The NRM government newspaper Bukedde of March 10, 2010, published a story showing that vote buying in school prefect elections is the norm in Uganda schools. At the swearing in of Shafina Nangobi as the headgirl at Pic Hill Primary School in Kawempe, the young lady openly said that she had spent about US$1 ,500 on her campaign. Shafinah Nangobi explained that she spent most of the money buying snacks and food for student voters. She then offered the runner-up in the election to be her deputy.

Shafina is the daughter of a Ugandan celebrity, Sylvia Namutebi, better known as Maama Fiina. Ms. Namutebi attended her daughter’s swearing in ceremony. She told the students and teachers that this is the beginning for her daughter. The plan is for Shafinah to compete for a seat in the Uganda national parliament when she grows up. Then Maama Fiina bought lunch for everyone present.

For the last more than 10 years, becoming a class monitor or dormitory prefect in Ugandan schools involves serious political campaigns. The NRM government encourages politics in schools, claiming that it teaches democracy to the youngest Ugandans. The problem is that now children buy votes to become primary school prefects or class monitors and parents and teachers encourage it. Children are learning corruption at at the same time as addition and multiplication.

According to an official Buganda Kingdom news release, the minister for Local Government and Cooperatives, Jolly Lutaaya has advised Masaza Chiefs to intensify the registration process of every one in their areas of jurisdiction.

Owek. Lutaaya who was meeting the chiefs at Bulange in Mengo explained that this registration, which should include the newly born babies, the youth, adults, immigrants and the dead is very important in the planning process of the Kingdom and the country at large.

He added that the registration furthermore is intended to help fight immoral activities that are infiltrating most communities.

Lutaaya further advised the chiefs to work hard and earn their respect as Kabaka’s officials among the society they serve.

He added that with maximum respect from the people, all their calls will be responded to accordingly which will lead to great improvements in people’s lives.

The minister also advised the chiefs to promote Omummuli Programme spearheaded Katikkiro Eng J.B. Walusimbi which is geared at developing the people of Buganda.

In the same meeting, the minister of state for Local Government and cooperatives in the Kingdom George Nsamba Kumama also called upon the chiefs to promote the spirit of the Cooperative Unions right from the county to the village level.

Kumama explained that cooperatives will help the communities in villages to improve their income earnings and promote their living standards at home.

The announcement by Mmengo is a major change in the way Kabaka’s peoples are registered. For more than 100 years Kabaka’s government encouraged Baganda clans to register their members (bazzukulu) at Mutuba, Ssiga and Kasolya levels. Even late last year the Buganda government announced plans to register Baganda in their clans. It now seems like the registration of Baganda in their clans has been completely dropped.

Dear Compatriots

On March 6, 1987, Dr. Kayira was murdered in cold blood. Saturday, March 6, 2010 marks the 23^rd Anniversary of his death.

With his Uganda Freedom Movement Dr. Kayira was serious on liberating Uganda from dictatorship. With his UFA his approach was a surgical one. M7 with his NRA the approach was of a protracted and resistance war.

In early eighties Dr. Kayira landed a sizeable and effective consignment of armaments. Before taking any surgical moves with them he had consultation with M7. He suggested that he was going to hit Obote’s life nerve, the army barracks positioned in the Lubiri. He requested M7 and his troops to participate in the exercise of taking over Kampala and returning the country to the people. M7 refused to participate. Instead he chose to harass Kayira till Kayira could no longer see the light of this world.

This is one of the examples of  the effects of the ogu nenki syndrome (=who is this syndrome) which continues to bedevil Uganda. Kayira will go down in the history of Uganda for his advocacy of federalism that would help Ugandans to be proud of what they are and save Ugandans from being arrogant because of what they are.

Please, remember Dr. Lutaakome Andrew Kayira.

Aloysius Muzzanganda Mugerwa Lugira

Professor of Comparative Theology Emeritus
Theology Department Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 01467 USA

Tel: 617-552-3539 work 781-937-3954 house

E-mail: lugira@bc.edu or Aloysius.lugira@yahoo.com

According to an official press release by the Kabaka’s Government, the Lion of Buganda, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II has chosen to cerebrate his 55th birthday with the various theatrical groups in Uganda.

According to the committee chairperson, Minister Mohamood Thobani, celebrations will be held on 13th April 2010 at Theatre Labonita where theatrical groups will be hosted among other guests to celebrate with their King.

Thobani explained that this has been done to appreciate the artists for their tremendous efforts in promoting the cultural norms and values of Buganda through talents.

He added that “most times, artists have supported the Kingdom and therefore there is no better way to thank them than to let them cerebrate Kabaka’s birthday with him”.

He further elaborated that this year’s celebrations under the theme “Obuwangwa bwaffe n’obukozi ge maanyi” will also include bringing the youth closure to their cultural background.

In this regard, Kabaka Mutebi will visit Kibuli Senior Secondary School where many young people will gather to cerebrate Kabaka’s birthday.

Celebrations will begin with general prayers at Kibuli Mosque, thereafter, Kabaka will visit Kibuli hospital to extend his sympathies to those in pain from where he will head to Kibuli Senior Secondary School. The day’s cerebrations will be crowned by a cocktail party to be hosted at Theatre Labonita.

This year’s organizing committee includes among the following, Mohamood Thobani as the chairperson, Ahmed Bamweyana, Ahmed Lwasa, Hajati Mariam Mayanja, Kayima Stephen Nawuba Rajin Tailor, Samlie Mwanje, Nakimuli Leticia, Omulangira David Wasajja, Muganga John Herman, Huruna Njuki and Nalinnya Nabanakulya.

For nearly 20 years, the World Bank and western countries that finance the NRM government have ignored the excesses of president Museveni and his cabal and funnelled billions of dollars into Uganda.  Baganda analysts tend to cite corruption and racism within the donor community as the primary reasons why president Museveni and his NRM have had such a successful run. Since 1992 Uganda’s NRM government has depended on foreign aid for 50-60% of its budget (donors usually understate it to avoid embarrassment).  During the same period, Uganda’s rulers and their families have taken advantage of the donor support to invade Congo, steal billions of dollars from the national treasury and murder citizens using illegal militia like Black Mambas.  Using traditional “Mbulira gwoyita naye” logic, many Baganda opinion leaders argue that the corruption in the NRM government is undisputable evidence that their benefactors, the donors, are also corrupt.

Many  Baganda intellectuals also believe that, Uganda’s western foreign donors  think that black Africans do not deserve the same human rights as others. For example, most  European countries do not tolerate use of selective laws to steal property and deny self-determination rights from a distinct European nation like Bosnians or Slovaks or Danes or Latvians.  However, in Uganda, countries like Norway and Denmark aggressively  fund projects like Decentralization and the 1998 Land Act, which are specifically designed to deny Baganda their human rights. This irrationality is leading many Baganda intellectuals to conclude that racism is a major factor in the Uganda donor community’s approach to Museveni.  The theory is also supported by the radically different reaction seen from the western countries when Robert Mugabe applies similarly inhuman policies to whites in Zimbabwe.

In what some Banda observers believe might be a USA led shift in tolerance towards Mr. Museveni in 2010, however, the Western countries appear to be taking some steps to distance themselves from Museveni’s policies.  President Obama sent a strong signal when he refused to grant Mr. Museveni private meeting at the UN Annual Meeting late last year. Last month, the US Congress passed a resolution instructing the State Department to monitor and report  on Uganda 2011 election campaign. Recently, the USA Ambassador to Uganda officially recognized the Kingdom of Buganda when he trekked to Kabaka Mutebi’s Banda palace for an official visit (see “United States Ambassador Listens To Kabaka Mutebi”).

In the latest move by Museveni’s benefactors, a western diplomatic official has leaked a World Bank  statement that threatens the withdraw of funding. It was presented to the NRM government  in a closed door national budget workshop late last month.  The periodic national budget workshops are popularly known as the Uganda’s begging conferences in local circle.

The full text of the leaked World Bank statement is reproduced in full below:

DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS REMARKS
NATIONAL BUDGET WORKSHOP
25-26 February 2010
(As prepared for delivery)
Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda,
Right Honorable Prime Minister,
Honorable Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development,
Honorable Ministers,
Honorable Members of Parliament,
Representatives of civil society organizations and the private sector,
Members of the diplomatic community,
Distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the development partners, I wish to thank the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development for organizing this budget workshop.

We recognize that the 2010/11 budget is being developed in tandem with the National Development Plan. This provides an opportunity to focus the budget on Uganda’s development priorities.

Let me take this opportunity to commend the Government of Uganda on its continued macroeconomic achievements.

Sustained economic growth has translated into a significant decline in poverty levels. Moreover, the economy is weathering the impact of the global financial crisis better than anticipated and headline inflation has returned to single digits.

We also welcome the introduction, by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, of performance based budgeting, quarterly release of funds to spending agencies, and allocation of more resources to monitoring of results.

The Office of the Prime Minister has improved reporting on government performance. This will help to improve accountability. And we congratulate the Government for its efforts to bring peace to Northern Uganda and championing reconstruction of that region.

Your Excellency, past accomplishments by the government of Uganda have been remarkable. However, the real test of prudent and effective government lies in how you will address the challenges of the future.

The vision for Uganda laid out by your Excellency is inspiring and clear: Uganda has to become a middle income country over the next 15 years. Consequently, this statement by development partners has only one theme: what will it take for Uganda to achieve this goal?

There are three challenges that Uganda needs to tackle.
The first challenge: Uganda needs higher economic growth and lower population growth. For Uganda to attain middle income status over the next 15 years, per capita income growth needs to be 6% per year, meaning the economy has to grow at close to 10% per year.

Is this possible? Yes, it is: Thailand had the same GDP per capita as Uganda in 1963; it became a middle income country 18 years later. Indonesia had the same GDP per capita as Uganda in 1978; it became a middle income country 17 years later.

And, Malaysia grew 135% in per capita terms over 20 years from 1960.
These three countries have one common factor: during the period of dramatically rising per capita incomes, fertility rates fell between 40 to 50%.

This is no coincidence. These countries were basically “harvesting the demographic dividend” – the period where falling fertility rates leads to a falling dependency ratio: that means a larger proportion of the population is in their working age, compared to children and the elderly.

At 3.2% growth per year, Uganda has one of the fastest rates of population growth in the world. Uganda’s population is projected to reach 38 million by 2015 and close to 100 million by 2050. This has serious implications for livelihoods, food security, maternal and child mortality, and the environment.

Providing social services such as education and healthcare to a rapidly growing population will put enormous strains on both households and the public purse.

Despite economic growth over the last 20 years, profound inequality in incomes, living standards and life expectancy persist within and across regions. Making economic growth more inclusive should therefore be a priority.

The second challenge: Uganda can only attain middle income status with a healthy and educated labor force.

Uganda needs to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals for health and education. The NDP states unequivocally that the health and education MDG indicators will only “marginally improve”.

Only slightly more than half of the children that enter primary one, reach primary five. This is well short of the goal that all children, boys and girls alike, should complete a full course of primary education.

In addition, the targets for child and infant mortality and maternal health are also unlikely to be reached and Uganda still has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world.

Building an effective and accountable state is the third crucial challenge Uganda is faced with. The fast growing countries of Asia mentioned earlier are not free of corruption.

But corruption in these countries has not affected the effectiveness of the state to the extent that it affects the Ugandan state. Development partners are particularly concerned about Government failure to take effective action against high level corruption.

A recent example is CHOGM, where there has been minimal follow-up on recommendations in the audit reports, which have been known since 2008.

The PAC hearings have publicized the issues surrounding the leakage and abuse of CHOGM funds. Yet, government administrative action to sanction offenders or recover funds has so far been inadequate.

Your Excellency, corruption in Uganda is endemic and we have seen no signs of improvement. The costs of corruption, stealing and leakages are staggering: $1.6 million lost in the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria; $4.6 million lost in the GAVI immunization scam; at least $27 million lost in connection with CHOGM; billions of Shillings lost in the NAADS scam and the NSSF Temangalo scandal; and the loss in procurement corruption is estimated by the PPDA to be more than $100m per year.

However, government effectiveness is not only undermined by corruption. There remain fundamental gaps in public financial and public sector management. Basic rules are not adhered to. Lines of accountability are confused, mandates of central and local governments are not clear.

This has created a fundamental lack of accountability in Government. How else to explain high levels of absenteeism of teachers and health workers estimated at causing losses of up to $70 million per year?

Last but surely not least, only effective and accountable states are able to turn oil into a blessing for a country. Without an effective and accountable government, Uganda could easily become the next African country where oil has become a curse.

Your Excellency, let me now address the concrete steps that can be taken to ensure Uganda becomes a middle income country.

First: government needs to remove the binding constraints to growth and curb population growth. The dual challenge of increased economic growth and rapid job creation requires that the binding constraints on growth, such as poor transport infrastructure and insufficient supply of electricity are tackled.

The increased investments in the transport sector are therefore commendable. However, increased investments should be matched by an equal effort to improve governance and capacity of the sector to ensure that money is well spent.

We would like to urge the government to stick to the time-tested policy of trusting the private sector for implementing major works.

Only a vibrant private sector construction industry will provide Uganda with the roads that are so badly needed. The re-introduction of district force account operations was and still is a bad idea.

The current low level of absorption capacity in the private sector is a result of lack of investments in the past. The private sector will meet the challenges of road construction and maintenance only if investments by the Government are predictable.

Despite the huge increase in spending on road construction and maintenance, the government has yet to put in place a system for monitoring road conditions.

This leaves the sector open to fraud and undermines efforts to achieve value for money in the road sector. A big proportion of future oil revenues will surely be spent on the transport sector.

This makes it even more urgent to improve the governance framework for road construction and maintenance.
The NDP has identified a reduction in fertility as a major strategy.

According to surveys, Ugandan women would like to have fewer children than they currently have. However, 41% of demands for family planning services are currently unmet.

Without a rapid expansion of family planning programs, Uganda will not be able to replicate the impressive growth rates in the Asian countries mentioned earlier.

What is needed, therefore, is a commitment on the part of government to increase its share in procurement of contraceptives, which is currently less than 10% of national requirements.

Equally important is increased focus on girls’ education and improvement in reproductive health, to address the shortfalls against the MDG indicators mentioned earlier.

Lastly, Mr. President, as demonstrated over the last 23 years, a stable political environment is the single most important factor for a good business climate.

Political upheaval is very bad for investment and doing business, as we have recently witnessed in Kenya. In turn, respect for the rule of law and human rights is essential to guarantee political stability.

Second: government needs to prioritize public spending while ensuring that Uganda’s labor force is healthy and educated.

Addressing the challenge of providing quality services to the growing Ugandan population necessitates prudent and efficient use of Uganda’s limited financial resources. Achieving value for money is therefore essential.

In addition to curbing waste and inefficiencies the government should prioritize public spending. Development partners share the concern of Uganda’s civil society and media about the high and increasing levels of spending on government’s administrative structures.

These are resources that could otherwise be invested in infrastructure and on providing basic education, health care and clean drinking water to the poor.

The sharp increase in the number of districts in recent years (and continued plans for new ones), diverts both human and financial resources from existing districts and undermines the capacity of local governments to effectively deliver services.

Starting at 36 districts, 80 districts last year, and now 91 districts: who can make a serious case that this expansion of the number of districts is good for service delivery?

I now turn to concrete suggestions to strengthen the capacity of the Ugandan state.

An effective and accountable state is needed to guarantee value for money in service delivery by tackling corruption, waste and inefficiencies. Oil will provide much of the resources needed to increase public and private investment in future years.

However, if these investments are to yield lasting results, the management of public finances has to improve.

While we recognize the Government of Uganda’s commitment to the value for money agenda, much more needs to be done. The NDP identifies public sector management and administration as the number one binding constraint to achieving Uganda’s development objectives.

The remaining gaps in some of the fundamental aspects of public financial management need urgent attention in order to improve spending capacity and efficiency.

For example, zero tolerance towards non-adherence to the Commitment Control Systems, or the circumvention of IFMIS, is required to address the long standing abuse of Public Financial Management (PFM) systems.

Making sure basic PFM systems work requires in the first place fundamental behavioral change. This change can only be brought about by the Government and each one of you sitting here.

Weak public sector management and administration is one of the main causes of absenteeism of teachers and health workers. This waste of public resources should not be allowed to continue.

Action should be taken to address absenteeism. This should include not only positive incentives, but also strong disciplinary measures.
Lastly, Mr. President, the Government of Uganda has to start fighting corruption seriously.

The undeniable lack of government action to follow up on cases of grand corruption is a key area of development partner concern. Policies, laws and institutions are in place, but enforcement is limited, creating a culture of impunity.

Offenders should be sanctioned, money should be recovered and criminal investigations taken forward on key cases. We commend MoFPED on the recent initiative to develop an Action Plan for follow-up on CHOGM, which we hope will lead to concrete action being taken in the near future.

The Government’s failure to act on high level corruption will have implications, and donors under the Joint Budget Support Framework are currently considering a range of actions.

This may include withholding disbursements, reductions in aid, or re-programming away from direct budget support etc. These were all options discussed and agreed to with the Government in the 2007/08 budget appraisal.

In conclusion, Your Excellency, we would like to assure the government of Uganda that Development Cooperation will increasingly be a results-oriented partnership, where development partners can demonstrate to their own taxpayers that money is well spent.

We are committed to improving the predictability of aid and to working with Government to address the serious challenges Uganda faces to consolidate past gains and achieve lasting results for the people of Uganda.

Thank you for your attention.

Kundhavi Kadiresan
World Bank Country Manager
Chair, Local Development Partners’ Group
Co-Chair, Joint Budget Support Framework Policy Committee

SMS based Free Buganda Radio (also known as Radio Bu)  and its Ekiba Kibe program have gone to another level by getting a page on Facebook. The move to Facebook was announced by Robert  Kabuye e Boston during his evening the February 19, 2010 evening broadcast.  After getting a tip from one of the Buganda Post readers, we found  Mr. Kabuye and his Ekiba Kibe program on Facebook (www.facebook.com) under the name Kabuye Boston Robert.

In the same program, Robert Kabuye offered prayers to the Democratic Party (DP), which appears to been permanently split into two factions. Commenting on one of the factions which, according to Mr. Kabuye, is lead by Nasser Ssebagala and Norbert Mao, the broadcaster from the Ngeye clan called on all Baganda to remain focused on the noble cause of liberating Buganda.

Click on Ekiba_Kibe19Feb10B to listen toKabuye’a  February 19, 2010 Ekiba Kibe broadcast on Radio Bu.

Mr. Museveni’s NRM government has told Buganda officials who were in the final stages of preparing to open a Buganda TV station to forget it. The order was given by the chairman of Mr. Museveni’s broadcasting council, Godfrey Mutabaazi. According to the Baganda Eddoboozi newspaper, the Kabaka of Buganda first thought of opening a TV station, to develop his kingdom,  a few years ago. Buganda government officials formed a separate company called Diamond Communications Limited to implement the Kabaka’s plans. And on February 24, the NRM government’s broadcasting council  issued a licence to Diamond to open the TV station. Since then, Buganda officials have been working hard, including ordering equipment from overseas, to put everything in  place for the Buganda TV station to open.

In announcing the surprise cancellation of the TV licence, Godfrey Mutabaazi claimed that the licence had to be cancelled because Buganda has taken too long to open the station from the date they got it.  Mutabaazi claimed that it was against the laws and regulations governing broadcast licences to delay as much as Buganda did. The TV licence cancellation comes only one week after the NRM government similarly the licence for a new Buganda radio station. The radio licence had also been obtained by Diamond Communications in 2008 and was not related to the CBS FM radio stations, which the NRM government closed late in 2009.

When the NRM government cancelled the new Buganda radio and TV licences, it completed a total radio and TV information blackout on Kabaka Mutebi and his development programs from the citizens of Buganda.  In October and November 2009, the NRM government ordered all media houses in Uganda to stop reporting might promote the image of Kabaka Mutebi or his programs or Buganda identity. And that was after Buganda’s main station CBS FM Radio and its two channels were illegally closed.  The timing of the cancellations and closures seem to be aimed at bankrupting Kabaka Mutebi’s projects and forcing Buganda to apologize for resisting the NRM government’s plans for the kingdom.

Now, the only public channels in Uganda which the Kabaka can reliably use to guide his subjects in development are two Baganda owned newspapers, Eddoboozi and Ggwanga. However, the two publications are also operating on slippery ground. However, Buganda is far from down and out. Baganda in Europe and the USA have started a variety of media outlets and some of them are dedicated to Buganda national interests. For example, last week word spread like fire around Kampala surburbs that a Baganda radio called Ababaka (www.ababaka.com)  was going to start broadcasting on Short Wave (SW) every Saturday and Sunday from 8:00PM – 10:00PM. Our reporters in Kampala have not yet been able to find people who have a SW radio and were able to tune into Ababaka Radio last weekend. However, the word continues to spread and Short Wave radios are selling very well.  The USA based Baganda radio does not need a licence from the NRM because it is supposed to use satellites to transmit but it is hard to know yet if the NRM  interfered with it at all. Ababaka Radio has been broadcasting for a long time and  is already very popular in the diaspora especially in the USA, UK and Germany.

Eddoboozi newspaper has reported that one of Kabaka Mutebi’s guards has rebelled and established Local Council 1 (LC 1) office in the Mmengo Lubiri. The Lubiri the official residence of the Kabaka of Buganda and is considered a sacred place for Baganda. According to reports, David Ssengoye and other people, first held a meeting at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel in Ndeeba and selected themselves as the officials of the council. Ssengoye is chairman, Betty Kisaliita is his deputy and one Saad, another former Kabaka’s guard is secretary for youth. Under the president Museveni’s occupation laws, if Ssengoye gets away with this council then he (Ssengoye) will have political power over the Lion of Buganda.

Eddoboozi learnt from reliable sources that Ssengoye’s rebel LC 1 is filled by NRM operatives. And according to the newspaper’s research, it appears that Ssegoye is being paid well by certain people to provoke Kabaka Mutebi. When the Kabaka first heard about Ssengoye’s activities, he (Kabaka) told his guard to drop the idea because Mmengo Lubiri is a private cultural place and must not have a political office such as LC 1. However, Ssengoye decided to ignore his Kabaka and move ahead to start his LC 1 office in the palace.

By lunchtime in Kampala on Saturday, the word on Buganda street was that evidence (“bwino”) had been uncovered that at least two Mmengo officials had secretly assisted Ssengoye to set up the LC 1. And that they had been facilitated by Museveni’s NRM government.

Eddobozi newspaper is run by the Buganda youth organization, Nkoba za Mbogo and can be found online at www.eddoboozi.co.ug.