On July 5, 2010, a Baganda internet radio called www.ekibakibe.com was broadcasting a speech by retired Buganda Katikkiro, Dan Muliika, where tells Baganda that it makes no sense to participate in the 2011 elections since they will only legitimize Museveni’s dictatorship.  Sources in Boston have confirmed to us that Owek. Muliika made the speech during the last Buganda liberation conference in May 2010. It is not clear at what times Owek. Muliika’s speech is repeated and how long it will stay on www.ekibakibe.com.  You can try your luck to listen to it by going to the site and clicking “Radio” and “Listen Live”.

About Uganda’s system government, the former Katikkiro says, “The electoral commission is Museveni’s personal property, the Parliament is owned by Museveni, the army and police are his and so is the civil service. But even more important, he has looted so much of the national assets; if he loses the elections, it is difficult to imagine how he will be prosecuted or imprisoned by the winner. That is why there is no way he will even allow the situation.”

About the opposition MPs, Owek. Muliika does not mince words. “Real parliamentary opposition disappeared in 1966. People like Betty Kamya and Latigo are mere pawns that Museveni uses to make his government appear legitimate. He uses them to argue to the donors that there is democracy in Uganda.”

On the inter-party coalition (IPC) that includes DP-Buganda, Mulwaanyamuli’s Suubi, FDC, Otunnu’s UPC, and others, Muliika, dismissed the whole idea as a farce that involves people who do not trust each other. He questioned why, if they have clear and intelligent political objectives, they do not form one party but constantly says that they are separate. He  refers to the alliance using a Luganda saying,  “Eyo alliance gyebayita ‘Malako enyama ompe amagumba’” (“That alliance in nothing but a  ‘You can eat the meat but leave the bones’ for me deal”). He calls the IPC evidence of the “politics of intrigue” from which Buganda cannot gain anything.  He challenges the audience to do some thinking with, “Lawaaki oyingira ekitima ekiwedde ng’otunula?” (“How can you blindly enter such an obvious trap with your eyes open?”)

On the holding of elections, Owek. Muliika argues that there should be no elections until Uganda’s constitution reflects the wishes of the citizen, not the current one, which was imposed by Museveni’s government. And until all national institutions are answerable to the people, not to an individual.

The retired Katikkiro called on Baganda in the diasopra to lead in the civic education of our people about their self-determination rights. He used Otunnu as an example, saying, “Although Otunnu is dangerous he still taught Ugandans something good.” He explained the president of UPC, which occupied and terrorized Buganda in 1966, recently taught Ugandans how to resist arbitrary and illegal police arrests by Museveni’s police.

One area that Owek. Muliika advised diaspora Baganda to include in the civic education is genocide. He told them that the Ugandans are practicing genocide against Buganda when they change the name of the kingdom from “Buganda” to “Central Region”. It is also genocide to change “Ssese Islands” [a Buganda county] to “Kalangala District”. All these things the Ugandans are doing by force to erase the identity of Buganda and Baganda are acts of genocide under international law.

On June 16, 2010 we received an email announcement from a person we now know to be a close advisor to former Katikkiro Dan Muliika. He is a church pastor in the Boston area.

According to the Luganda email, Muliika’s camp has discovered a plot by Museveni to arrest the former Katikkiro.  The email presents no such evidence. However, it asks every one to remember president Museveni’s recent threat to “cut off Buganda’s head”. It is not clear if the email is suggesting that former Katikkiro Dan Muliika is Buganda’a head.

When Owek. Muliika last visted Boston less than 2 months ago, he was declared leader of a new political group to fight Museveni through civic education of all Ugandans.  It was named Ggwanga Mujje International, which some Baganda found offensive. Then less than two weeks ago, Mr. Muliika announced, with former Katikkiro Mulwaanyamuli Ssemwogerere, that he was supporting Uganda’s opposition coalition and Kiiza Besigye. 

The email from Owek. Muliika’s Boston based advisor is reproduced in full below:

From: bumaaya@yahoo.com
To: Bumaaya@yahoo.com
To: Bumaaya@yahoo.com
Sent: Tue Jun 15th, 2010 8:48 PM EDT
Subject: Owkitiibwa Muliika

June 15, 2010                                 
Ggwangamujje     

Buganda ne Uganda mubeere Bulindaala

Okuva mu Nsonda ezesigibwa waliwo olukwe lwetuguddemu nga Government ya Uganda ( Museveni) ategeka okukwata Owekitiibwa Daniel Muliika nokumusiba.

Olukwe luno lumaze okumanyika ba kalisoliso ba Buganda era nebasaba mwenna mubeere bulindaala kwandiba nga kuliko nabaantu abalala abokukwatibwa.

Mbajjukiza  abakasoma ku Mawulire agakafulumira mu Uganda Observer nga gategeeza nga President Musevevi bweyayogerera e Bunyolo ku mukolo nga Monday 14, 2010 essaawa 05:49 naalangirira nga bwajja okutemako omutwe gwa Buganda.

Temubitwaala nti bino bya muniino Baganda bannange. 

Ssabasajja Kabaka Awaangale nokufuga Obuganda

According to unsigned press release from the leaders of Ggwanga Mujje Boston, former Buganda Katikkiro Muliika is the leader of a new Uganda political group committed to ousting the president of the NRM occupation government. The press release was issued at what was widely advertised on Free Buganda Radio as a Buganda liberation conference (“Olukiiko lw’Okununula Obuganda”). The publicity brochure for the conference clearly stated that the purpose of the conference was (a) the progress made so far on the work of liberating Buganda and (b) how to deal with the coming 2011 elections. However, the press release the press release says: “The purpose of the meeting was to launch Ggwanga Mujje International.”

The press release also states that: “At the end of the conference Mr. Muliika was elected President-General of Ggwanga Mujje International by acclamation.” However, it does not say if Ggwanga Mujje chapters in other cities officially endorsed the idea of a Ugandan anti-Museveni political party called Ggwanga Mujje International. What is clear is that some Baganda nationalists who insist on liberating Buganda from Ugandan occupation were disappointed that former Katikkiro Muliika has joined the anti-Buganda Ugandan politics. One of them sent to us a copy of yesterday’s Ekiba Kibe program saying that she supports Mr. Robert Kabuye’s campaign that Baganda should stay away from Museveni’s NRM elections.

The May 1, 2010 Buganda/Uganda conference also, in its press release, urged the Nnabagereka: “to refrain from participating in the functions of the Uganda North America Associations (UNAA).

Click on Ekiba_Kibe10May10A to listen to the full Ekiba Kibe program. The Ggwanga Mujje Boston press release is reproduced in full below:

Ggwanga Mujje International is born

On May 1, 2010, members of Ggwanga Mujje convened in a mammoth meeting at 920 Trapello Rd in Waltham Massachusetts. The purpose of the meeting was to launch Ggwanga Mujje International. The keynote speaker was Owek. Dan Muliika retired Katikkiro of Buganda. Mr. Muliika gave a rousing speech about political freedom and federalism in Uganda.

Addressing the delegates who came mainly from New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California and, of course, the whole of Massachusetts, the retired Katikkiro declared amidst a thunderous applause of the delegates: “Human rights are not for negotiation; they inherently belong to the people. The right to self-determination is recognized by international law. Therefore we cannot beg the leaders to give us a federal system of government. We must assert our right as a sovereign people to determine our destiny and the system of government we want and deserve.”

After the keynote speech the audience was given a chance to ask questions. Most people expressed sadness about political repression going on in their motherland. They cited rampart corruption that has further impoverished the poor while enriching the corrupt in government. The consensus was that a federal system of government is the best solution to Uganda’s perennial problems.

At the end of the conference Mr. Muliika was elected President-General of Ggwanga Mujje International by acclamation. His primary mission is to educate Ugandans about federalism and political freedom.

The Conference passed resolutions to concretize and implement the ideas, proposals and suggestions raised and discussed at the conference:

We members of Ggwanga Mujje committed to the full restoration of political freedom and the establishment of federal system of governance in Uganda do hereby

1. Re-affirm our previous resolution that Museveni and his corrupt regime must be removed from power in Uganda in order for true democracy to take root in the nation, including the establishment of a mechanism that unconditionally guarantees to all citizens of the country internationally verifiable, free and fair elections.

2. Reenact our previous resolutions to raise funds by starting with ourselves who are gathered here today. The funds so raised, will be supplemented by others sources, and will be mainly spent directly on financing civic education in Buganda and in other parts of Uganda about the benefits of federal governance for the whole of Uganda.

3. Unanimously elect by acclamation retired Katikkiro of Buganda, Owek. Dan Muliika, to represent us in Buganda and to spearhead our efforts to achieve our political goals in Buganda and Uganda, and hereby pledge to support him and his team to the full extent of our collective abilities.

4. Declare the creation of Ggwanga Mujje International which will be headed by Owek. Dan Muliika as a vehicle for achieving our objectives.

5. Note with appreciation the long standing practice of the political neutrality of the His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda and his official members of the Royal Palace, and urge the Nnabagereka to refrain from participating in the functions of the Uganda North America Associations (UNAA).

The New Year message that Ugandan strongman, Yoweri Musevni sent to the people he rules with an iron fist was a solid 21 pages long, taking more than one hour to read.  Most analysts are not surprised that the speech says little about the seismic civil upheavals and near collapse of the NRM government in September 2009. As our New York based analyst put it: “2009 will go down as the year when Museveni did not know what to do about Buganda. By the same token, it is the year when Kabaka Mutebi sent a clear signal to his subjects that Buganda’s rights are not negotiable. Based on the way Baganda nationalists all over the world are responding to Kabaka Mutebi’s signals, 2010 may very well be the year when the Buganda Independence Movement finally kicks off, thanks to Katikkiro Walusimbi’s incompetence and treasonous conduct. ”

Below we reproduce Museveni’s  voluminous 21-page speech:

New Year 2010

Address to the Nation

By

H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

President of the Republic of Uganda

31^st December 2009

Countrymen,

I congratulate you all upon the completion of the year 2009.  There have been a lot of developments and achievements at individual and corporate levels; and there have been losses. I wish to commiserate with all those who have had problems of one kind or another in the course of the year.

May I please take this moment to, in particular, express most heartfelt condolences to all the people who lost their loved ones during the past year.  May God rest the souls of the deceased in eternal peace.

Government continues to be guided by the national vision, towards achieving a Modern, Industrialized and Knowledge- based Society with strategies for transforming this country from an underdeveloped to a developed nation status.  The year 2009 may be designated as transitional period during which we have examined what we have attained under the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) for the last ten years.

As we refocus and re-engineer the economy to attain faster socio-economic growth, we have formulated a five-year National Development Plan that intertwines strategies that will ensure both accelerated economic growth and sustained poverty reduction.  The thrust is to consolidate the achievements we have made and move forward in a planned quasi-market economy approach. This will entail strengthening public-private partnerships in all development aspects of the economy. The government expenditure will also increase from Shs 7.9 trillion in 2010/11 to Shs 13.9 trillion in 2014/15, targeting investments in key areas of infrastructure (roads, railway, hydropower dams and oil refinery), education, health, Agriculture and Tourism.

At an appropriate time, I will brief the Nation on the detailed strategies to be undertaken to unlock the identified national binding constraints to enable us to attain faster socio-economic transformation, accelerated private sector growth and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

However to highlight, a few, we have identified key flagship projects to provide impulse to unlocking the binding constraints within the economy. These include:

(i)           National Skills Programme;

(ii)          Constructing the standard rail gauge;

(iii)        Rehabilitating the existing railway lines;

(iv)        Development of Greater Metropolitan Kampala and implementing the rapid transport system;

(v)          Improve water transport on Lake Victoria;

(vi)        Construction of three Hydro-electric power stations (HEPs) namely Karuma, Ayago and Isimba;

(vii)       Development of oil and gas refinery;

(viii)     Construction of Oil and gas pipeline;

(ix)        Development of ICT business parks;

(x)          Construction and development of 4 regional incubation centres;

(xi)        Construction and development of five large scale irrigation schemes;

(xii)      Construction and development of phosphate industry in Tororo;

(xiii)     Development and Production of Iron Ore ingots for steel industry; and

(xiv)     Supporting science innovation in the Universities and Research Institutions.

We shall continue our firm stance of reducing poverty to 24.5%, a target that is better than the Millennium Development Goal of 28.1%.  The nominal per capita income will increase from US$506 to US$900 by 2014/2015 while our wealth creation thrust will ensure a generation of more than 2,700,000 jobs.

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ECONOMY

Economic Growth

The Ugandan economy has continued to grow at a relatively high rate despite fears that the economic chaos in the advanced economies of the world would negatively affect the economy. Preliminary data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicate that the economy grew by 6.6% during calendar year 2009, increasing from 28.2 Trillion Uganda Shillings in 2008 to 33.0 Trillion Shillings in 2009. This is equivalent to US$ 16.2 billion.  Although this estimated growth rate in 2009 is lower than the growth in 2008 of 9.2%, it was among the fastest in the world during the period of global economic downturn. Uganda’s economic growth would have been even much higher if it had not been for the global economic recession that affected the demand for our exports to Europe and America; and if it was not for the shortage of electricity and bottlenecks in the transport sector, which we are working on.

An economy of US$16.2 billion is, of course, still very small by World standards.  However, it is important to note that only some years back, in our time in Government, only the economy of Kenya had a GDP of US$ 12 billion.  About the same time, the economy of Nigeria was about US$ 20 billion.  Therefore, those of us who had the duty to lift Uganda from the pit into which it had fallen have nothing but happiness to see this growth.  With increased electricity supply and better transport network, the economy is going to gallop.  Value-addition to most of our raw materials will cause this economy to increase by a factor of ten in the next few years.  Here, I am not including the factor of oil.  When one does that, you can be sure that this economy will gallop.

Recently, the IMF noted the following regarding our economy: “Prudent economic management and strong fundamentals have enabled Uganda to weather the global crisis relatively well. Despite a slowdown in economic activity, growth remains strong by regional and international standards. Core inflation has declined in spite of an increase in headline inflation driven by higher food prices. The external current account has performed better than expected, buoyed by strong cross-border exports, and international reserves remain adequate. Uganda’s flexible exchange rate regime has facilitated adjustment to external shocks. The financial sector has been largely spared by the crisis and remains sound.”[1]

Although the decline in the construction sub-sector undermined the overall growth of industry as a whole, manufacturing is estimated to have registered a growth of 10.6% during 2009, compared to 6.9% in 2008 and 7.6% in 2007. Construction was affected by the high increases in the cost of building materials earlier in the year. The increased cost of building materials was partly the result of a decline in cement production early in the calendar year. However, cement production increased in the months of August and September 2009.

This was complemented with a substantial increase in the importation of cement in the 3^rd quarter of 2009, from 110,000 tonnes in the quarter ending June 2009 to 197,000 tonnes in September 2009.  The prices of building materials including cement and steel have now stabilized and we should see a resumption of growth in the sub-sector.

Preliminary data also shows that other sub-sectors in industry, apart from the Mining and Quarrying sub-sectors, performed reasonably well with food processing recording an annual growth of 17% in the quarter ending September 2009; in addition to strong growth of 36% and 23% in the first and second quarters of 2009 respectively. The textiles, clothing and footwear category of industrial production also recovered with a growth of about 100% in the quarter ending September 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, on top of a 25% annual growth in the quarter ending June 2009.

Growth in the agricultural sector has also rebounded steadily and is estimated to have grown by 3.4% during 2009 compared to annual growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and only 1.7% in 2007. This recovery in the agricultural sector is attributed to high performance in the cash crops sub-sector, which is estimated at 12.1% in 2009, in addition to an equally high growth of 11.6% in the previous calendar year. The increased cash crop production is partly due to the Government efforts to make available improved high-yielding agricultural inputs through NARO and NAADS. Farmers are now able to purchase high-quality seeds that have been produced in partnership with commercial farmers; and have in fact now outstripped the available improved seed supply capacity.

Fish production continued to decline in 2009, mainly, as a result of action Government had to undertake to replenish fish stocks which had been depleted by poor fishing practices and inadequate regulation. This has also affected fish exports particularly to the regional markets.

The service sector continued to sustain high growth rates and is estimated to have grown by 8.2% during calendar year 2009. Transport and communications grew by 11.1%, while financial services and real estate are estimated to have grown by 34.7% and 5.7% respectively, in the same period. As a consequence of the high growth in services, the Service sector now contributes about 50.4% to total GDP. The sustained high growth of the Service sector and manufacturing is an indication that economic transformation for employment creation and, therefore, poverty reduction, is progressively taking place.

Since the economy suffered the worst power crisis about five years ago, Government interventions in the energy sector, including provision of subsidized power from thermal sources and the commissioning of power in the small renewable energy plants have yielded significant benefits for the economy.

Currently, power outages are much less frequent than they used to be five years ago. Consequently, the electricity supply is estimated to have grown by 10.9% during 2009 compared to only 1.7% in 2008 and a contraction of -13.8% in calendar year 2006.

Developments in the External Sector

The clearest indication of the resilience of our economy to the global economic recession that devastated large economies of the world is reflected in the developments in the Uganda external sector. Total exports for the 12 months ending October 2009 were equivalent to US$ 3.413 billion compared to US$ 2.80 billion in the same period a year before. This represents an increase of 21.9% in total export receipts during the period. Informal cross-border exports increased by 73%, largely driven by the export of industrial products to Southern Sudan and DRC, which increased by 80.4% compared to the year before.

In nominal terms, Informal Cross-Border Trade was equivalent to US$ 1.696 billion compared to US$ 940 million in the year before. Formal exports mainly to Europe and America recovered slightly in 2009, reflecting a recovery in the global economy. As a result of the increased exports, driven largely by Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT), the overall trade deficit was narrower than what was recorded in the same period in 2007 and 2008.

In addition, workers’ remittances have rebounded strongly in the months July to September 2009, averaging about US$ 72 million per month on average compared to about US$39 million per month on average between January and June 2009. Similarly, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has also fully recovered to an average of US$84 million per month in the quarter ending September 2009 compared to a low average of US$ 53million per month in the period October to December 2008.

The total foreign exchange inflows for 2009, excluding FDI, are US$ 4,818.18 million (export of goods US$ 3413 million, export of services US$ 693.65 million; and Remittances US$ 711.44 million).

At the peak of the global financial crisis that also temporarily affected our capital markets, there was short-term capital flight of US$190 million in October 2008. However, due to the strength of the economy, the trend has reversed with the quarter ending September 2009 registering a steady positive growth. A combination of the improvement in exports, remittances, Foreign Direct Investments and short term capital inflows resulted in a substantial increase in foreign reserves. By October 2009, total foreign reserves amounted to US$ 2.8 billion, equivalent to 5.6 months of imports of goods and services, compared to United States Dollars 2.35 billion recorded in October 2008. These trends are a manifestation that the Uganda economy has passed the worst effects of the global economic down turn and it is poised to sustain its high growth trend in the medium term.

As a result of the increased foreign exchange inflows through increased exports, remittances, Foreign Direct Investment and a return of short term foreign capital, the Uganda shilling has regained its strength it had lost towards the end of 2008 and first half of 2009. From an exchange rate of about Uganda Shillings 2,200 to the United States Dollar at its weakest in the early months of 2009, the exchange rate in November averaged Uganda Shillings 1,874 in November 2009. The resilience of the Uganda shilling is a manifestation of the strength of our economy, good economic management as well as the positive economic outlook that investors have of the economy.

Inflation and Interest Rates

Inflation, which is a measure of the changes in the general price level of goods and services, dropped to 12.0% in November 2009, compared to the annual inflation rate of 14.7% in November 2008.

The underlying or “core” inflation, which excludes food crops, fuel, electricity and water – because these are prone to volatile price fluctuations – also dropped to 8.8% by end November 2009.  Inflation rates fell further in December 2009, to 10.9% and underlying inflation to 7.4%.

Food prices which were the main factor keeping overall inflation at double-digit levels increased by 35.5% on an annual basis by November 2009. However, this was lower than an increase of nearly 50% in the September 2009. While food inflation is still too high, it underlies the urgency in ensuring that the measures to increase agricultural production are implemented quickly and effectively. The food items which recorded significant reductions in prices during November include: fresh vegetables, beans, chicken, fish and milk, due to their increased supply to the market.

Domestic Revenue Collection

Domestic revenue collections by the URA were 97%, relative to the target for the five months from July to November 2009. This amounted to a shortfall of about Ushs 51 billion over the same period. The tax revenue shortfall was primarily on account of slightly lower imports than was estimated for the period. In the long term, and in the context of the East African Customs Union, emphasis on domestic revenue collection will be given to strengthening domestic production especially industry and services so that the economy’s reliance on international trade taxes is reduced. This strategy will also reduce the vulnerability of our revenues to external shocks. Hence, the long-term solution to ensuring predictability of domestic revenue is to improve the productivity of our economy to increase the tax base. In this regard, efforts to further improve the business climate in order to attract more investors through the delivery of quality public services will remain a key priority of Government.

DEVELOPMENTS IN SELECTED PRIORITY AREAS

As I have said previously, the National Resistance Movement Government has made tremendous achievements in restoring peace and improving the delivery of public services towards the development of Uganda. This has created a firm foundation on which we can now develop Uganda into a modern state as compared to the dismal basket case it was for the years during misrule and poor management imposed by bad governments.

The following are the achievements that the NRM Government has made in the delivery of public services, as well as the programmes for the near future:-

A: Infrastructure Development:-

Transportation Infrastructure

With respect to road infrastructure, the NRM Government will continue to upgrade and maintain the national road network to ensure that the entire road network is permanently motorable.

Roads where upgrading to tarmac will start by June in 2010 include:

• Vurra-Arua-Oraba;
• Nyakahita-Ibanda-Kamwengye;
• Atiak-Moyo-Atoji; and
• Gulu – Atiak–Bibia-Nimule routes.

Work will also commence in the later part of the 2010 on upgrading to tarmac the following roads among others:-

• Mukono-Katosi-Nyenga;
• Mpigi-Maddu-Sembabule;
• Kapchorwa –Suam; and
• Fort-Portal Bundibugyo-Lamia.

The rehabilitation of the following roads will begin by June 2010:

• Tororo-Mbale-Soroti;
• Jinja-Kamuli; and
• Kafu-Karuma-Kamudini.

Progress with tarmacking the following roads will also continue:-

• Soroti-Dokolo-Lira;
• Kampala-Gayaza-Zirobwe;
• Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara; and
• Kabale-Kisoro-Bunagana.

The other roads not mentioned here are as per my previous addresses to the Nation.

Concerning the maintenance of the road network, Government has over the years been allocating substantial resources towards both nationally and local government management roads. A total of U Shs. 268 billion has been allocated this year alone, of which U Shs. 110 billion is for local government road maintenance. This is a Shs. 39 billion  increase from U Shs. 61 billion that was allocated for this purpose in the Financial Year 2008/09.

Local governments, therefore, have no excuse for not carrying out maintenance works on roads in their localities. District Chairmen and Chief Administrative Officers must, therefore, be held accountable to the people for the use of these funds. All stakeholders including Members of Parliament and Councilors must demand for better roads within their localities.  I discourage the use of contractors on these roads except where prices are fixed.  You should use your machines to work on the roads.

In addition to the Road Fund that will become operational in January 2010, the NRM Government will commence the re-equipment of all district city and municipal road units to provide the necessary minimal capacity to repair roads without suffering delays caused by the need to contract the private sector. I recognize that while private road contractors have been important in the construction of roads, in-house capacity at districts, cities and municipalities to carry out basic road maintenance must be enhanced.

This is the reason why Government has recently provided the Kampala City Council with road maintenance and construction equipment to ensure that the City roads are well-maintained and upgraded. Larger contracts for re-construction and upgrading can then be contracted out to the private sector.

Energy Infrastructure

In order to support industrialization and prevent environmental damage through encouraging use of electricity, Government has restored  dilapidated hydro-electricity generation plants as well as increased the electricity generation capacity in the country. Ugandans need to remember that the NRM Government decisively dealt with the electricity crisis that befell the entire East African region in 2006 following severe drought. While there was an increase in the tariff paid by consumers, electricity was available and still cheaper than having electricity that is privately own-generated.

The provision of a Government subsidy ensured that the full cost of the increase was not borne by the consumer and that the increase in production costs was not as high as would have been the case had Government left manufacturers to continue generating their own power. Consequently, production costs have remained manageable while Government has taken deliberate actions to ensure cheaper power is available starting with July 2011 with the commissioning of the 250 Megawatt Bujagali Hydropower Plant. In addition, mini-hydropower plants constructed by private developers at Mpanga, Buseruka and Ishasha will contribute an additional 35 Megawatts to the national grid next Financial Year. Government will also be commissioning the construction of at least an additional 1,650 Megawatts of energy generation capacity at Karuma, Isimba and Ayago and other hydropower sites.  The lack of sufficient and affordable power supply that enables competitive processing and rural electrification is, therefore, being dealt with.

Oil Resource Development and Management

Uganda’s oil reserves are now estimated at about 2 billion barrels, largely in Albertine Graben in the Western part of the country; and plans are underway for the commencement of commercial production. The Government put in place an Oil and Gas Policy to guide the development and prudent utilization of oil resources.  To ensure that all Ugandans benefit from this important and strategic resource, the Government is putting in place the necessary legal and institutional frameworks. In this regard, two separate laws are envisaged: one on administration of oil and gas activities, including the development and production of the oil and gas value chain; and the second law will focus on regulating payments, use and management of oil revenues in a manner that creates sustainable national wealth. The key element in these legislations will be to ensure transparency and accountability in the production and utilization of oil resources.

In order to attract the huge investment resources required as well as the expertise, it is a Government policy that the actual development of oil resources, including oil production, will be through the private sector, including international companies. Where necessary, Government will partner with some of these companies in a Public-Private Partnership arrangement. Plans to build a medium size oil refinery aimed at meeting domestic and regional petroleum demand are also underway. This will help to add value and create jobs. The refining of oil domestically will help to develop the value addition chain as well as improve the energy mix of the country.

The development of oil resources will go hand in hand with the continued efforts to develop other sectors of the economy – that is, the diversification of the economy will continue to be among the top priorities of Government in spite of the oil wealth. The Government recognizes the critical importance of managing oil resources well, to avoid the mistakes many others countries have faced.

Hence, Government will ensure that these resources are managed in a manner that facilitates sustainable development and avoids distortions, such as a sharply appreciated exchange rate, which would destroy other sectors of the economy by making them uncompetitive in terms of export. In other words, oil and gas resources will be managed in a manner that is consistent with the macroeconomic framework of the country.

Since oil is a finite resource, oil revenues will be used to develop durable and competitive competencies that will increase productivity in key sectors of the economy. Thus, oil revenues will be invested in key non-oil sectors for productivity enhancement. The key priority sectors for development using oil revenues are as follows:-

1. energy infrastructure including enhancing electricity generation, and transmission capacity and rural electrification;
2. rail transport and major road infrastructure;
3. small, medium and large irrigation schemes to ensure availability of water for agricultural production;
4. Science and Technology including enhancing technical and vocational education to avail requisite skills for a modern economy.

This means that oil revenues will be ring-fenced to ensure value for money and used mainly for the above-mentioned key priorities countrywide. Oil revenues, therefore, shall not be used for consumption but for durable investments that will benefit future generations. Oil and gas activities will provide opportunities for both forward and backward linkages in the country’s quest for industrialization. Having achieved significant progress in the areas of oil exploration, Government is now going to concertedly focus on Oil Management issues.  I am, therefore, directing the Minister of Finance to lead the coordination of oil management issues forthwith in consultation with the Minister of Energy and the Governor of the Bank of Uganda.

B: Agriculture and Value Addition

In Agriculture, the NRM Government will continue to ensure that there is increased production and enhance the capacity to add value to agricultural produce. To achieve these objectives, Government will undertake the following:

First, in order to increase production, the NAADS programme will continue to be implemented to ensure that all farmers receive the necessary extension advice on what to produce using tested practices, together with improved planting materials and breeding stock. As a result of households realizing the income potential in the Agriculture Sector, there has been an increase in the demand for improved planting materials and breeding stock materials that far outstrips its supply. I am, therefore, directing the Ministers in charge of Agriculture and Finance to address this matter urgently to ensure that there is increased supply of improved planting materials and breeding stock available to farmers.

Furthermore, in the next Financial Year 2010/11, Government will also prioritize the provision of reliable availability of water for production throughout the country by commencing the implementation of small, medium and large scale irrigation schemes. There is no doubt that Uganda abounds with agricultural potential that can be enhanced once the vagaries of the weather are controlled. Therefore, water dam storage and irrigation schemes will be implemented to ensure that there is increased production, without relying solely on the increasingly unpredictable weather. Given that farm holdings by households in Uganda are on average only two acres, Government will also place emphasis on development of small irrigation technology that can be used on individual small farm holdings, while also constructing dams for larger storage and irrigation schemes. I am, accordingly, directing the Right Honourable Prime Minister and the Ministers in charge of Agriculture and Water Development and Finance to coordinate implementation of this intervention beginning next Financial Year.

The second action pertains to adding of value to agricultural produce. Owing to the almost non-existent addition of value to produce, there is a lot of wastage and, consequently, lower levels of incomes are earned by farmers. With the increasing availability of electricity, there is greater potential for increased value addition to be carried out even at the farm level. As a start, in this Financial Year 2009/10, Government will provide support to food science and technology graduates from Makerere University who have acquired both the technical know-how and entrepreneurial skills at adding value to agricultural produce. My interaction with our own Ugandan innovative scientists has shown that it is possible to add value to a whole range of products including fruit, milk and meat products.

In order to further develop and realize the technical potential of graduates from the Makerere University Food Science and Technology Department, the Minister of Finance will shortly operationalize an Industrial Venture Capital Fund for these graduates to access start-up capital for agro-processing ventures, at interest rates of no more than 5 percent for a maximum repayment period of eight years. Other existing small-scale entrepreneurs who have proved that they are capable of adding value will also be provided with technical skills by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute beginning this Financial Year 2009/10. In addition, a Small and Medium Enterprise Fund with similar terms to the Industrial Venture Capital Fund will be operationalized by the Minister of Finance. These Funds will be managed by willing financial institutions through the Bank of Uganda, as has already been done with the Agriculture Credit Facility that is already in place for commercial farmers and agro-processors.

These measures will propel the agriculture sector to allow increased reliable production through the availability of resources within the control of farmers; and also enable them to receive reasonable incomes from increased agro-processing ventures from both existing and established ventures that will be supported through the actions I have mentioned.

C: Employment Generation

The above actions by Government mark an important milestone towards the generation of jobs in areas that have not traditionally contributed to employment. Creating technical capacity for entrepreneurs to go into business or enhancing their business productivity, allows them to generate employment for those other Ugandans who do not have access to the technical know-how required to run processing industries. Many of the youth who have left primary and secondary school and have not had the chance to proceed with further education will eventually have an opportunity to be employed. Those that have the potential to become entrepreneurs in their own right will also be encouraged and provided the opportunity to seek the technical know-how at institutions such as the Department of Food Science and Technology and vocational training institutions.  They will be appropriately certified to engage in agro-processing ventures and also access the Industrial Venture Capital Fund once they qualify.

These new entrepreneurs with the requisite skills will then join those who have been encouraged and facilitated through the formal education system to provide increased employment opportunities through small and medium scale enterprises across the country.

Government is also going to provide capital for the youth with an entrepreneurial potential, to enable them to start viable commercial ventures after they have received the necessary training and certification from Enterprise Uganda. Enterprise Uganda deals will improve the entrepreneurial attitudes and skills of the youth they train and prepare them to manage the enterprises they establish sustainably.

I am, therefore, directing the ministers of Finance and Gender Labour and Social Development to establish a Youth Employment Scheme, to effect this measure.

The Scheme must also provide access to capital managed by commercial banks at reasonable rates and over a sufficient period to address the problem of unemployed youth who would otherwise want to work for themselves if they were provided with the means and skills to do so.

Government will also support, in a similar manner, youth who wish to operate joint facilities such as community-owned timber and welding workshops using this intervention.  All the parents and youth should be informed that there is a total of 88 Government Institutes in Uganda (25 Technical Schools, 34 Technical Institutes, 4 Technical Colleges, 16 Community Polytechnics, 3 Vocational Schools, 1 Vocational Training Centre, 1 Community Polytechnic Instruction college and 4 farm Schools).  We are going to expand and equip all these schools that teach technical skills.  You should use them to get skills that are marketable.

D: Human Development

The presence of innovative scientists that I have placed a concerted effort in supporting over the years underscores the importance of developing our human resources to meet any of our national aspirations. As you all know, the NRM Government has placed Human Development central to the achievement of the social and economic well-being of Ugandans with the universalization of primary and secondary education. The Government also recognizes the need to have a healthy population that can engage in all aspects of development and, therefore, stresses the importance of having a sound health system, adequate provision of safe water and proper sanitation facilities across the country.

Education
Following the universalization of primary and secondary education, the NRM Government will progress the education agenda towards developing the necessary technical and vocational skills required to run a modern efficient economy. The NRM Government has ensured that the opportunity to learn is availed for every school going age child at primary and secondary levels. Consequently, up to 12 million Uganda school going age children are in school and every effort will be made to ensure that the other 3 million who are out of school because of social constraints and other impediments actually go to school.

As I have pointed out before, the achievements recorded by the NRM Government at the primary education level since 1997 have been significant. For instance, over 12,000 thousand new classrooms have been built, bringing the total number of primary school classrooms in the country  to over 82,000. The classrooms in 1986 were only 28,000.  An additional 20,000 teachers houses have also been constructed at schools to ensure teachers are not constrained in doing their jobs. The number of children passing PLE rose four-fold from about 80,000 in 1997 to 356,000 in 2007.

The secondary school segment has registered similar achievements. Since Universal Secondary Education (USE), commenced in 2007, the percentage of pupils who are enrolled from Primary Seven to Senior Secondary School has increased from 44 percent to 73 percent. A further 39 seed secondary schools in sub-counties that did not have any secondary school have been built and the Government is planning the construction of another 25.

At the tertiary level, the number of public and privates universities and university-affiliated institutions registered totaled 29 with an enrolment of almost 108,000 in the 2008/09 academic year. You can see the tremendous progress, from the enrollment of 5,000 students in 1986! A further 117 public and private institutions offer tertiary courses with an enrolment of 47,000 in 2008. Government, together with the private sector has, therefore, made great effort towards ensuring that there are opportunities for learning at the highest levels of the education system for those who wish to pursue education.

While at the highest level in universities and colleges Government will emphasize the teaching of science and technology among other disciplines, the vocational and technical skills required to support industry will be the emphasis, over and above basic primary and secondary education. Government will, therefore, turn to other important facets of the education system to ensure that the nation has the necessary human resources required to build and sustain a modern nation. Government will embark on the vocationalization of education that will depend on the discerned needs of the market for employment skills in the economy. In this manner, learning opportunities for technicians in all the necessary fields will be developed. I am, accordingly, directing the Minister of Education to deal with this matter expeditiously.

The above achievements notwithstanding, the education sector suffers from problems of teacher absenteeism, poor teacher supervision and continued unscrupulous charging of compulsory fees by Head teachers, which is against the law. This constrains the achievements of higher education outcomes for our young people. I would, therefore, like to urge parents and community leaders to report Head teachers who carry out such malpractices and teachers who also absent themselves from duty to their area Councilors, Members of Parliament and Resident District Commissioners. I have also, recently, constituted a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Primary and Secondary Education to study problems of these sub-sectors and provide recommendations that Government will work to implement.

Health

In the Health sector, The NRM Government has sought to deliver a minimum health care package that deals with the most common causes of ill-health. Consequently, new health centers have been built across the country and a programme to ensure they are fully equipped will be undertaken in all Health Centers, District and Regional Hospitals in the country. The Mulago National Referral Hospital will also be rehabilitated beginning the Financial Year 2010/11. Government will also continue to train and recruit more health workers to fill the current shortage of health workers at all levels of the health system.

In the health sector, Government has over many years been transferring funds to districts to purchase drugs with minimal amounts being allocated to the National Medical Stores for centralized purchasing. Local Governments have, largely, not made the intended purchases; and even the few drugs that reach health centers from the National Medical Stores have invariably been stolen, leading to drug shortages. With the recent centralization of funding for purchasing drugs at the National Medical Stores, the drugs will, now, be centrally purchased and physically delivered to Health Centers. The labeling of drugs and increased vigilance of both public and private health centers, by the population and community leaders must ensure that these drugs are not stolen.

The recent arrest, by officials from my office, of errant public health workers who steal drugs must serve as a wake-up call for the entire population to safeguard public drugs that are meant to be given to patients free of charge.

E: Public Service Management, Anti-Corruption and Governance

In addition to investing in the physical and other supportive infrastructure required to deliver public services, Government will now insist on the adherence to rules and procedures to ensure greater efficiency, effectiveness and realization of value for money. Otherwise, the positive actions the NRM Government has undertaken in the areas I have enumerated would have been more significant on the ground had we not been constrained by mismanagement and outright theft and abuse of office by many public servants at both central and local government levels.

Expenditure

One of the main objectives of the 2009/10 national budget was to provide a fiscal stimulus to the economy. However, the implementation of Government programmes in the first half of this fiscal year fell short of what had been programmed, due to the lack of utilisation of Government Expenditure.  The underutilisation of budgeted funds is due to unpreparedness of public servants in implementing Government programs and projects. Although some people are blaming the low absorption capacity of Government funds on the Government insistence on having value for money, it is only sensible that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely to benefit all Ugandans through improved services.  The question of the courts releasing thieves on bail or giving them light sentences is not acceptable.  We have fought many wars; the least I expect of the Judiciary is seriousness.

Therefore, Ministries and Local Governments and other agencies must provide credible work plans where outputs are verified, to ensure that whoever is responsible is held accountable.  The reforms being implemented on improving the efficiency of public spending have helped to identify problems that have previously undermined service delivery. We now know these problems, including those individuals who have been stealing public funds; and I am taking action on these individuals. In the very near future, these actions will result in increased quantity and quality of public service delivery for all Ugandans.

To take an example, the public procurement and accounting officers have demonstrated bad practices leading to loss of public money and wasteful expenditure. Some technical officers of Local Governments and even Chief Administrative Officers and Permanent Secretaries are either involved in mal-practices or do not supervise their staff adequately to ensure the delivery of intended Government programmes. This lack of seriousness must stop forthwith. I am going to hold accountable every single accounting officer, including Permanent Secretaries, for the actions or inactions of their officers.

If procurement is not done on schedule in accordance with work plans submitted to Parliament in Ministerial Policy Statements, for example, I expect the Permanent Secretary to accordingly take action against the officer concerned; or they themselves will be held responsible. In the same vein, the Chief Administrative Officers and District Directors of Health Services will be held responsible for the absence of staff from health centers, the theft of drugs and the abuse of NAADS resources if they do not show that they have taken all the necessary actions to reprimand or discipline their juniors.

With respect to the on-going CHOGM investigations, Ugandans need to know that the effort of Government has led to tremendous improvement in the image of Uganda as a leisure and conference destination, the abuse of procedures and resources by some officials notwithstanding. To take an example, non-resident arrivals at Entebbe International Airport increased by 32 percent from about 642,000 arrivals in 2007 to 844,000 in 2008. This follows an increase by only 19 percent and 15 percent in 2006 and 2007 respectively. These visitors to Uganda bring in much needed business for Ugandan hotels, where the number of rooms has increased tremendously as a result of both private entrepreneurship and Government support during CHOGM.

Government policy and the success of CHOGM notwithstanding, I do not condone the action of those public officials who abused procedures and mismanaged any resources allocated to them for the event. Indeed, I commissioned a special audit of CHOGM expenditure by the Auditor General, which is now the subject of the deliberations of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.

Therefore, Government fully supports all organs that are charged with improving Governance and Accountability of public resources, including the Office of the Auditor General, the Inspectorate of Government and Parliamentary Committees on Public Account and Local Government Public Accounts; and the relevant Courts of Law.  This is hoping that the courts will really have ‘teeth’ to deal with these people who steal money and government resources.  Government will ensure that the necessary punitive action is taken against officials abusing rules and regulations and I am directing the Ministry of Finance to also institute efficient checks to stop this abuse forthwith, including undertaking surprise inspections to unearth embezzlement and mismanagement of public resources.

The time for a laissez faire attitude among public servants is over. I will not hesitate to take action against Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Institutions who do not achieve reasonable progress with their work plans. I am, therefore, directing the Right Honourable Prime Minister to ensure the quarterly assessment of ministerial, departmental and local government work plans and to take action or recommend to me any action that must be meted out against errant officials.

The NRM in 1986 embarked on repairing the economy.  The economy was in shambles; the owners of companies had fled and the companies and factories had closed.  We attracted all these back and they created employment and they started paying taxes.  Tax collection improved.  I have told you before that tax collection in 1986 was only U shs 5 billion, which is about US 2.5million.  Our tax collection is now 4,300 billion, which is about US$ 2.5 billion dollars. This is our own money which we are collecting in Uganda; and we are sending this money to the districts and to the different departments to the ministries.  And what happens to this money?  The drugs are stolen.  Recently, I had to create units to fight them. Earlier on, we had created the office of the IGG.  And what happens in courts?  People are accused of stealing people’s drugs, money and they are released on bail. As I said earlier, this is not acceptable.

Security

Government shall continue to secure the lives and property of all citizens as well as protect their rights.  It is imperative, therefore, that we all continue to adhere to the rule of law and constitutionalism in order to jealously guard the peace prevailing.  Uganda is now peaceful, from North, to South, from East to West.  We defeated Kony, whom some of these people were going to worship in Garamba.  I refused to send an NRM delegation to Garamba to see Kony.  Rugunda went there as a Government Minister; the Minister of Internal Affairs deals with all sorts of people, criminals, people who are going to hang tomorrow.  So when that foolery went on for a long time, we went and dealt with Kony the way he should be dealt with.  Those who were killing our people have now paid.  The other day in Gulu I gave the figures at a ceremony of installing a Bishop there.  The rustlers in Karamoja have been disciplined and disarmed.  The North-East is peaceful.  The ADF cannot dare to come from Congo, although there are still some remnants, who are now the problem of the Congo government; they cannot come here to disturb us.  If they come, they will not go back, but will stay here ‘horizontally’.  Uganda is now peaceful.  I will not tolerate any other trouble makers.

If you want anything, do it according to the laws.  In 1994/95, we elected people to represent us; they came and sat here in the CA for two years debating the Constitution of Uganda.   This constitution is the only democratically agreed constitution in the history of Uganda since God created what is now Uganda.  The one of 1962 was by some chiefs and some groups, political parties which had not even gone through elections that time. The 1995 Constitution was agreed by the people of Uganda.  So I expect, I demand; and we shall have strict adherence to the constitution of Uganda.  There should be no mistake about this.  If you want to do anything, follow the constitution. You don’t follow the constitution; I will take action against you, as the elected President of Uganda.

On the side of international relations, Uganda continues to enjoy amicable relations with her neighbours on all sides.  With the celebration of 10 years of the revival of the East African community, Uganda continues to advocate for the boosting of productivity through promotion of infrastructure, investments, industries and trade as well as a common defence, among others.    Uganda handed over the Chair of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2009, after a successful two years of leadership.  Uganda continues to join the rest of the world in efforts to mitigate the extreme climatic conditions and put in place measures to protect our environment.

As we come to the close of the year 2009 and start a new year, I am calling upon all Ugandans to participate in the crusade of eliminating poverty and supporting faster socio-economic growth. While government will continue to provide a conducive environment with targeted socio-economic programmes, each citizen must be responsible, patriotic and plan for their households and personal aspirations for the year 2010.

I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I thank you.

---

[1] Mr.Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director, IMF

According to a Luganda email transmitted to us by Mr. Kitandwe, the Baganda nationalist organization, Bazzukulu ba Buganda, strongly oppose any negotiations between Buganda institutions and Museveni’s government under the current political environment in Uganda.  Bazzukulu base their opposition on the steady weakening Buganda has suffered since 1870, through the reckless adoption of foreign political ideologies by Mmengo. They say that it time to wake up and stop the damage.

Abazukulu argue that, at this time Buganda is in captivity and would only negotiate from a position of weakness. They describe the history that took Buganda from and being an independent nation down to her current “Occupied” status. They conclude that  negotiations with the occupying NRM regime are a bad idea because Buganda has nothing more to lose if they do not place. Yet they could expose Buganda to serious risk of manipulation. They itemize the following points:

• The current hype about negotiations is bait to get us tricked into accepting the enemy’s plans for us, as they have done to us many times in the past.
• We lose nothing if we spare ourselves from getting hoodwinked again.
• We lose nothing if we refuse to legitimize our enemy’s occupation rule over us.
• If we cannot find a solution, we must be willing to let other, future Baganda deal with it.
• We must not tie ourselves into a deadly knot that our grandchildren would never be able to undo.

 The full Luganda statement by Bazzukulu ba Buganda is reproduced below:

OKUTEESA KUNO TETULINA KYETUKUFUNAMU
Abazzukulu ba Buganda
December 24, 2009

 Tuyigire kubitutuuseeko

Wakati w’emyaaka 1870 ne 1888, Abaganda twawambagatira enzikiriza enzungu netuzissussa wezaali ziteekeddwa okukoma ng’enzikiriza. Obuwulize n’obugoberezi eri obwakabaka bwa Buganda obutukakatako twabugyayo netubuteeka mu madiini.

Kkajjampuni eyava mw’ekyo ate n’okuzzukuza  n’azzukuza, kwali ffe fenyini kukozesebwa bannanyini madiini ago okumaamulako Kabaka Mwanga II mu 1888. Olwokuba nga amadiini amagwira twagasussa ekifo ky’ago, gaatulwanaganya ffekanaffekka ebbanga eryo okuva mu 1888 okutuuka mu 1890.

Okugootaana kw’obuwulize bwaffe eri Nnamulondo, n’okulwanagana kwetwali tubaddemu mu ntalo z’amadiini okwaddirira byanaffuyiza ddala Buganda. Olwo omuzungu eyali atidde okwanganga  Buganda n’atuma Capt Lugard ajje amenye mujjenje ekkalu y’etwalire ekiwedde mu 1890 nga gugwako.

Buganda eyali enafuyiziddwa olw’okuva ku nkola entonde ey’ennono, teyalina kyakukola kirala okugyako okukkiriza Bungereza bye yali eyagala mu ndagaano ya 1890.

Omuze gw’okuwambagatira enkola engwira ezituleeterwa n’etutazipimira kkomo; gwayamba nyo era gwagondeza Abazungu omulimo gw’okutudyekadyeka nebatukkirizissa byebaali baagala netubateerako n’omukono. Ekyo kyekyaliwo mu 1890, 1892, 1893/4, ne 1900, mu ndagaano Lugard, Portal ne Johnson z’ebakkaka N’okudyekadyeka Abaganda.

Enkola y‘okudyekadyeka (“okuteesa”) baagyeyambisa nate okuzikiza olutalo l’wobwetwaze Ssekabaka Mutesa II lweyali akoleeza mu 1953; bwebaamala okumuwangangusa nebakakozesa ng’akakwakkulizo okutukkaka  okudyekebwadyekebwa mu “Ndagaano” ye Namirembe eya 1955, mwe baazukusiza embiranye z’amadiini e Mmengo nga bayita mu dimokulaase (kyabaangi) owekiboggwe eyakaka  Olukiiko lwa Buganda okulonda Katikiro.

Nate Abaganda bwe beefukulula nebattukiza okusaba obwetwaaze, omungereza yatutega akakiiko ka Lord Munster mbu kanoonya birowoozo byafe, gyekaamalira nga Munster azzizzaayo Abaganda mu “kuteesa” –okudyekebwadyekebwa okwaggweera e Lancaster ne ndagaano ya 1962 eyatukwenyakwenya n’etusuuza obwetwaze ng’etukookoonya Federo eyatukkirizisa obufuge mwetubonabonera

Tetulina kyetufiirwa

• Okuteesa okuyimbirirwa kugendererwamu kutudyekadyeka nga bwe bazze batukola; kutukkirizisa bufuge bwabwe tusseeko n’ekinkumu.
• Tetulina kyetufiirwa  nga tetugenze kutudyekadyeka.
• Tetulina kyetufiirwa ng’omulabe tetumuteereddeeko kinkumu kiraga nti tukkiriza obufuge bwetulimu.
• Kyetutasobodde kukola tukirekere Abaganda abaliddawo balitandikir’awo.
• Tetusiba kituttwa kirirema baliddawo kusumulula.

 Wangaala Buganda.

Awangaale Ssaabasajja Kabaka!

A Muganda lady lawyer who attended the December 17, 2009 Buganda Conference in Kampala sent me an email expressing her family’s disappointment with how far the organizers went to please Museveni and foreigners (banamawanga), with little regard to what ordinary Baganda want. The learned sister says that it hurt her and her husband that, although the conference was supposed to be a Buganda Conference it appeared that fewer than 100 of the about 800 attendees were ordinary Baganda.  However, she also acknowledges that the speeches by Kabaka Mutebi and Hussein Kyanjo ultimately made the conference worth the registration fee that she and her husband paid and more.

Below are excerpts from the lawyers four and one half  page long email.

Buganda Conference Was A Wrong Name

 “It was easy to tell that a significant percentage of the attendees  were foreigners (banamawanga). There were some Banyoro, North people and others. But not so many Banyankore cattle keepers (the balaalo)  as you would think. It was remarkable that the people who appeared to be real Baganda were overwhelmingly well to do businesspersons, lawyers, politicians and fully employed city types. Clearly, fewer than 100 were ordinary Baganda from Ngogwe or Nyendo or Ndejje. To that end, Apollo Makubuya and the Katikkiro should have been truthful and called it the Kampala Uganda Conference.”

Mao, Kanyeihamba and Katikkiro Walusimbi

  “It made me boil to hear this Acholi man with a Chinese name (Mao) set us conditions for getting Federo, as if he is some type of political god. He said, ‘If you Baganda want Federo, you must package it so that other Ugandans don’t think that you are claiming to be special’ and, as you would expect, he got thunderous applause from the foreigners present. I think every self-respecting Muganda must have felt like me; belittled. How dare that Mulugwaala tell me that, Baganda must never achieve their fundamental human right to self-determination until they convince him that they are ‘not special’? I think this Acholiman was in a team with Kanyeihamba, the Munyankore cattle keeper, who similarly talked down to Baganda like small children. Essentially, Kanyeihamba, who should know better because he is an experienced lawyer, also told us to do a better job convincing other Ugandans that we deserve our self-determination rights.  As if that was not enough,  Katikkiro Walusimbi used the same exacts words in his highly apologetic speech, ‘Buganda does not seek a special status’. Our Katikkiro, who sounded like he is ashamed to be a Muganda, seemed to be reading from the same exact script as Kanyeihamba and Mao.”

Mental Asylum Escapee Mutale

 “Then there was the insane looking man called Mutale, who came as Museveni’s main representative. You could tell Museveni intentionally sent this unkempt man, simply to unnerve those easy to scare attendees of the conference. It was not easy to understand his English all the time but he threateningly told us that our discussions were meaningless because we did not have power. His people, presumably Museveni and Banyankore, are the ones with the guns and the power. This man looks like he escaped from an asylum, but the Apollo Makubuya and the Katikkiro, who must know him, chose to give him a platform to desecrate an event attended by our Kabaka and Nnabagereka?”

Handsome Hussein Kyanjo

“The truth is that there were some good and clearly pro-Buganda speakers, including retired Katikkiro Dan Muliika and other Baganda elders. However, you could feel an air of conspiracy among the Baganda speakers to be ‘polite and not upset the foreigners’ regardless of  their provocations and patronizing towards Buganda.  At the same time, you could also sense that the foreigners, both speakers and in the audience, had a sense of heightened confidence that the Baganda were at their mercy.

“The man who gave us real hope was the handsome young Moslem and proud Muganda, Hussein Kyanjo, who made some of the ‘bakungu ba Kabaka’ look like champion cowards.  First, he directly rubbished Museveni’s crazy man Mutale by telling him that, because power comes from the people, the unpopular NRM government has lost power and resorted to using force to remain in control. Then, to the apparent discomfort of some of the well fed ‘bakungu ba Kabaka’, Mr. Kyanjo said it loud and clear that dictatorships force citizens to resort to violence and that is what may have to happen in Uganda. However, he added that Buganda must seriously look at secession as a way to avoid war.  It is Kyanjo’s words that helped us keep our dignity as Baganda in the face endless apologies by our ‘bakungu’  to those Bakaramajo, Banyoro, Balaalo, Bakiga, Banyarwanda and Bakonjo for being Baganda and special.”

Traitor Bidandi Ssali

“At an intellectual level, probably most offending speaker was Bidandi Ssali, the man who engineered the still birth death of Federo in 1995 with his Decentralization fraud. I believe that Museveni would not have been able to deny Buganda Federo in 1995 were it not for Bidandi Ssali’s rabid hatred for monarchies.  And I agree with my husband that Bidandi Ssali’s current pretention are not because he loves Federo or Buganda but only because, with the current Katikkiro and Mengo cabinet, any Federo Buganda might get would be cosmetic and might drastically weaken the Kabaka.  We think that this man is one of the most treacherous Baganda alive today.”

Empologoma ya Buganda

 “Kabaka Mutebi made all the wait and pain worthwhile. He gave a brief but sweet speech. Ignoring Museveni’s incessant warnings about so called ‘cultural leaders’ getting involved politics, the Lion of Buganda declared that Buganda was nation even before the British colonialists came. That the colonialists could not kill Buganda. And that, even when Obote abolished the kingdoms in 1967, Buganda remained alive.

“Further ignoring Museveni’s Regional Tier nonsense, the stern toned Kabaka reminded everyone that according to the Odoki constitutional committee, over 90% in Buganda and a healthy majority of other parts of Uganda demanded a federal form of government. He challenged those opposed to Federo to explain why they are denying people that basic right. Oh, this man, our Kabaka, is a real leader. Without him, Buganda would have been sold to Museveni a long time ago. Awangaale Ssabasajja! I left the conference feeling OK because, clearly, Ssabasajja and his man Hussein Kyanjo has salvaged our dignity and made the conference worthy much more than the $10 registration we paid each. ”

His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda,  Muwenda Mutebi II, formally closed this year’s Buganda Conference on December 17, 2009. Although the conference was dubbed a Buganda conference, it seemed to focus on appeasing non-Baganda and the NRM, in the hope that they will look kindly at Buganda’s quest for Federo. Indeed, the prime speaking spots were given to Supreme Court Judge George William Kanyeihamba (Munyankore), Gulu district chairman Norbert Mao (Achooli),  Colonel Kiiza Besigye of FDC (Mukiga) and Maj. Ronald Kakooza Mutale, a Museveni adviser on military affairs and notorious human rights abuser.

In a move that shocked many ordinary Baganda, Katikkiro JB Walusimbi brought in government owned Bukedde Radio to broadcast the conference proceedings on radio. This is despite the common knowledge that one of the many reasons why the NRM occupation government keeps Buganda’s CBS Radio closed is to give competitive advantage to Luganda radios owned by the government and NRM diehards like Peter Sematimba. This writer spoke to 10 Baganda in Nakulabye after the conference ended and a surprising 9 of them said that they were not interested in what Mmengo is doing anymore because they cannot trust the Katikkiro and close allies. All the 9 also said that they had not listened to or read about the Buganda conference because they were boycotting government radios and newspapers. It appears that the gap between what Mmengo is doing about the governance of Buganda and what ordinary Baganda expect seem to be getting wider and fast.

Below is the full text of Kabaka Mutebi’s remarks.

REMARKS MADE BY SSAABASAJJA KABAKA RONALD MUWENDA MUTEBI II WHILE CLOSING BUGANDA CONFERENCE 09 AT HOTEL AFRICANA, KAMPALA, 17TH DECEMBER 2009

Distinguished Participants

I thank you all who have presented papers at this conference and contributed in any way to the holding of this important meeting. I wish to particularly single out for special thanks to the organizers and sponsors of this conference who have sacrificed their time and other resources to bring us here today.

Buganda is a microcosm of Uganda due to our treasured tradition of openness. Everyone is welcome here and that is how our Kingdom came to prominence in this region two centuries ago. We value our past, but we also live in the present and think about the future. We are sometimes, dismissed as conservative, but at least all recognize that we have something of value to conserve.

Our colonial masters did not write on a clean slate in Uganda. They found well-established nations which they brought together to form the Uganda Protectorate which became the sovereign state of Uganda in 1962.

Buganda was around before colonialism; colonialism emasculated but did not kill her. Even when monarchial institutions were abolished in 1967 and Buganda was erased from the map of Uganda, she remained alive in our people’s hearts. That is why the restoration of the Buganda Monarch in 1993 was very popular, the symbol of Buganda’s identity is their Kabaka, that identity was restored and we are all very grateful.

I have always believed that Uganda can accommodate all of us and that we can live in peace and harmony. I also believe that peace and harmony requires that we should be able to talk to each other honestly and dialogue in an atmosphere of mutual respect. All this costs us nothing but priceless. We should never tire to talk to one another as members of one family Uganda. However, it is important to recognize that members of our family have their peculiar needs and concerns which should be seriously attended to. That is how our family can be kept happy and prosperous.

Take the theme of today’s conference: The Question of Federalism for Uganda. It is a very old issue which was partially resolved in the 1962 constitution. I say partially resolved because this system of governance did not embrace the whole of Uganda. This was a major weakness which independent Uganda should have resolved a long time ago by creating a uniform system of federal governance throughout Uganda. It is clear from the findings of the Odoki constitutional review commission that the overwhelming majority wanted to have that system of governance in Buganda and sixty percent outside Buganda. That was the authentic voice of the people. Why deny them that right?

I am happy that you deemed it worthy to discuss a very old question in Uganda. We should not tire of debate because debates are liberating and good for the soul. It took a long time to build democracies in the west; I have no illusions about this. It will take us time to build genuine democratic institutions here, but I hope at the end of the day, people will see their aspirations to fruition. Thank you for your erudite deliberations.

I now declare Buganda Conference 2009 closed.

Katikkiro Walusimbi seems to have opened a can of worms when, in president Museveni style, he injected himself into a love triangle involving a local cosmetics factory owner, a musician and a woman called Nabukeera. A Baganda family who are currently visiting family in Buganda found it so offensive that they sent us an email accusing Katikkiro JB Walusimbi of  behaving like Uganda’s warlord, NRM’s Yoweri Museveni. The public legal and publicity sex war is between singer Mathias Walukagga and Ssalongo Kasawuli, who packs the Samona cosmetics.

The email we received from a lady who requested that we only use her family name, Musisi, said:

Banange aba Buganda Post,

We are here in Kampala. When we came home to visit, we were very worried about the safety of our relatives and also our leaders like Kabaka and his family as well as his officials. The things we heard about Betty Nambooze before we left London made us feel so bad about what Museveni and his NRM are doing to Baganda.  When we arrived in Kampala we were quickly frustrated because it is very difficult to hear anything about what Kabaka or Katikkiro are doing. Everything in the news is Museveni propaganda.

But when we saw in last Sunday’s Bukedde that our Katikkiro invited two people who were fighting over a woman to meet him and settle their problem, we thought that it was a joke.  We asked a relative who works in Mengo and  we were shocked to learn that it is really true that the Katikkiro is negotiating loose sex cases. My husband and I are both 65 years old and we are blessed because we saw Katikkiros like Kavuma, Kintu and Muliika. These were real statesmen who put all their strength in Buganda national issues. But can you imagine?  Baganda are lost because even right here in Kampala, we do not know what is happening with our Kabaka or Nnabagereka. We do not get updates about Nambooze. But the Katikkiro is concerned about love and sex triangles. My husband has told me that if Walusimbi was serious he could collect emails for Baganda and use that to send out news and ask everyone to forward to others. But if he is not doing things which help Kabaka and all Baganda, how can he have time to enter the issues of two reckless womanizers fighting over some loose girl?

We are sorry to be so hash to the Katikkiro because we have always respected that post so much because it is the highest after Kabaka. But Mr. Walusimbi is making it difficult to keep that respect when he behaves like “village chief” Museveni. If  now (when Buganda is under a crisis) Owekitibwa Walusimbi is focusing on the sex lives of singers and cosmetics traders, who is supposed to help Kabaka Mutebi to guide us?  My husband is also too disappointed that a whole Katikkiro has time to deal with fights over lovers quarrels at the time when the NRM government is passing a new law to grab more Baganda land.

Keep up the good work.

Mr and Mrs. Musisi, LONDON

According to Museveni’s Sunday Vision of  November 15, 2009, Katikkiro Walusimbi had offered to be the arbitrator between musician Mathias Walukagga and Samona cosmetics factory owner, Ssalongo Kasawuli.  Walukagga has reportedly declined the offer so far, which could become a major embarrassment for the Katikkiro.

Problems started early this year when one Aisha Nabukeera gave in to Kasawuli’s advances and because his regular lover. The same Nabukera is a former lover to Walukagga. In March, Walukagga composed a song called Tulepuke, which Kasawuli claimed to be an attack on him. As the public verbal fight got hotter Walukagga went on release another song, Omutembeeyi, which appears to be taunting Kasawuli for selling bizigo. Finally, Kasawuli managed to get a magistrate to stay the playing of the offending Walukagga songs and throw the musician into jail. Now Walukagga claims that Kasawuli paid occupation government sources to do things to him which may threaten his life.

According to our Boston sources, Lt. Frank Musisi of the USA army told the Buganda Emergency meeting on October 17, 2009 that president Museveni is paying Buganda Post to write malicious stories about him (Musisi). Lt. Musisi was apparently referring to an October 17, 2009 posting which said that both at UNAA Chicago and a Los Angeles Baganda conference, the USA army officer had claimed that he was leading the Buganda cause in America (see “Muliika And Frank Musisi To Headline Boston Buganda Emergency Conference“). Apparently, fully aware that the Buganda Post story was accurate, Lt. Musisi never told his Boston audience what Buganda Post had written which inaccurate, let alone malicious.

On October 17, 2009, over 300 angry Baganda from Boston, New York, Washington DC, California, Kampala and many other places attended the one day conference. Several sources told us that it was nothing short of an intense indoor demonstration against Museveni’s NRM dictatorship. It must have given Deputy Katikkiro Ssendaula a real headache (see “”). By far, the phrases which attracted the most standing ovations were,”Ssabsajja awangaale” (Long live Ssabasajja [Kabaka]” “Buli mbuzi ku nkondo yaayo” (”every goat back to its home peg”), “Teli kuteesa!” (”No negotiations”), “Ettaka lyaffe eribe tujja kulibajjako”(”we shall reclaim the land they have stolen from us”) and “Museveni must go!”.   By all measures, the conference was very successful in proving that Baganda love their nation and Kabaka. And that most Baganda are tired of the anti-Buganda Ugandan politics.

One attendee, who requested that we do not disclose her identity, described the meeting to us in an email as follows:  ”At the beginning I got confused because I thought that this was an emergency meeting, may be to decide how to deal with Museveni land grabbing. But for the first  two hours, people were talking about Buganda history and how Federo is good for other regions too. To me it was starting to sound like a Uganda emergency conference.”

The attendee continued: “However, things changed when one light skinned gentleman called Kintu spoke about the real problems of Buganda. In my opinion, that is when the conference really started.  Mr.   Kintu asked Baganda to stop fearing independence and power. He mocked those take the attention off Buganda’s interests to support Uganda’s fake politicians, mbu because they have military or international exposure. He got the biggest applause when he said, ‘Abo bannabyabufuzi bemwesibako bali recycled, tebalina kyebayiinza kutukolera mu lutalo luno” (”All those [political figures] you are standing behind are recycles materials, they cannot do much for us in this war”).  Everyone shouted loudly when he told us to stop mincing words when discussing Buganda’s enemies, and said we must not fear to name them.  And the audience started shouting Apollo Nsibambi, Gilbert Bukenya and Edward Ssekandi.”

According to our source Mr. Abed Bwanika, who previously stood against Museveni for president also got some people excited but, unfortunately, he never clearly said what he wanted. “He said a lot of things about how Museveni and his NRM have looted Uganda and have caused Baganda to suffer, but I never heard him firmly say that he is 100% for Federo or that he is for Buganda independence. To me it was clear that Bwanika wanted our support because he is a Muganda, but what can he realistically give us back, even if he became president?”

Owek. Dan Muliika and Lt. Musisi were the main speakers, as Buganda Post had reported earlier. Our source told us that Owek. Muliika as usual never disappointed. He gave a wonderful speech and explained that Museveni has no legal power to force the current constitution of Uganda on us. The different parts like Buganda, Toro, Acholi, Lango, etc., which formed Uganda must sit together now and agree on how to go forward. They can agree on Federo or even agree on ‘buli mbuzi ku nkondo yaayo’. Musisi, who is very popular in Boston, excited people when he said that Museveni must go. However,  he confused some of us when he started claiming that his life was in danger because of his stand on Buganda. Without explaining, he told us that Museveni plans to kill him but that he was not afraid of going to Uganda. Then he claimed that Museveni was paying Buganda Post to publish stories about him. The problem is that, at UNAA, Musisi really claimed that he was going to lead the fight for Buganda. Now, in Watertown, he was asking us give him financial support but it was for his personal hospital in Ssese, not for Kabaka’s programs.”

In a related development, we can report that all Kabaka’s representatives in North America did not attend the Boston conference, except the Acting representive for New England, a Mr. Jane Lwanga. However, Ggwangamujje DC and Ggwangamujje NY/NJ sent strong delegations, although none of them spoke at the conference.

When asked to comment on Mr. Musisi allegations, Buganda Post’s chief moderator and editor, Omulongo Nakato, said that it would be stupid for Buganda Post and Musisi and engage in verbal battles. “We try to do everything we can to maintain unity among Baganda. Also, occasionally we might make mistakes and will admit them. However, we stand by our story that, in front of many witnesses both at UNAA Chicago and in Los Angeles, Lt. Musisi claimed leadership of Baganda in America. And he and certain supporters of his made it clear that they wanted the Boston Emergency conference to announce one Muganda to carry Buganda’s flag in the Museveni’s 2011 elections. Mr. Musisi should listen to all the promotional SMS messages for the conference. If Museveni paid Buganda Post to write lies against Musisi, then he (Musisi) should specify what we wrote which is not true.”