Even at the climax of my
timidity and fear, one thing I can authoritatively say is that Uganda or
Ugandans are in a financial crisis and it is true the economy is sick and
alarmingly sick. Those in the financial sector can affirm that the loan default
is high and those paying are passing through untold hardships. Banks are
lending cautiously with most debt being offered to government which is thought
to be a secure borrower but if the nose dive continues, believe you me Uganda
as government is also gonna default on its debts before 2025. The economy is in
free fall and even the governors at the Central Bank are aware that they are
not in charge.
Early this year, Bank Of
Uganda lowered the lending rate to stimulate borrowing but there is no
guarantee that those who are borrowing at these lower rates will pay without
struggle if they manage to pay anyway. Even without reading between lines, one
can tell that it is the result of bad investment decisions by government. Of
course, I will not talk about the NRM expenditure on the campaigns that had
direct bad impact on the already bad economy neither will I mention the
withdrawal of donor funds from some “bunch of useless western nations” as our
president calls them.
When we sunk all that money
into roads, bridges, railways, statehouse and defense while ignoring other
productive sectors they made things worse. Remember most of the money that is
spent on infrastructure goes abroad to Chinese and there is no real value for
it.
Whoever advised Museveni to
sink money in the roads must be the same who told Sudhir to put money in
buildings instead of lending it out. He or she must be related to FDC in one
way or another. No wonder it is DFDCU bank that took over Crane Bank but that
is a by the way.
For us at the grassroots we
just watch and start adjusting to one meal a day. We are soon selling food
flasks to buy food. Remember at first we sold cows and bought food flasks
hoping to solve the issue of hunger but these food flasks were not as holy as
rice from Kubiiri at the Mulago Round-about.
Every parent who bought a
food flask thinking that every morning the food flask would be overflowing with
food from heaven in form of mana or quill was mistaken. Our friends across the
Nile waited and waited until the kids started conceiving from home. Why did
mother of the nation ask people to buy food flasks when she was not gonna give
them a source of food? However in essence it all sounds like a comical movie
for one who has gone hungry for days to start packing food for his/her children
when they are going to school.
Anyway, we cannot forget to
appreciate the fellows in the Ministry of Education who have honorably and ably
solved the problem of high school drop-out in Karamoja region. In fact since
the days of John the Baptist this region had never witnessed such a high
enrolment in the government aided schools with such regular attendance. We can
copy leaf from what the Ministry did to take and keep Karimojongs in school.
They serve them with free porridge at school. I hear that what those guys do is
spend the morning in the bush with their cattle and at the time when the bell
rings for porridge all and sundry queue for porridge. After the good porridge
they all get back to their bush and to their cattle. After all what are presidents
for especially if he collected 99% votes from the region where the majority
pastoralists didn't even vote?
Karimojongs who stayed away
from voting are way more intelligent than Kampalans and we the alleged
intellectuals who stood in line for hours just to cast a vote. What changed
after waiting that long?
Back to Buyende girls who
started their periods early just to tarnish first Lady's name. These girls only
need to have controlled their periods till the oil comes out of the ground and
we got enough money for such luxuries. Can't the Basoga in Buyende also
appreciate government effort and buy sanitary pads for their children? We now
hear that these girls normally get money for pads from their side business
after school. In the most vulnerable condition, they give out their young
bodies to fishermen who in return pay them as much as 10,000.
After all they are the most
satisfied tribesmen and majority beneficiaries of the current regime. There are
the unconfirmed rumours that the ruling party got 90% support from Buyende with
FDC getting 40%, Mbabazi 20% and Kyalya 10%. Don’t mind if the maths does not
add up, does it always add up anyway?
Lastly, just in case the
first Lady does not forgive me as she did Stella Nyanzi, my next article shall
be about preserving the environment and the current indiscriminate disposal of
waste as well as the pathetic destruction of the flora and fauna of Uganda. I
just realised recently that when we actually collect all our rubbish in the
rubbish bins of Mbale the Municipal council carries the same waste and dumps it
in Kamonkoli or the forest along Busiu road. It is some sort of madness that I
wonder of what importance it is to collect the rubbish only to use it to
pollute for the innocent people of Kamonkoli.
Back to the issue of pads which has become as contentious as the Makerere Professor herself, Busiu Youth Forum wrote a proposal requesting 40 million from NSSF friends with benefits to engage in the production and supply of free recyclable or reusable sanitary pads but just like the ministry of education, the NSSF thought that the girls may bleed later and did not fund us. If there is change of heart and you think that our proposal makes sense, all the government schools in the great Bungokho South can be covered with us. Do not say that am bribing anyone for an offer because the need is right before your eyes. Act now or watch another generation go down the drain as we keep talking emancipation and acting sexism. But wait, did we say women are majority in Uganda and they are also an interest group?
Let me ask for forgiveness!
NB:
This article is a combination of fiction and reality. It is now the reader to
sort the chaff from good or the good from the chaff. Whatever will be easy for
you!
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