With NRM, Uganda is making steady progress

In Summary

Yes, for now there may be no paying jobs especially for the educated, however, it is better to have the challenge of educated people without jobs than having completely illiterate people who can neither write nor read their names. NRM believes that with sustainable peace and stability, together we can build consensus and a better policy framework for nationally inclusive growth.

It is just a few weeks to presidential and parliamentary elections day, February 18. The NRM with its presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni has arguably fought a hard battle against an array of Opposition groups, including three presidential candidates who have been insiders.
The three, former prime minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, former National Political commissar Col (rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye, and Maj Gen Benon Biraro who was seconded to represent Uganda to head the strategic planning management unity at the African Union. It is a unit responsible for AU peace and security support mission where there is a lot of money, perhaps the reason Biraaro grew wings. So far all the three haven’t heavily dented the NRM support base, and many assessments show they are unlikely to topple Museveni.

For long Museveni who lived as a fugitive guerrilla had trained and even admonished his followers against seeking publicity especially in the public media calling it cheap propaganda. According to Museveni, revolutionaries as the NRM has been should simply concentrate on work, and their achievements shall be seen by all of good will. But all that has changed because of technology, liberalisation, privatisation and democracy where one must constantly engage.

Consequently, Mbabazi and Besigye knew that the NRM information and media outreach machinery is wobbly and not appropriately facilitated, and would, therefore, be ill-prepared to effectively counter them especially if they based their campaign on deliberate false propaganda. So, it is not entirely surprising to analysts that these two have built their election campaign platform mainly on spreading half truths even where the facts are positive and glaring. Mbabazi knew he would face a disorganised NRM since as secretary general he didn’t build credible party structures.

For instance, Besigye has called women empowerment “tokenism,” yet Uganda has moved from only one woman MP and minister of state Theresa Odong Oduka under UPC II regime to the present 129 MPs including a Parliament Speaker, and 20 ministers, eight of them Cabinet ministers. Under Besigye as NPC, there were only 41 women MPs. Going by the common talk, all arguably hold key portfolios of Education, Internal Affairs, Security, Government Chief Whip, Trade and Industry, Energy and Mineral development, Water and Environment, and Karamoja affairs. It has been under NRM that women were appointed judges of High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. In addition currently, there are 13 women out of the 30 permanent secretaries.

For starters, Mbabazi and Besigye have both sought to downgrade Museveni’s achievements in the restoration of peace, security and stability portraying it as heavily reliant on militarism, and in their view unsustainable. Secondly, throughout this campaign they have given the impression that our democracy has stalled, isn’t working and in some instances has become anti-people, and therefore, should be replaced and drastically overhauled. This is the reason each of them is giving lip service to amend the Constitution to restore presidential term limit, allegedly trim the size of government and make it more ‘efficient’, and create a federal structure where local entities have autonomy over policy and resources.

I call it “lip service” because Mbabazi and Besigye having failed to field requisite number of candidates won’t have the capacity to marshal three quarters of all members of Parliament and in some instances district councils required for a constitutional overhaul particularly within the first 100 days as they claim in the most unlikely event that any of them gets elected.
Campaigning on the theme of “steady progress,” NRM believes that much has been achieved, although more remains to be done especially if all Ugandans collectively pull in the same direction of this progress. From just about 60,000 primary school teachers, there are today 181,346 in government schools receiving better pay and conditions of service.

School enrollment under Universal Primary Education is currently 8,459,720, and Universal Secondary Education is 757,867 from 161,396 in 2001 when it was introduced. University enrollment has risen from 5,390 in 1986 to 155,238 thanks to the establishment of more government universities, and liberalisation policy that allowed in private sector players. Education, health, transport and energy infrastructure have expanded exponentially allowing more access, affordability, creating employment, and revenue to government to fund other public needs.

Yes, for now there may be no paying jobs especially for the educated, however, it is better to have the challenge of educated people without jobs than having completely illiterate people who can neither write nor read their names. NRM believes that with sustainable peace and stability, together we can build consensus and a better policy framework for nationally inclusive growth.
With a secure environment, reliable and cost effective transport, water, energy, and information, communication and technology network Uganda should increasingly become a tourist and investment destination as these are critical in lowering the cost of doing business.
Mr Ofwono speaks for the NRM.