.

Therefore, to say ICG misrepresented the situation in Uganda is to put it mildly. In which case, ICG are a real in crisis themselves - a crisis of credibility. International Crisis Group indeed!

The writer is the Commissioner in charge of Information Dissemination at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance  

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});