UGANDA 25 YEARS FROM NOW - POSSIBLE SCENARIOS

UGANDA 25 YEARS FROM NOW – POSSIBLE SCENARIOS

By Maj (Rtd) Okwiri Rabwoni

12/12/12

INTRODUCTION:

Uganda is a country at the centre of the richest sub-region of the African continent; the great lakes region, that is east and central Africa, including the vitally strategic horn of Africa.

Most of the countries in this region share the following general characteristics:

1.     Massive reserves of oil, gas and other precious minerals

2.     Large masses of fertile land for agricultural exploitation

3.     Africa’s remaining forests.

4.     Large water resources e.g. R. Nile, R. Congo L. Victoria etc.

This huge reservoir of resources is in a highly volatile socio-economic and political setting characterised by:

1.     Very young populations(75% below 35years)

2.     High levels of unemployment (approx 88% of young people in the case of Uganda)

3.     Fragile and unstable political systems, with a budding institutional foundation.

4.      High level of state corruption and abuse of office.

5.     Large populations of poor exploited and marginalised women forming the backbone of rural households.

6.     Inadequate investment in education and health.

This is a volatile mix - given a global economic crisis that is leading the world powers into a second scramble for scarce resources - puts our region in the eye of the storm.

There are two possible scenarios Uganda could find herself in depending on how she resolves the leadership crisis facing her now.

The contemporary economic and ideological showdown is between the USA and China with their respective global allies.

The war for the control of RESOURCES, INFORMATION, MILITARY BASES and DIPLOMATIC ALLIES is being waged now and Africa is the battleground.

How we survive as a continent and as countries will be determined by how smartly our leaders position themselves in this conflict vis a vis our peoples interests.

1^st SCENARIO:

We could follow the path of Switzerland and the Nordic countries by doing the following:

1.     Investing in education and cutting edge technology. Spreading ICT to the grassroots.

2.     Focusing on democratic governance, constitutionalism, the rule of law and human rights.

3.     Frugal use of public resources, fiscal and monetary discipline, transparency and accountability in our relations with foreign corporate and state interests.

4.     Heavy investment in programmes that lift women and young people from extreme poverty.

5.     Supporting regional integration efforts in a Pan African Agenda.

2^nd SCENARIO:

Uganda could follow the path of Nigeria, Angola, DRC , and other resource rich countries with failed states. Its characteristics are the following:

1.     A narrow minded, corrupt and undemocratic state system based on family, clan and patronage.

2.     Government characterised by phobia for institutions and modern systems of governance.

3.     Income disparities, social inequality (extreme poverty amidst plenty) and communal conflict over land and water resources.

4.     Foreign control of national resources and national defence policy in collaboration with government agents.

5.     An intimidated political opposition and suppressed civil society.

6.     The country exhibiting symptoms of a failed state.

CONCLUSION:

 The 1^st scenario demands a sober, enlightened and patriotic leadership that can defend the interests of our poor people against pressures from different international, corporate and state interests.

If Uganda’s history is anything to go by and if the country continues along the present path, the second scenario is almost guaranteed.

FR GAETANO'S PETITION TO MPS ABOUT THEFT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

KITANGA CATHOLIC PARISH

P.O BOX 03

MPARO –KABALE

                                                                     UGANDA

                                                                                                            

        DATE.16^TH NOV 2012

ALL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT-KAMPALA-UGANDA

ALL CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS-UGANDA

ALL RELIGIOUS LEADERS –UGANDA.

RE:DISHONESTY AMONG LEADERS:A STUMBLING BLOCK TO SOLVE UGANDA’S PERENNIAL POLITICAL  PROBLEMS

In the Gospel of St. Mathew, without fear or favour to the powers  that were existing at that time ,Jesus warned  the crowds and his disciples against the hypocrisy and vanity of the scribes ( politicians and public civil servants )and the Pharisees (religious leaders) in the words :“The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore  observe what they tell you, but donot be guided by what they do since they donot practice what they preach(say).”

Fellow leaders , Jesus was castigating  the leaders that: It is not enough to recall principles ,laws, writemanifestos, state intentions, programmes and policies, make heavenly promises, point to crying injustices and falsehoods and utter propheticdenunciations;these words will lack real weight unless they are accompanied for each individual by effective  patriotic action. We must walk thetalk. Oftentimes some of us leaders, either out of  negative and primitive fear or being compromised, we have not walked the talk and our silence, indifferentism and fear is slowly but surely mortgaging our country. Whenever some of us gather  courage and speak ,we soon or later contradict ourselves either because of sycophancy ,intimidation, bribe ,patronage and dishonesty  .We must courageously overcome these sins if we have to save our pearl of Africa (Uganda).

Fellow leaders. On the eve of Uganda’s Independence Golden Jubilee AnniversaryCelebrations, President Museveni ,during the prayer service at Nambole Stadium, publicly  repented for his sins and sins of  other leaders both past and present. I do not know whether God listened to his prayers and if he did, whether he forgave him because things are becoming  unbearable  day after day. During the prayer  service , he religiously  cited a litanyof sins but forgot others , which are more mortal than those he enumerated, and these are: Greed for power, breach of contract, bribery ,expropriation ,primitive arrogance , impunity ,deception  duplicity ,intimidation ,theft , inconsistency  ,land grabbing, sycophancy , balkanization of Uganda into tribal districts, blackmail,bad governance, bad leadership,possessiveness ,fear to do good, indifferentism, divide and rule, institutionalizing   an individual and individualizing an institution,inconsiderate,favouratism,insensibility ,double standards, patronage,insincerity,kleptomania,dishonesty,manipulation,nepotism,supresssion,torture,beackery,aggrandizement, pride,intolerence,extragavance ,bigotory,abusive language, despotism and others.

All the sins cited above ,plus those cited by the President , are morally, politically ,socially and spiritually deleterious  and lethal to humanity and they are being committed in our presence just before our eyes. What have we done to counteract them? All these sins are manufactured by the devil and we are supposed to fight the devil and his agents. So by keeping quiet are we not conniving with the devil in destroying Uganda? Are we not the devil’s agents? Are we not colluding with  the devil in oppressing the oppressed? Here I salute those MPS ,  Religious Leaders and CSOs  who have courageously and patriotically refused and rejected all forms of intimidation,blackmail,and bribery and stood up steadfastly with the suffering and downtrodden.

These are the honest few who still have the courage and the spirit of patriotism, to tell the emperor that he is naked. These people are not the enemies of Uganda,NRM and indeed President Museveni as some powers are trying to portray them.I honestly believe that the worst enemies of Uganda,NRM and Museveni are those MPs ,Ministers ,Advisors and lamentably and egregiously some Religious Leaders ,who know the truth and see things going amiss, almost in all sectors of life,  but fear to speak out because of either opportunitism,sycophancy,sectarianism  or egomaniacs .These are the enemies of Uganda  and humanity. They neither love Uganda nor believe in Uganda!

Among the sins cited above, I have chosen to comment on DISHONESTY because of the nasty and horrendeous saga, in the office  of the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi ,surrounding the PS Mr Pius Bigirimana.According to Concise Oxford Thesaurus Dictionary ,other words for DISHONESTY are:fraudulence  ,corruption, cheating,chicanery,double dealing, deception ,duplicity,falsity,craft  ,trickery,artifice,underhandedness,subterfuge, skulduggery and criminality. If any leader degenerates to the level of being DISHONESTY, it means thathis /her moral characterand integrity are seriously  questionable and doubtful.

On 1^st November ,2012 , Members of Parliament, under the good and able stewardship of Speaker Rabecca Kadaga,overwhelmingly voted to have Bigirimana kicked out over the scam that has since seen the country suffer aid cuts. It is my hope and prayer that  this time our Mps will remain united and resolute in resisting all forms of intimidation,partisan and bribery ,be it at State House , Rwakitura or any where else, as it has been happening with some selfish and greedy MPs from the ruling Party. Other leaders like Religious and Civil Society Organizations must come out in the open cohesivelyand be countedto give encouragement and support to our MPs,  and where necessary, criticize and lambaste them for the good of our Country.

On the scandal in the OPM ,nobody should be deceived that the unethical behavior in OPM,  is with PS Mr Pius Bigirimana only. There are many and more powerful and influential Bigirimanas and these are the real problem of Uganda not  only Bigirimana the PS.These powerful Bigirimanas are his god-father who are determined to defend him come what may and at any cost. In shielding Bigirimana, they are shielding themselves

In a similar manner we should be prepared ,as leaders ,to tenaciously stand together as compatriots  and patriots to defend our poor and vulnerable people of Uganda especially those from the great North whose money was indecorously swindled. Our political leaders and their cohorts are very insensitive  and callous .Mr. President and Rt. Hon.Amama Mbabazi.Why can’t Bigirimana be interdicted ?How about the former PS of Health Ms Mary Nannono? PS of Local Government Mr Kashaka and PSMinistry of Public Service Mr Lwanafa.Are these less Ugandan and less PS? By the way what happened to PS Kagodo of the IDs? Is he protecting and shielding some  people ?

President Museveni is reported to have said that he cannot interdict Bigirimana because he is                  a whistle-blower and therefore a state witness. Who,among his advisors advised him that if Bigirimana is interdicted he ceases  tobe astate witness? If he was a whistle-blower, as  President Museveni wants us to believe,why did Bigirimana try to control attempts, therefore to interfere, by CID to interrogate  him and other officers?Bigiriman’s stay in office is a wellcalculated move of hiding and concealing some vital information! Then for the Prime Minister,Amama Mbabazi, he is quoted to have stated that Bigirimana cannot be interdicted because thereis nothing in the Auditor General’s report that incriminates him. May be the PM has not  read the AG’S report ;and if he read it then he was preoccupied  with many things that he did not understand it;  and if he understood it then he is a liar to say that in AG’s report there is nothing incriminating Bigirimana.I am happy to reproduce the exercepts of the AG report where Bigirimana is implicated and therefore  has acase to answer.

“  Among other findings, the Auditor General report graphically  demonstrates that Bigirimana is directly and personally responsible for the following offences.

·         Without seeking clearance from the Ministry of Finance, and without any approved work plans, he personally approved payment of sh 15.5b out of the 20.1b which had been deposited on the Crisis Management Account. This was in contravention of his responsibility under section 14 of the Public Finance and Accountability Act (PFAA)(section 6.3.2page 22 of the Auditors report.)

·         Vide his internal memo of May ,21,2012 to the Principle Accountant ,he authorized payment of advances totaling sh 34.6 b on private Accounts of OPM  staff in contravention of sections 227,228 and 229 of Treasury Accounting Instruction. This includes amounts which should have been paid  to beneficiaries like suppliers and service providers. The whole amount was still unaccounted for by the time of the audit.(Section 6.3.6 page 27 of the Audit Report.)

·         He explicitly approved withdrawal of sh 1.4b in cash , of which 787m was withdrawn on Friday  as if all the activities were meant to take place on weekends. The auditors found no cash book to show how the money was utilized. There was not even a single record  accounting for the money and believe me ,all this money is lost. (Section 6.3.3 page 23-24 of the Audit Report)

·         He authorized transfer/diversion of sh 3b purportedly to refund monies earlier borrowed to procure  cattle boluses ,but there is no evidence ton prove  that such  a borrowing ever took place (section 6.6.6 Page 25 of the Audit Report)

·         He approved the following dubious withdrawals(i.e. with no work plans, no cash books, no accountability)from the sh11.1b which was irregularly diverted from the Norwegian Support to PRDP Account for the PRDP North Account.

·         Sh 8.1b for which auditors found no single accountability document.

·         Sh 1.3b paid Farm Engineers ltd for no specified purpose and no records were found at the time of audit.

·         Sh 776m to personal accounts (section 6.3.4.Page 25 of the Audit Report)

·         He diverted sh6.5b from the Norwegian support to PRDP account ,to drafting of Disaster   Management Policy  on June 27,2011.How can drafting a policy cost billions? No consultant would take even sh 1b.and there is even no break down detailing how the money was utilized(Section6.3.5 .page 25-26 of the Audit Report)

·         He approved payments of advances amounting to sh2.9b into the personal accounts of the two cashiers yet by the virtue of their roles Cashiers are not mandated to carry out field activities. And the money remains un accounted for ,mostly likely stolen (Section6.3.6.1,Page 27 of the Audit Report)

·         He authorized  payment of sh 6.8b to Caltex Ntinda but this firm was not procured in accordance with procurement regulations. No background check or  evaluation was done .Records with the registrar of companies  show that it is just a registered  business name. Its location  is unknown (a ghost probably).There is no record to show how money deposited was consumed.

·         He approved another payment of sh576m ostensibly for fuel for only four days to the same firm on February 6.2012 without  details to show which vehicles  took how much fuel and for which activity .This is enough to fuel 48 trailers on a return journey to and from Karamonja.It translates into sh144m worth of fuel per  day .But in  any case no food was issued from the stores  for transportation to any destination.

·         The other Officers with whom he performed this transaction i.e principal accountant, the commissioner for disaster management and a resettlement officer are all on interdiction  and facing trial, but PS is still scot free despite being the principle actor as an accounting officer. The auditors confirmed that OPM  staff always withdrew such monies in a lumpsum  as soon as it was deposited (retrieval by sender ) which is outright theft.(Section 6.3.10. Page 31-32 of the Audit Report).

·         He approved payments  to ghost suppliers and for supply of air. Unregistered firms whose addresses are  unknown were paid as if  they supplied relief, while some firms which supplied were over paid to the tune of sh 8.6(Section 6.3.11,Page33 of the Audit Report)

·         He authorized payment of sh13.7b to Farm Engineering Ltd. As the auditors observe, some payments to this firm were duplicated as evidenced by several transactions with the same voucher narrations. There is no documentation to support the payments: no work progress reports. No contract register, no contract implementation plan, no project/contract manager was ever appointed as required by procurement regulations, no call off orders were ever issued yet the firm was engaged on a framework contract, and, there were no memoranda of Understanding between OPM and the districts. The firm was always paid without the districts certifying the work done. Much of the money was paid for no work.(Section 6.3.12,Page34_37 of the Audit report)

·         He miserably failed in performing his statutory duty of ensuring that the ministry’s financial and accounting records were kept up to date and securely at all times as required under Section 420 of the Treasury Accounting Instructions. The former principal accountant took advantage of this failure to perpetuate his other fraudulent transactions. This would  not have happened if the PS had played his roles competently.(Section 6.3.6, Page29 of the Audit Report).”(see New Vision of Tuesday,November 6,2012 by Derrick Odokorach)

Secondly, PM Amama Mbabazi  is quoted tohave stated in a press statement, because of the pressure from the donors and MPs ,that the Government has decided to refund  stolen funds to the Peace, Recovery and Development Project(PRDP) donoraccount. The money to be refunded is about 50 billions.

Fellow leaders, I think every one of us knows how social services in our Villages, Parishes, Dioceses and Constituencies  are in a very sorry state!I I also believe that every one of us is sympathetic with the teachers, doctors and nurses, police officers and many others whose services are not appreciated. The response from the government to their misery is usually very repulsive and repudiatory.They are treated with  primitive arrogance and impunity From which account does the government  hope to get  money to pay for the thieves, if  it has failed to get money to pay teachers and  medical workers , to provide better living conditions for our police officers and to provide social services to Ugandans ?In any case why should the government use the tax payers money  to pay for the thieves when they are at large with their loot?

Hon. Members of Parliament ,your integrity and independence are at risk. This year you resolved to have the ministers  mentioned in the oil scandal  to step aside and your resolution was not honoured.Again youmade another resolution to have PS Kagoda interdicted over IDS cards but nothing has happened. Now thereis this saga of Bigirimana .We are watching and yet to see how far you can go to defend your integrity. On all resolutions ,you start well but it seems on the way  some of you are injected with “kintu kidogo”- youknow better. The executive has studied you and it knows  that when you are hard up financially ,you make noise and you are invited for the caucus meetings. What follows, you are silenced. This time let your No be No and your Yes be Yes.

Lastly ,the anti-corruption court acquitted the three Ministers namely Kuteesa,Nasasira and Rukutana of Chogmfunds. Now what next? Where is the money? Who stole the  money? The onus is on the government to tell Ugandans who stole their money since ,the fact is that the money was stolen!

UNITED WE STAND AND DIVIDED WE FALL and UNITY IS STRENGTH

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY

Fr Gaetano Batanyenda.

batanyenda@gmail.com.

0703212388

DR. MATEMBE RALLIES STUDENTS TO FIGHT AGAINST BAD GOVERNANCE

Matembe rallies students to fight against bad governance

“There is killing of organisational ability, centralising authority and denial of human rights. That is not the Uganda you want to live in”. Miria Matembe, former ethics minister 

By ALFRED TUMUSHABE

Posted  Wednesday, November 21  2012 at  02:00

In Summary

The activist appealed to university students to uphold integrity and serve to create a Uganda they dream of.

Former Ethics and Intergity Minister Miria Matembe has argued youth, especially the educated to be bold and courageous enough to fight bad governance.

Ms Matembe told student leaders from universities and other institutions of higher learning from Ankole and Kigezi regions at ogy on monday that the current government was more pre occupied with how to sustain itself in power than serving Ugandans.

Ms Matembe, who was the key speaker at the dialogue on the theme "The Uganda we want in the next 50 years" told youth that they were the majority and should actively work for the fulfillment of the Ugandan dream they wish to live.

"Look at the nepotism, corruption and divisions that are killing our country.  Vision has been replaced by [personal] ambition. How can you claim to have vision when donor money for northern Uganda is swindled?” Ms Matembe asked.

She added: “ I want to describe Uganda as a sick nation. Even the diseases that are invading us testify to the fact that Uganda is, indeed, sick. You must start thinking seriously. ” Ms Matembe said the ideal Uganda should be built on democratic principles such as freedom of assembly, where everybody is engaged in gainful economic activity and upholding of integrity and ethical conduct.

She advised young people to have integrity, passion and a vision to mobilise and educate other people, including their parents about what is right. “What Uganda needs is transformative leadership with integrity at all levels. Take up leadership but be people-centered and service oriented,” Ms Matembe said.

The Ex Minister also argued students to campaign for the restoration of the Presidential Term Limits.

WHAT STUDENTS WANT

Sheila Nduhukire, The Guild President MUST " A Uganda where corruption is a risk, equal opportunities and the rule of law".

Nicholas Masajjage - MUST: "A Uganda where everyone from school has a job. That can happen because we have a lot of resources."

What kind of Uganda do you want to live in?

University Students and their take on the restoration of Presidential Term Limits

CCG LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN for the youths/students to contribute towards defining the national development agenda in the political, economic and social activities providing alternative remedies potraying how far Uganda has come and where it should be in the next 50 years.

 

One of the key consulattive areas is the debate on presidentail term limits. This debate has been ongoing for the last six months and has been informed by several processes including the Citizens Manifesto under the Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform. However, the voice of the youth has been lacking in all this.

 

Therefore, this campaign seeks to give an opportunity to the youths through dialogues, radio and televised debate, to voice out their views on the Restoration of Presidential Trem Limits; Vision 2040 and Uganda they would like to live in in the next 50 years (Vision 2062).

 

It is important to note that citizens action or inaction has important consequncies for democracy and good governance. Its also important to recognise that critically minded and informed individuals are the buiding blocks for an open, globally comptetitive society.

 

This campaign will, therefore, give an opportunity to the youths to play a central role in transforming the political discourse, organising and engage,emt in Uganda.

 

Follow this campaign on Facebook: center for constitutional governance; Twitter CCG @ccg _center; Googleplus: constitutional governance and our website: www.ccgea.org.

What’s the relevancy of the MO Ibrahim Foundation Index to you?

MO IBRAHIM FOUNDATION INDEX 2012

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which was set up six years ago, supports good governance and great leadership in Africa. The foundation which was established by the London-based Sudanese telecom tycoon, Mo Ibrahim, publishes an index, to promote good governance in Africa. It has become one of the standard tools for auditing governance in Africa. The category uses four categories in its assessment and these include: safety and rule of law; participation and human rights; sustainable economic opportunity and human development.

In general, human rights, political freedom, transparency and accountability have deteriorated in the four African “powerhouses” of South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya over the past six years. People’s freedom to participate in political processes has greatly declined.

"Given the vast natural and human resources of these four regional powers, these governance results are a concern," said Abdoulie Janneh, a board member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which has published the index since 2007. "Each of these countries plays a key role in the economic and political landscape of the continent. To continue to optimally play this role requires a sustained commitment to balanced and equitable governance."

This year's index examines data from each of the four categories, which are broken down into 14 sub-categories, for each country between 2000 and 2011. It uses 88 indicators drawn from 23 independent data providers from Africa and internationally.

Mauritius came top in the overall index, followed by Cape Verde, Botswana and the Seychelles, continuing the same pattern as last year. Somalia was last, a position it has occupied since the index was first published. The country came last in each of the four category rankings. Somalia's overall score has declined since 2006. Tanzania moved into the top 10 for the first time this year, while Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola registered significant improvements. Sudan and South Sudan were not included this year.

Speaking ahead of the index launch, the Sudanese-born philanthropist Mo Ibrahim told the Guardian that economic success cannot be allowed to overshadow human rights and democratic processes in Africa, a continent that has seen steady economic growth over the past 10 years, even during the "dark days of the financial crisis". "What we need in Africa is balanced development. Economic success cannot be a replacement for human rights or participation, or democracy … it doesn't work," he said. "It worries us a lot when we don't see the trickle-through factor, when gain goes to the top 1% or 2%, leaving the rest behind."

North Africa is an obvious example of the consequences of ignoring people's needs and rights, he added. "Literacy in Tunisia is almost 100%. It's amazing – no country in the region or even in Asia can match Tunisia in education. So we have wonderful human development achievement in education and health, etc. But hundreds of thousands of men and women who graduated from college cannot find work, and not only that but [they] look around and they see an oppressive, corrupt regime. Then you have a volatile mix."

Rwanda, which has risen two places in the overall ranking, to 23rd this year, is also an example of unbalanced development. Although the country ranks 16th and 11th for human development and sustainable economic opportunities respectively, up from 13th and 17th in 2011, it is 31st for safety and rule of law, down one place from last year and continuing a downward trend since 2006, and 29th for human rights and participation, although this is a rise of one place since last year. Last month, the EU partially froze aid to Rwanda over its alleged support of M23 rebel fighters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the US, Germany and the Netherlands. The UK had earlier suspended budget support over concerns about the country's human rights record. Britain has since unblocked a portion of this money.

Ibrahim said the governments in Kigali and Kinshasa need to be encouraged by their donors and "friends" to sit down and talk to solve the crisis. "I really think Rwanda is not just part of the problem but part of the solution and what we hope is for the different parties to sit together … and have constructive discussions," he said.

Overall, since 2000, governance in Africa has improved. Particular progress has been made in women's rights, said Ibrahim, although he acknowledged there was still a long way to go before gender equality is achieved. "We're very pleased. This is an area [in which] we're moving forward, but we're coming from a very low base," he said. It's easy to introduce new legislation against domestic violence or give women rights over land and in divorce cases, but it's much more difficult to change attitudes and the culture of "male supremacy", he said. "Education helps and the spread of information helps, and courageous, unflinching, uncompromising … political leadership is also required."

For the third time, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation decided not to award any one the prize for African leadership this year, as no one matched the judges' criteria.

The prize recognizes and celebrates excellence in African leadership, and provides winners with the opportunity to pursue their commitment to Africa once they have stepped down from office. It is awarded to a democratically elected former African head of state or government.

The prize committee said: "[We] reviewed a number of eligible candidates but none met the criteria needed to win this award. The award is about excellence in leadership. In the first six years the prize committee has selected three very worthy laureates who continue to be an inspiration and whose examples, we hope, will be emulated."

Previous prize winners have been former presidents Joacquim Chissano of Mozambique, Festus Mogae of Botswana and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde.

KAMPALA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DETERMINE THEIR ROLE IN NATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

THE ROLE OF THE YOUTH IN NATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

Presentation to the students of Kampala University

By Ms Sarah Bireete

Director of Programmes

Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG)

Uganda has one of the largest populations of young people with 21.3% between 18-30 years according to the UBOS Statistical Abstract for 2010. The youthful population increases to 55.7% when you take the age category 6-30 years. The centrality of the youth in Uganda’s development therefore should be treated as a priority because our demographic trends characterized by a very young and youthful population.

According to the study on youths and unemployment in Africa, 83.3% of the Ugandan youth are unemployed and 93.8% of these are living on less than two dollars per day. This makes our youth one of the poorest in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa and has greatly contributed to the high dependency ratio of 1:1.17, the highest in Africa.

The youths have been treated as a special interest group and have political representation at different levels in local councils, local governments and in the national parliament. However, their representation sometimes has no clear and direct agendas that reflect the needs of young people to integrate in national dialogues and debate. The need to recognize the potential and allow for the fulfillment of young people’s potentials as active players in the transformation of the country. It is true that our society can make real progress if it has an enlightened, informed and engaged youth prepared to build a brighter future.

Institutions of higher learning are centers of Excellency and should promote highly intellectual and ideologically grounded discourse through debate and other mechanisms that encourage exchange of ideas in institutions of learning and the bigger society.

At one of our dialogues, young people – university students decided to start a campaign for ‘Love for Uganda and humanity’. This declaration was manifested in the GARUGA DECLARATION as the cornerstone to development and national transformation by the youth.

H.E THABO MBEKI, while commenting on students and activism in Africa stated that - “It’s true that by the time we grew up; there was a very vibrant intelligentia which was very much engaged in activism issues. But these days, there is too much intervention of the African states against the Universities. Governments see Universities as centers of opposition. This African intelligencia in the process got intimidated and the Universities have not yet recovered including financially and this calls for a conscious intervention by the African intellectuals.

"The progressive voice that was trying to define where Africa should go died away in regard to universities because of the manner in which the ruling groups in Africa acted against universities."

This in general has put Africa's progressive movement in retreat.”

There is an urgent need for an overhaul of our education system so that the system's products can have a direct link with what the employment market wants. The increasing unemployment rates in Uganda are not just a result of fewer jobs in the market, no; it has a lot to do with the capacity of the graduates to meet the employment demands including creativity and the capacity to create jobs.

The education system should be tailored to suit the employment demands/ to solve the challenges of the day. For example, currently, for every 10 graduates, only one graduate can get a job and the question that arises here is "where do the nine graduates go?", what happens to them, their families?

"The challenge, therefore, that I would like to pause to the youths- as the generation leaders - mind you, I will not pause this challenge to government because I know they do not have the capacity to provide a solution- the young people should study the development scenarios in Uganda, in East Africa, Africa and the World and systematically analyse the job demands and then design a programme/strategy of satisfying the available employment demands." This, in my view, is the only solution to the existing unemployment in the country.

Also based on this study, Universities should be able to design course units that will promote creative thinking, that will promote entrepreneurship, etc and in the end provide a lasting solution to unemployment crisis.

There is also urgent need for the mind shift by the youth/students themselves. Most students envisage employment only in terms of government jobs, public service jobs, big corporations, etc. This needs to change your thinking/altitude if you are going to be part of the solution to the unemployment puzzle in Uganda; if you are going to be positive agents of socio-economic change in this country.

For example, before the colonial era, Africans used to farm their gardens using locally made hoes by the blacksmiths. When the colonialists came, everything African, everything locally made, all our civilization was declared backward! And we gladly clapped and threw our creativity, our enterprennual skills, and our development out of the window. And now we are completely stuck with 80% of our population as peasants- walking bare footed, tilling the land with imported hoes from China, and with no market for their products!  A big chuck of our population is stuck in poverty, malnutrition, disease, hunger and we are all watching helplessly!

We tend to be comfortable with announcements about how our GDP has increased, about how our economy can grow every year, but the question that the youths should be asking is WHOSE ECONOMY IS GROWING? IS THIS THE ECONOMY OF THE PEASANTS - THE 80% OR OF ABOUT 4 % OF UGANDANS?

The youth must interrogate these statistics, they must demand for details. Because, and this is very serious, after these announcements, year after year, the real Ugandans, rural or urban, are becoming poorer and poorer.

The youths/students must devise ways of changing the status quo because the status quo does not favour them. "The planners of the country are not bothered about your lives, your future, YOU MUST PLAN FOR YOUR SELVES".

The Theme of the day – transformation

The big question that arises now is why are we still talking about transformation now???? What are the key challenges??

Today's governance is characterized by a breakdown of institutions; abuse of the trust ship duty by government; Land grabbing; corruption; lack of economic justice; dehumanization, unemployment; barefooted people and the  jiggers epidemic in the 21st century, among others.

It’s important to note that if a government does not pay attention to its people, then foreigners will automatically occupy the vacuum. Classical examples to explain this scenario is the Cuba and the Libya revolutions. Both Gaddafi and Fidel Castro claimed to be revolutionary leaders but because the Cuban government takes care of its people, USA has failed for decades to overthrow the Cuban revolution. But in Libya, because the "revolution" did not pay attention to its people, the USA swept it out in a few months.

What kind of mind shift should the young people have in order to transform this nation? Why have countries like Malaysia and Singapore developed and Uganda is still struggling with Jiggers?

The time has come for the youth to take their country seriously and conquer their fear in order to take the necessary steps and deliver the much needed transformation.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stated that - The youths are the foundation of a society. Their energy, inventiveness, character and orientation define the pace of development and the security of a nation. Through their creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant strides in economic development and socio-political attainments. In their dreams and hopes, a nation finds her motivation; on their energies, she builds her vitality and purpose. And because of their dreams and aspirations, the future of a nation is assured -

Examples of the required transformation:
1. How can the youth ensure that we build better democracy and governance practices?
2. What are the youth obligations to themselves, their communities and to the nation?
3. The youth enjoy some rights but what are the obligations that accrue from the rights that they enjoy?
4. How can the youth demand for accountability using their right of access to information?
5. How can the youth hold their different leaders accountable (the Executive, Parliament, Local Councils and the Youth Councils)?
6. How can the youth demand effective service delivery?

The youth, can indeed achieve all the above and much more if they are committed and make clear demands to the responsible people.

Uganda is a unique country in the World because for its fifty years of Independence, Ugandans have never witnessed peaceful handover of power! We can only achieve regime change by using violence! This is critical for the young people in Uganda today to engage because 80% of our population is composed of young people. Why should the young people allow the 20% to dominate them?

What kind of Uganda can the young people bring about??
1. A country back on the road to constitutional governance and democracy

2. Ugandans feeling a sense of belonging, security, and peace

3. A country where each person's views are respected and tolerated

4. A country where citizens enjoy their rights and exercise free political processes

5. A corruption free country

6. A country where everybody is valued and respected.

The future of Uganda is in your hands and like the Americans say "Ask not what your country has done for you, ask what you have done for your country."

And as I conclude, I will leave you with the words of Franz Fannon who stated that "Every generation has got its cause and it’s their duty either to fulfill or betray it".

THE TIME FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO RE- AFFIRM THEIR ZEAL AND DEFEND THEIR MOTHERLAND IS NOW!

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY