Uganda has taken huge strides from 1986 to 2021

Entebbe expressway

OPINION | Apollo Otawi  in Tororo | I am writing in response to an article titled "The Uganda of 1986 vs The Uganda of 2021" by my sister Faith Athieno Norah, also from Tororo, that does not reflect the fundamental changes for good in Ugandan society in the last 35 years.

I was born at Mengo Hospital, around the last year of Dr. Apollo Milton Obote's first regime.

My father was working at the National Housing and Construction Corporation as a cashier. This position offered him a free house and we lived at the now so called Doctors quarters in Mulago. 

These housing units belonged to the housing corporation, until President Idi Amin who overthrew Obote gave them to the doctors of Mulago hospital as he tried to appease them and stop them fleeing for green pastures around 1974. Around that time we shifted to the Bukoto Flats and that's where I grew up from.

After that coup that brought Amin into power and the subsequent attempts to invade the country by Ugandans from Tanzania, the country started to plunge into chaos slowly.

The country Uganda had a decade earlier attained independence from its colonial masters, and there was still much evidence of the systems that the British put in place. Obote's first government advocated nationalising several sectors and had created a good number of parastatals. There was also the East African Community, that had placed some services, like postal,  the revenue collection body , the railway corporation, Airways, education, and others under its wing.

Amin throws out Indians

When President Idi Amin threw out the Indians, in 1972, he dished most of the businesses to his cronies and he also gave management of these government organisations to his associates, some of whom did not have any ideas of running such companies.

These persons did not have accountability or never needed to account to anyone and therefore run these bodies to a down. They simply lined their pockets and drained the organisations gradualy.

The manufacturing companies and industries continued running, but at a cost to the government. The government had the monopoly of importation of essential commodities through the defunct Foods and Beverage. These imports could not facilitate the growing population.

Because the government controlled the prices of the exports and at times late payments and other irregularities, the population resorted to illegal export of their cash crops and smugging of essential commodities, like salt, sugar, soap from neighbouring countries.

By the late 70s and early eighties, there was a scarcity of these essential items. People were being killed trying to cross the borders with their commodities, thus the name MAGENDO.

Most of the Parastatals were running at a loss and could not perform as would have been required. Big officials slept at the country hotels endlessly, draining them of any profits they would have made.

The education system which was mainly run by the churches and government and were also affected. But since education was not a priority, it was not very evident and they continued to run, not as smoothly as you would have expected.

I doubt that government collected any meaningful revenue at that time.

When the Tanzanians, with the help of some Ugandan dissidents, overthrew Amin's regime, the whole country was in a chaos. Production at all levels was very poor.

There was need for the rehabilitation of the whole country at large. The cronies who had been given free run of the economy had been exiled, but not before looting a lot of government property.

The Ugandans who had helped the Tanzanians to overthrow the Amin government in 1979, came in and started sharing the remains. Others groups were given high privileges as others were denied. There was need for a fresh start of government business, as most of it had been broken during the previous regime.

In trying to organise themselves, the civilians demanded that a civil government be put in place and thus the elections were held in 1980. At that time the government was receiving all sorts of aid in its bid to rehabilitate the damaged infrastructures from its partners. That's how the education system got subsidized in form of food reliefs.

Then President Milton Obote was trying to create the same political air, he had left before the coup that had seen him exiled to Tanzania.

He recalled the Indians, like the Madhvani and Mehta to come back and revive their industries. Funds were found to revamp the bus companies in the transport sector. Government parastatals continued to run, but at a high cost to the tax payers, as these entities did not make any profits and continued to be drained by their managers, who were not required to give any accountability to the central government.

The Obote II error

Obote then made the mistake of allocating the running of these companies to his cronies, most of whom had been in exile and did not have the nation's interest at heart.

The return of political party activities, after the fall of Amin, created the usual cliques and differences that comes with these organisations.

This was very evident even at schools, were the NUSU members, these being students had as much power as the school administrators, because if their inclination to the UPC party in power.

In the local administration, UPC party loyals soon grew strong and run the institutions as if they were personal businesses. I doubt that the government could even collect revenue from the population to enable it provide the much needed services adequately.

Aid from abroad continued to trickle in, in form of scholastic materials, foodstuff, medicine and such. The government could not sustain itself . The few factories that were restored, could not give employment to the ever growing population.

In areas near to the border, like Tororo, the youth started crossing over to the neighboring countries to do menial jobs. The so called cooperatives, having been revived and lots of money pumped into them, were not run well by the managers. Soon the farmers were not being paid in time and sometimes crops were destroyed at the stores.

As a result Magendo continued to thrive in many place at border areas. This cross border trade provided for most of the essential commodities in the country, as the government institution which was charged with importing these items could not distribute the necessities to the country. There was lack of many basic requirements.

Even in the military, there was a division that later resulted to the coup in 1985 which saw Obote back into exile. This came at a loss of lives and looting causing further damage to the country at large.

Enter the NRA

Therefore, at the fall of this regime, when the NRA captured power, the whole country was devastated in so many areas.

The few medical facilities in place did not have workers, and equipment to provide adequate services to the population. The government parastatals were a burden to the tax payers, as most of the proceeds were lining individual’s pockets. Hotels and transport had a similar problem. Whereas there were some government and church schools, education had become expensive and a fewer percentage of school going youth were able to stay at school. The transport system, including the railway had broken down too. The government had broken down completely.

On top of that, some areas of the country, the east and north continued to resist the new government. Insurgency was the order of the day, as unaccounted weaponry remained in the hands of individuals who did not want to work with new people in power, the NRA/ M.

The 10 point programme

The government, under the clear guidance of HE YK Museveni came with its 10 point programs, all aimed in the rehabilitation, and restructuring of the country even as armed groups continued to engage the government forces.

In this process, with recommendation from our partners it was found prudent to do away way with all these non-functioning parastatals. The hotels, transport systems, and some few factories were diversified.

On the political ground, a new system of governance was created. This being based on individual merit. Councils were created from the village level to the district.and subsequently a parliament was formed.

There was need for a new constitution to be written and by 1995 it was written by a national assembly that consisted of representatives from all constituencies for the first time.

With this achievement, laws had been put in place to carry the new Uganda to great heights.

The Asians who had been exiled by Amin, were allowed to come back and repossess their properties and also start up business without fear. The new government would protect them.

Revenue collection, education is key

With time the government restructured its revenue collecting body, allowing the Uganda Revenue Authority formed in 1991, to have resources to help in building of the nation’s infrastructure.  

The country’s mechanisms of revenue collection and accountability were ineffective before URA was established in 1991. Tax collection in the country was hampered by a narrow tax base, as well as bureaucratic processes, smuggling, high domestic tax rates and tariffs on international trade. Until 1988, Uganda’s net revenue had not hit the UGX 20 billion mark.

Uganda’s total revenue grew from 5 billion in 1986 to 14.46 trillion in 2018, multiplying by a factor of 2,891.2!

The liberalization of markets also allowed individuals to start up and do businesses, thus lessening the burden of relying on foreign items for essential needs.

Last year was particularly great for the Ugandan economy, as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives celebrated as for the first time in history, Uganda had a favorable balance of trade with Kenya.

Bank of Uganda (BoU) figures indicate that in the Financial Year 2017/18, Uganda had a trade surplus of $122.78 million with Kenya (Exports of $628.47 million against Imports of $505.70 million).

Small enterprises were formed and they grew into big companies with time. Private schools were given permission to operate with the guidance of the government.

This gave opportunity to a big number of children to get education. And when the government realised that some others still could not get to school, it placed programs for free education, up to secondary school as of now. Private universities opened to supplement the traditional government funded and this catered for the now ever growing number of students. Once most of the country was pacified, neighboring countries started taking the opportunity of bringing their children to the Ugandan schools. This also enhanced revenues in these institutions.

And they have since grown.

More hospitals built

When the NRA took over power, there had been hospitals and dispensaries that had been built by the previous governments. These could no longer cater for the now growing communities.

At first the government brought an idea of cost sharing, but some legislators, fought the idea and it did not take off well. It would have subsidized the cost of providing health services and probably, the medicine cost  at these centers would be no more. As it has now been realised, no government can provide free healthcare to its citizens as it is not sustainable. Even older democracies have not been able to achieve that. The NRM government has since built and refurbished a good number of hospitals to compliment the private owned .

As  regards the road network, which is a necessity for economic activities to thrive, there has been a tremendous uplift of roads and new ones have been created all over the country. Bridges have been built.

Diversification and peace within the country allowed individuals to create manufacturing industries, thus increasing the demand of electrical power. The government, and it's partners have built more power sources without limitation, and allowing the private to invest in it. This is geared at reducing the overload on electricity demand that had caused the loadshedding which, hopeful, will be history soon.

Tapping Uganda’s agriculture strength

Uganda has always been an agricultural country. With the pacification of most of the country, and all the restructuring and developments, the increase of road network, has allowed the Ugandan peasant to revive its agricultural glory and with the introduction of modern agricultural practices, Uganda is slowly  becoming the food basket of East and Central Africa.

Along the way, Ugandans, were asked on their preference of mode of governance and a good number opted for the mult-party democracy. As an individual, having witnessed the chaos in the 1980 elections and after testing the individual merit that the NRM had brought in its wake. I would have preferred the later. But the majority Ugandans had decide for us.

The problem with multi-party politics often is members of a particular party invest much into the party, that on gaining power, they wish retrieve it from the government coffers at the tax payers cost.

Secondly, it is a winner takes it all process, and it creates disputes, because the other party members are seen as enemies of a particular party. This division, breeds hatred and creates wars. This is where it has led us as a nation at the moment.

Peace and sports

Because of the long term peace, from border to border, Uganda's youth in the arts and sports have had time to train, and the fruits are now beginging to show.

Uganda today has the world's best long distance runners. Just recently Joshua Cheptegei broke several world records.

Women empowerment

On another development, it's the NRM government that realised the potential of a woman in our society.

It created awareness and uplifted the girl child, thus empowering the woman to give them an equal platform with the man. This affirmative action has enhanced productivity in the nation and can be considered one of the greatest achievement ever made in Uganda. Women emancipation should be applauded, as it also lifts the burden off the back of the man entirely.

Ugandans today can move in and out of the country with their goods and property. Those who manage to get jobs abroad can bring back home their money and build or invest freely. Business in and around, having been liberalised, allows for commodities that a much needed to reach the population from far places. That is a result of peace brought over by this regime.

Since some neighboring countries are not yet pacified, Uganda has continued to provide sanctuary to the displaced persons were pursuing resolutions to end these wars. Uganda is now one of the world’s leading host of refugees.

The Jopadhola revival

For the Japadhola community, we have been given the opportunity to revisit our culture. To organise and develop our culture and create an ambience that will allow our future generations to develop.

We need to work on the social economic factor and realize practices that are sustainable and can uplift our wellbeing. This can only be achieved through dialogue and integrity. We must demand loyality from our representatives to these causes.

At this time of election, we should not wish for a change in the status quo, but to consolidate the achievements and chose the right representatives.

If we continue to live harmoniously, the sky is the limit.

Long live His Highness Kwar Adhola

For God and my country

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Apollo Otawi is a proud Ugandan and social media critic