“The educated ones leave, the ones with the potential to right the wrongs. They leave the weak behind. The tyrants continue to reign because the weak cannot resist. Do you not see that it is a cycle? Who will break that cycle?” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
There is something about a man who has run the Republic since 1986. The Republic which is now made in image and with his institutions, with his appointed men and woman. Where his cronies, businesses, lobbyist and friendly voices are living close connected. It is in a Republic with various of bodies working on Corruption and ensuring a legal remedy against it. However, none of them is able, none of them has capacity to follow the Ministries, the Cabinet, the Members of Parliament, the Government Organizations or the Bank of Uganda for that matter. They are all falling short, as the corruption scandals are in all corners of the state and still, the President says he has new remedies to ancient problem of eating on people’s dime without a recite.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has had the opportunity since 1986 to fix this. That is if he really cared about it . Mzee would have done with already, but he doesn’t. Because, he knows the eating of his cronies and himself is rampant. That is why he even sanctioned, the Presidential Handshake and other deals behind the scenes at the State House. That is the way to do business, that is why the Attorney General, Inspector General of Governor, PPDA or the Police Force for that matter. Cannot touch the corrupt souls, because they can walk. Abraham Byandala walking free after ripping away money from UNRA like M&Ms wutg the Mukono-Katosi Road Scam. While the Courts couldn’t find significant evidence and had let him go. Therefore, believing that the President cares about fighting corruption isfar fetch. If he cares he has to capture himself first and we know that is a fish he doesn’t want to fry.
“On Monday December 10th, I will announce new measures and the direction we shall take in our renewed fight against corruption. That said, there is corruption in Uganda. It stems from the colonial times. However, when we undertook the liberation struggle of this country, there were more pressing problems than corruption” (…) “However, corruption will now be defeated. The corrupt civil servants have exposed themselves. The population is angry with them. Also, we now have more educated young people. The pool from which to pick their replacements has grown. The problem now is the law manipulated by corrupt civil servants. We now need quicker methods of accountability to deal with the corrupt. I have the political will but I do not want to deal with them outside the law. There must also be a reflection on the morals of our young people. When setting up the Uganda Revenue Authority, we carefully identified young people to work there. But now, URA has kawunkumi (weevils). We need to deal with it” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, 04.12.2018).
To believe the President now is naive, as the deals and arrangement that matters are done behind closed doors. The same is done with the Oil Refinery, Petroleum Pipeline, the licensing for oil exploitation and so on. These are major deals and been postponed. It is already a tax case concerning the oil industry that unleashed the Presidential Handshake. There are already other major donor scandals, not only the recent UNHCR and OPM, who has messed up the allocated aid money, there been the GAVI-FUNDS and CHOGM Funds. There are so many corruption scandals, that the National Resistance Movement, has always found a short-cut to eat of the public plate.
Not only when building road, building buildings, but everywhere. Ghosts of all kinds, expenditure that cannot be found or plans that are only made in the thin air, but would never ever exist. That is the manner of how the NRM and the President are eating on people’s dime. They are not accountable, neither really transparent. That is why there are leaks and documents surfacing proving the ills of society and the misuse of money. Which again and again show the Top Officials and ordered from High Above, who steer the money in their way. They are securing their cut and then the businesses can set-up shop or get the land for a factory, hunting ground or some sort of project. While the people are becoming landless and Internally displaced People in some NGOs Camp. That is how the government have fixed the matters and it happens, again and again.
That is why I have little or no faith in the President and his battle against corruption. If he was serious, he would hurt himself, even go after the likes of Amama Mbabazi, Jim Muhwezi, Salim Selah or Sam Kuteesa, but they are untouchables. Just like the Master himself. Peace.
MinBane 