That is Wrong With Our Country!

Internet photo (Maybe subject to copyright)

Sometimes I seriously doubt whether I can make a good politician. My perception of politicians in Ugandan context is a group of people who pull off as very important people when in real sense they are not. I am still not convinced that the world cannot exist without politicians. Because honestly, an accountant keeps books, a doctor treats people, an administrator organises faculties, a teacher educates a nation, a pilot, captain or driver ferries people and goods, a judge and lawyers deliver justice and a police officer keeps law and order (depending on country). But what does a politician do?

When discussing patriotism I don't even think that many politicians especially in Uganda should lay a claim. In many cases they are the most unproductive and ironically they are unnecessarily many and highly paid members of our society. Everywhere you look there is a politician that we could do without but they have strategically placed themselves to assert relevance.

That is why in build up to Uganda's football match against Senegal in the round of 16 at AFCON 2019 when one MP criticized the players and questioned their patriotism it got me laughing so hard that I missed the match, which match we were supposed to lose.

A member of parliament earns over $100,000 a year, and they are unnecessarily over 400 in number. In comparison Uganda 30 Cranes players earn allowances sometimes once in two years and we have to make them beg for it. And when it gets to She-Cranes, it is even “worser” than bad.

Then a member of parliament questions a sportsman's patriotism? Of course if there was a machine that measures patriotism, politicians’ measure would always be below average or in negative. Don’t you see these guys who keep deposing dictatorships and they then turn out to be worse? Don’t you know these guys who in their 20^th year at the helm claimed that Obote had overstayed?

But anyway, in a nation where we have turned our priorities upside down, I think this is not going away soon. It is the explanation as to why we keep suffocating ourselves with political positions and discard professionals to the bottom end of the payrol, we pay locally trained doctors peanuts, causing them to look for places where their services are appreciated. Then as a solution we hire Spanish speaking doctors from Cuba to address the shortage and give these Cubans a translator on top of amenities that we denied our own. You may think that our politicians have a grudge with Ugandan born professionals that to increase a teacher’s salary to cover basics, they rather hire Kenyans and pay them double what the Ugandan teachers are requesting for.

Do we need some brain transplants or the results of our mess will teach next generations lessons so big that they will avoid the mistakes of their forefathers?

Of course, our generation is not likely to contribute much to Uganda seeing that we who were born 36 years ago are soon reaching menopause while still believing that Uganda is too difficult to be managed by ourselves or one of our own. And therefore we need to maintain people from the other generation to the extent that even when we need change, we must replace an old turk with a dotard.

I sign out!