By M. Suleman

27^th Dec 2010

Through this column, I recently proposed that Uganda needs to urgently look at the question of whether Uganda needs to have Parliamentary elections now.  I still feel that given the current political, social, and economic conditions in the country, parliamentary elections are unnecessary, meaningless, and a waste of time and money.

While I concentrated on the technical and administrative impediments, Mushega came up with more compelling reasons to support my contention that parliamentary elections are not necessary at this stage.

Before 1986, politics was a calling.  It was not for amateurs seeking a living out of Parliament. Many people sought to join Parliament after meritorious service or after success elsewhere.  These people were often ‘coerced’ by their communities to join politics with the expectation that with their experience, they would help to uplift their communities.

People generally joined politics to look for opportunities to better the lives of the citizens of our country.  There was always consensus, especially amongst members of one party, as to who was the most suitable candidate.  Whilst there were stiff competitions in some cases, such competitions were also less acrimonious.

The 1980 elections are a good example.  Both UPC and DP attracted well respected individuals with impeccable records of service to the country.  They were individuals who were driven by the desire to serve more than the desire to benefit from Parliament and government.

But as soon as Museveni came to power, he systematically destroyed that culture.  Parliament has become a place for mediocres; a place where people look for the big cheques and benefits.

Confident of his successes and desire to serve other than to benefit, I believe patriotic and respectable Ugandans like Mr Mushega feel uncomfortable joining a parliament with people whose interests are personal rather than national.

And because of the expected benefits, a parliamentary seat has become a matter of life and death and the shoving and jostling has become stupidly intense that it demeans those involved.  It’s not worth sacrificing one’s hard earned integrity for.

There is also the moral side of it.  Through his actions, Museveni has systematically destroyed the integrity and relevancy of Parliament.  We all saw how parliament was compromised with cash and coerced into changing the constitution to give Museveni a life presidency.

The same parliament was undermined when the President decided to invade DRC without consulting it; it’s the same parliament which approved the appointment of corrupt Ministers; it’s the same parliament which approved the appointment of Museveni’s wife Janet as Minister; the same parliament has passed disgusting laws that allow government to eavesdrop on peoples private conversations; the same parliament has allowed Uganda to be transformed into a brutal dictatorship which doesn’t respect human life and dignity; the list is endless!

So without a complete overhaul of our politics to bring in people who are focused on nation building as opposed to nation looting, I cannot imagine any self-respecting and patriotic Ugandan being proud of mixing his or her integrity with the deadwoods in parliament at the moment.

They know of the dehumanizing poverty in the country, the unemployment, the collapsed infrastructure, and the non-existent healthcare among many other things but still shamelessly pocket their fat cheques and allowances without a care in the world.

Uganda desperately needs a decisive reversal of the predatory culture introduced be Museveni.  In short, I agree with Mr Mushega that there is no need to get involved in parliamentary elections.

What is important is to garner all efforts to remove Museveni so that the country is overhauled in almost every aspect of life.  Uganda under Museveni is like a car with a broken engine.  So one cannot start by buying new tyres for the without fixing the engine.  It’s hopeless!

Let us put all our efforts into uprooting Museveni as a way of reclaiming our country from the 1986 predators.  END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.