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[Disclaimer] 68% needs to wake up in the Republic, apparently!

““In order to produce something you need four things; land which is a natural resource, labour which we have in plenty, capital money and entrepreneurship, the spectacles to see where the opportunity is and turn it into profit. You can’t have 68% of the homesteads (eating what they produce) and you think you’re an economist. You’re just a total failure. Infant mortality rate, how many children are dying when they are still young? Why are they dying? Because they have problems, mainly because of problems of having no money. What does it mean that 68% of the homesteads are outside the money economy? We have a few modern farmers who are part of the 32% and other entrepreneurs. Those will continue but let us wake up this 68%.” Museveni said” (URN – ‘68% of Ugandans are poor because of sleeping – Museveni’ 12.08.2019).

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni have just ended his campaign and Wealth Creation Tour after a few months of steadily traveling across the Republic. In the final days of this he was a part of Investment Symposium 2019 in Arua.

What his saying isn’t new, he has used this message before, that the public is lazy, that they are not working hard enough. That they are not as hardworking and smart working like himself. Because, everyone should aim for being the photo-copy of the President. That is how you move ahead in the Republic.

That this is an insulting message from someone who had 33 years to make a difference. For someone who has had three decades to change the institutions, state owned enterprises and organisations run by state.

If the President really worked for this, strived to make the finances good and economy booming. He would have delivered that already. His party has reigned supreme, had the majority of Parliament, had a One-Party state for a decade as well. So, if someone should have the ability to get his vision through, it should have been him.

However, spoiler alert. His been working for himself and his wealth. Not the wealth of the public, his using the state as racket. That is why the state gets into debt, while himself and his family is running successful businesses. This is the mere reality, a reality he doesn’t touch. As well, as the open laisses faire approach, while only partial subsidizing whatever defunct enterprise that is in the wind.

President Museveni can put the blame on the public. If not he will blame the opposition, the lazy bureaucrats or anyone who doesn’t cut it. Because, that is something this man does. Right now he blames the majority of the public. However, he has had 33 years to wake them up and get into the economy. Still, its not like his succeeded or even tried, except with schemes that the Kitchen cabinet have earned funds from.

Therefore, maybe just maybe, Mr. President its your failure, its your lack of policy and will, which is the reason for the people sleepwalking to their inevitable death. You could have done something, but you didn’t, that’s the fact. Peace.

My 2 Cents: On Mzee’s final lecture from the OWC Tour!

Well, I am sure we should break down the whole speech, the whole history lesson and look into the madness, the repetitive and usage of facts that is President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in 2019. As the National Resistance Movement (NRM) had the Sole Candidate Endorsement trip across the republic. Since, he needed to show relevance, as his opposition is growing in strength, because of the tiredness of the captivity of the NRA/NRM leadership in the republic.

However, he still has to show relevance, by addressing the colonial time, Idi Amin and even his basic structures. Like he has never written or spoken about it before. It is time for this man to retire either to one of his farms as a cattle keeper or become a honorary history lecture at Makerere University. Because, that suits him more than governing at this point.

Nevertheless, let me drop a few snippets of his recent letter, before addressing it!

First Paragraph:

“Therefore, the Ugandan economy is one of the fastest growing in the World on account of the NRA/UPDF ensuring peace, the NRM ensuring reconciliation and democratic empowerment of the Ugandans, the NRM ensuring macro-economic stability as well as the NRM ensuring some limited infrastructure rehabilitation and development. It would have grown faster if the 6th Parliament had not delayed the construction of Bujagali dam and if we did not have corrupt actors asking for bribes before delivering services or those corrupt officials doing shoddy jobs and inflating costs. The corruption issue, however, is a software issue and not a hardware one. Given our transparent democratic system, the corrupt always get exposed and, on account of our massive educational system, nobody is indispensable” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – ‘Comment on my just concluded wealth creation countrywide tour’ 06.08.2019).

Second Paragraph:

“How do the 68% move forward, following the present campaign? My answer is that there are already four funds for Wealth and Job creation. These are: the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) Fund; the Women Fund; the Youth Fund; the Micro-finance fund and the Innovation Fund. This is a total of Shs437.2bn. This money has been there every year, in some cases, even since the year 2001 as NAADS money. The complaints are now that, this money is given to the ones “who already have”. The have-nots do not get. It is the “haves” that access this support. This cannot be a big problem. The big issue is that the money is there. If the routes through which it is passing have a problem, then we shall get better routes” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – ‘Comment on my just concluded wealth creation countrywide tour’ 06.08.2019).

The President does what he does best. Complain about others and saying they are indispensable. But when is himself so indispensable himself? As everyone else can be changed but not himself? How about that, Mr. Sole Candidate since 1986?

Well, that was the cheap and easy shots at the President and his own reasoning. Let me dig a bit deeper. As when concerning Bujagali dam, the European Investment Bank and the EU didn’t want to invest in the dam. There was even sent a complain to the EIB in 2009, but the EU said the project didn’t meet its standard for substantial development goals in such investment project. Still, the government pushed for it and even needed refinancing of it 2017. Surely, the expensive project has been a prestige project for the President, while putting blame to other leaders. That is what he does, instead of questioning, why foreigners didn’t want to invest in it in the first place.

Lastly, the Ugandan version of democracy isn’t that democratic, as there is no level playing field. If your a true opposition you get pinned with charges and spend time in court, even tortured if your a true threat to the Presidency That is why, the rigging, voter tourism and pre-ticked ballots is a steady act of the democratic values of this regime. Therefore, if he believes in his words, his surely deluded.

The last part, which I won’t use much time on. But there has been a Parliament report on the OWC and the President haven’t followed any of the recommendation from it. Neither, has he ever criticised or critically said anything about Gen. Salim Selah. Well, his part of his family and his kin never does anything wrong. They are legends because of their bloodline. That is why everyone else is indispensable, but his own is not.

So, if the President was serious about changing the OWC, maybe he should look into how the OWC is run by Gen. Salim Selah. But don’t expect that. It is cardinal sin to ask for that.

Well, enough of this nonsense. Peace.

Opinion: The OWC is a total failure, no regional coordinators can save it!

Well, it had to come to this, that the President Yoweri Kagtua Museveni knows that the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) infused Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) is failing. As the previously Parliament Report has said too. That is why its ironic that the President is using more and more funds on promoting it. Because, it is clearly failing because of lack of implementation and coordination.

The OWC is run by his Gen. Salim Selah and his associates are eating of this plate. That is well-known. To say otherwise is to be blind to the fact and the usage of this is to gain more funds out the state coffers. It isn’t only to supposedly elevate the rural farmers and their cash-crops. Because, if it was so, the OWC would have worked already.

The OWC with a few coordinators will only be more patronage. As the OWC which is run by the army, should gotten help and implementation from the Residential District Commanders. As their duty is to progress the works of the government, which happens to be the OWC, National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Savings and Credit Co-Operative Society (SACCOs), Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), Northern Uganda Resilience Initiative (NURI) and whatever else the President see fit.

We can act a fool and celebrate that a few more brothers get a job, but the reality it is a shit-show and the results are in the pudding. We can act like its a good idea, but it seems only to fix more cronies of the President, than actually make a difference. If it had, the OWC and the other funding schemes would work for the public.

We know already the OWC is not able to find the right seedlings, deliver them on time or to the proper district. Therefore, the spending on the OWC is already exaggerated and excessive. That is why the act of getting coordinators is more a front, than actually changing it. If the OWC was serious, the OWC organization would have implemented some of the advice giving in the Parliament Report of 2018. However, that never appeared, because than the President have to discredit Salim Selah and that’s not happening.

The reality is that the OWC cannot be fixed, not because its impossible. But as long as these power structures are there, it will most likely amount to nothing. Since that is how it is. President Museveni knows this and is the aide in charge for keeping it. He knows that these coordinators will not amount to much. Just like the RDCs are not acting up as per request of the President, if they have even gotten the memo from him. They will be blasted in a campaign rally and used as pawns in need.

It is weird that the OWC are in thes issues, that funds getting missed, lack of coordination and logistics, that such a vital part of National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government Programme. This programme is the promoted and favourable theme for the campaigns done in all of May 2019. That is why the programme should be the perfect window of what the NRM has done in power. Instead, the programme shows the lack of governance and the misuse of state funds. The NRM should focus on something they have actually achieved and made changes with. As they are amending and twisting the OWC to make it seem successful, even when it isn’t.

The President should look to other ways if his serious about reforms, about progress or wanting to make a difference. But this scheme isn’t for that, it is to enriching his cronies and ensuring that the patronage has an avenue for wealth. If it was differently, than the state would have made sufficient changes to actually get the farmers to yield more out of their investments. Alas, that is not happening.

No coordinators will make the needed push for the OWC. The OWC will be messed up as long as the patronage gets to control it, the coordinators is just an extended hand to be fed by it. Not make work. Peace.

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