My last comments on the campaign trail…

I am pondering here ...

It was filled with excitement and fear, anxiety and calm everyone had something to say about the current government, the opposition, the state of the nation… Once again the streets were filled with green men some of them posturing like Rambo in front of the electoral commission. Ugandans were once again reminded of their trials and tribulations over the years since independence. A nation still held hostage with the notion of independence while the rest of the world seeks to appreciate interdependence...

My support for the candidates cut across DP, FDC, NRM and UPC very funny but true, I wanted a new president in the name of President Mao but didn’t like his party – I think a new party is the way forward for my man! This time round, I do not know why, but the little interest I had for FDC had dwindled only that I still liked my village mate Wadri from Terego who for me represents fair views on development.

My most exciting MP’s were the younger and more technology savvy guys who understood the dynamics of the new style leadership and management, types of stakeholders and partners, these are what I referred to earlier as the CEO kind of leaders, men with dreams and aspirations congratulations Gabriel (NRM), Edward (NRM), Vincent (NRM), Maxwell (UPC), I hope they do not catch the plague and sleep on duty. The challenge though, we ask will they manage to make a better leadership this time! Let’s wait and see…

It seems to me like it will be back to business as usual, many unresolved inquiries, ill equipped local governments, more environmental degradation and pollution, no proper waste management, poor farming methods, dropping standards of training, dropping service standards even in private sector the list is endless, it is very important for us to ask these questions, why are we dropping into just another African nation???

The future can become brighter and better, what is the solution? The government should start to run as a profit driven organization, an organization that realizes that appropriate distribution of wealth across the country will unite the country and send people to work. Political power without economic wealth is just like an empty building! We need to build very strong and strategic PPP’s in all parts of the country.

My advice to the President and his team would be to build on patriotism as started, they should adopt the model in Ghana, where a council of elders contributes to the decision making process, the council could include people from the cultural institutions as well, after all this will assist the government on taking more stringent stances on corruption, people are raising the bar and expect more quality in all spheres and not only unplanned poor growth!

The new government should attract MP’s who want to achieve something beyond self. Pay to MP’s should be cut to manageable levels just like it happens in companies that are profit driven. Let it become service to people to be in parliament, or to be a mayor, not a source of daily bread! The use of tax payers’ money should be checked and improved so as to reduce the dependence on foreign support which in turn reduces the decisions we can hold in our hands.

The new government should embrace technology, use IT to manage the national register/ID, voters and voting, not these clumsy manual items. Use IT to detect and track defaulting buses, trucks, cars, poor road usage and among other issues, use IT to fast track education of people who have been affected by civil strife and wars especially in the north. Embrace technology!

Ugandans need to get more proud their heritage and employ the best architecture to build wonder designs for hospitals, schools, local government establishments, parks, preserved sites among others. Again work in a PPP to promote preserved sites and develop models to attract more business to all regions of the country!

Let’s stop lamenting and get down with our bare hands and work, improve the politics too – I think the ones who lost should go and start planning for 2016, in the mean time there are so many ways they can contribute to development.

I wish them well “Aluta Continua”