Uganda: Celebrations are okay, but what about the future?

If you are 20 years today, 50 years from now you will be 70; if 30, you’ll be 80; if 50, you’ll be 100 and if 70, you’ll be 120 years old and in the unlikely event, those that are 80 years today will be 130 years old by the time Uganda celebrates her centenary of independence.

Many of us who have had the special opportunity to witness the Golden Jubilee might be thinking that we may not be around for the centenary celebrations, but one thing we must never lose sight of is the fact that Uganda exists for both the present and future generations. A lot of the things we have lived to enjoy were a result of the efforts of those that came before us. Therefore we have a golden opportunity, energized by the mood of the Golden Jubilee, to lay a well buttressed foundation for those that will come after us.

A number of times, leaders come to power with very short-sighted plans that only focus on their term in office and a couple more years if they have a chance to be re-elected. Even when they beg for another term under the pretext of un-finished business, it is usually a mere gimmick for securing the vote, but in actual sense they do not really have Uganda at heart. Even us ordinary citizens sometimes live our lives as if there is no tomorrow. But incidentally today happens to be the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.

From today, our leaders should ply their trade in the form of a relay. In a relay competition, the person holding the baton is not necessarily expected to be the one to lead his team to the end. Everyone runs a given fraction of the distance and hands over the baton to the next runner until the team’s ultimate goal is achieved.

Therefore Uganda deserves to have a master plan that supersedes individual (or party) interests, and which all future leaders must work to actualize. There must also be a checking, reporting and accountability mechanism to assess progress, so that when anyone takes to the podium at the next celebrations they must be in a position to tell the world what progress will have been made.

I was impressed when President Museveni mentioned that in the next 50 years Uganda will have taken a stride out of the age-old Third World class. According to him, the discovery of oil and gas resources points in this direction. This is a very positive dream, which all leaders must put forward. However, oil and gas discovery alone is not enough. There is so much more that must be done in terms of fighting the biting monster of corruption, enhancing unity and patriotism and changing the people’s attitudes.

We could start with a few examples towards transforming our country into the Uganda we dream of. First, it should be a big shame that Kampala in its current state will still be the place to call a city in Uganda 50 years down the road. Kampala is not only dented with potholes almost in its entirety, but its original plan has been terribly defiled to such an extent that if nothing is urgently done to clean it up, it could quickly deteriorate into a slum rather than an improving city. Besides, we must ask ourselves the all-important question: is Kampala the city we shall comfortably call Uganda’s capital 50 years from now? If not, then we should already identify a suitable place somewhere else in the country where we can plant the seeds for the capital city of our dreams and start implementing that dream bit by bit. Who knows, the centenary celebrations could find us far more decent - but we must start NOW.

I was particularly happy with the Kabaka of Buganda when he called on the Kingdom to embark on the practice of community service, popularly known as ‘Bulungi bwansi’. This is the first step towards taking responsibility for our country by each individual dedicating a part of their time (and resources) toward the common good. This system was operational in olden Uganda; chiefs were mandated to coordinate their communities on a given day of the month to clear bushes, construct latrines and clear the roads and trenches, and so on.

However, this died out as capitalism quickly gripped the country and maintenance of public utilities was taken over by government. Despite taxes being paid by the people, the reality is that this has failed to translate into effective service delivery. So why not reduce the taxes and let the citizens offer community service where they can? Could the road connecting Kabalagala through Kibuli to Kampala be riddled with potholes for over 15 years if the community were mandated to fix it?

‘Rome was not built in one day’, many people are often heard as saying. However, the Romans must have been working towards a common dream, spent sleepless nights, dedicated massive resources and energy devoid of corruption in order to get to where Rome is today.

President Yoweri Museveni who is now serenaded as the bringer of peace and stability, the Jubilee president, and so on should pick up the broom and sweep his ‘house’. Every person entrusted with responsibility under his leadership must be tasked to provide tangible accountability consistent with the resources they manages.

We need to see all sectors justifying the budgets they are allocated each year and if our failure to take off is due to lack of adequate funds, let us devise means to secure them. I believe with no grain of doubt that if well intentioned, Uganda can become a thriving middle income economy in the next 50 years.

Ugandans as individuals should not wait for government to do miracles if politicians continue with their incompetence and looting of public resources. Once we know where we want to go and everyone is committed, no one shall have space to languish until the dream for Uganda is achieved. Back to the analogy of a relay, every citizen, every family, every community must play their role to realize the national dream.

If anyone has doubts about whether they will live for the next 50 years, please be comforted by the fact that God, at the time of creation, blessed each one of us with life according to his programme. None of us knows God’s programme and, therefore, we have no business speculating whether or not we shall be around. In football, we often say that each game should be played as if it’s the final.

Likewise, every individual must perform to their very best every day, especially considering that tomorrow is only God’s secret. One thing, though, is for sure: whether you and I are around tomorrow or not, Uganda is here to stay; but what kind of Uganda will the future generation find? The answer lies in what you do today.

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