28.06.2010 

By C.D Rauxen Zedriga 

Our visionary President the “great” Yoweri Museveni seems to have finally enrolled into the class of people who accepted many years ago that corruption is endemic in the government fabric and requires divine intervention.  It is for this reason that my thoughts today are devoted to reviewing some of the highlights of our mighty “1986 Revolution”.  I do this not for old men like me who have seen it all.  It is purely for the benefit of our youth born after that “great” revolution.  Our youth are a great team of voters in the coming 2011 elections.         

In particular, our youth must know and never forget the real tenets of the “fundamental change” doctrine that has kept the NRM government entrenched and therefore difficult to remove.  For now, the present article will cover issues of thrift in NRM government spending; the famous barter trade novelty; the ingenious gender equality invention; the fundamental restoration of Ugandan Kingdoms; the comprehensive socialist ideology; and then the systematic development of the new Monarchy [more like thiefdom] in Uganda.  There are many more important issues of course.  But due to limited space, let’s discuss these few in the hope that they will be enough to tune the minds of the youth into a healthy political debate as they prepare for the forthcoming political campaigns to determine the political leadership of our motherland for the next five years. 

To start, let me remind our youth of the now immortal words of our dear leader Yoweri Museveni after he capture state power in 1986.  “This is not a mere change of guards but a fundamental change”; Museveni declared.  Even more interesting is the fact that our dear leader pledged to desist from indulging in a lavish lifestyle in State House and not to stay long in power.  Quite rightly, he had told the world that Africa’s biggest problem was leaders who stay in power for more than 10yrs.  On the question living a humble lifestyle, Museveni took the lead by being the first and probably the last President of Uganda to commit to the use of plastic mugs in State House.  This was a “fundamental change” indeed; by any standard.  

Our youth also need to know that besides the use of plastic mugs in State House, another of Museveni’s great promises was that he would procure all his furniture from Bwaise in the outskirts of Kampala.  The question for the Ugandan youth now is to decide whether the present leadership kept its promises to Ugandans.  The fulfillment or failure to fulfill a political promise is not a simple matter.  It is a core issue that impinges directly on the integrity [or the luck of it] of a political leader.  In Uganda today, it is a question that is not difficult to answer. 

Today, State House imports first class items befitting an American President.  For example, the BBC’s Veronic Edwards, while talking African “First Ladies” recently, said Museveni’s State House is the most luxurious she had ever seen on the African continent.  Not too long ago, our great leader even had two Gulfstream Presidential jets.  Museveni’s son, the anointed Heir, is now in charge of an elite army within the national army; an army with different salary and emolument entitlements. Crucially however, Museveni’s son and his elite army are in charge of all the nation’s natural resources.  Parliament is not even allowed to question how those resources will be managed.  It is upon the youth to attend decisively to this imminent greed, megalomania and autocracy. 

Our youth must also be reminded of the “great” Barter Trade economic policy that the great leader introduced.  Ugandans were told this is an African government with home grown economic philosophy.  Our beans and maize went to Cuba and we were supposed to get Cuban borehole pumps in return.  We are however yet to find the whereabouts of the Cuban pumps and where they were sunk to provide clean water for the people of Uganda.  Somewhere along the way, money exchanged hands and suddenly, talking about barter trade became an offensive topic to the NRM.

Our youth must also ask how a man who came out of the bush empty handed managed to acquire Kisozi Ranch that previously belonged to the state almost immediately.  The signs were obvious from the word go.  That is why it really puzzles me to hear Ugandans asking about the origin of corruption, cronyism and megalomania.