{UAH} Salim Saleh Understands What Messed Up Agriculture In Uganda !
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Ugandans hate me, says General Saleh
Gen Salim Saleh (C) with musicians Bebe Cool and Jose Chamelone in 2005 at his home in Garuga. Courtesy Photo
Posted Saturday, August 3 2013 at 01:00
In Summary
Retired bush war hero claims whenever he tries to take part in matters of national importance, a section of Ugandans raise eyebrows and point fingers at him.
Gen Caleb Akandwanaho aka Salim Saleh has revealed that he does not usually make his views public on contentious national issues because he feels he is a hated man.
He lamented that he had previously taken a public beating over his stand on a number of national issues. "I have fallen into so many accidents," he said and added: "I tried to intervene in the banking sector but I became the casualty."
Gen Saleh, who is President Museveni's younger brother, is known to pull strings behind the scenes. It is the reason a section of civil society activists called on him at his Garuga lakeside home off Entebbe Road on Thursday to seek his support on emerging contentious issues in the agriculture sector, especially the proposed GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) law now before Parliament.
The activists fear this could undermine the independence of peasant farmers. "There are people who just hate something because Saleh is involved," he said, adding that even when he is right, his suggestions are fought.
Gen Saleh, who was in a jovial mood, said he can only dialogue with people who see value in him and are genuinely interested in his contribution.
The activists, some of whom appeared to have come face-to-face with the general for the first time, looked shocked by the retired officer's charm and simplicity.
It was laughter when Gen Saleh asked his guests who the chair of the meeting should be: "I cannot be the host as well as the chairman."
The general said although agriculture was dear to him, the sector had been messed up by the privatisation policy that saw the government withdraw its direct involvement in it.
"All these problems today are because the Agriculture ministry is empty; it is disintegrated, and I think that is the starting point," he said.
Gen Saleh, who oscillated between listening and cracking jokes all through the meeting, said bureaucracy in government is so rigid that he was made to sit A-Level examinations, studying in the same class with his daughter, in order to qualify for cabinet appointment.
The Constitution requires a minimum academic qualification of A-Level for a person to be eligible for appointment to cabinet. In 1997, President Museveni appointed Gen Saleh minister of state for Defence, but Parliament refused to approve his appointment, on account that he did not have the qualifications.
However, President Museveni retained Gen Saleh in the portfolio, but opted to refer to him as "Overseer of Defence" instead of minister of Defence.
Apparently, this did not please Gen Saleh, who wanted the title "minister" on his profile. He went back to school after more than 20 years when he was last in a classroom at Kako Secondary School in Masaka District to pursue his dream of becoming minister. He was later appointed minister of state for Microfinance upon completion of his A-Level.
Gen Saleh told his guests that most of the issues affecting Uganda's economy today were created by the unrestrained privatisation of government corporations which "I was fighting in my own way." He did not elaborate which "my own way" was.
Without digging into the details, Gen Saleh tried to impress upon his visitors that some of the problems were a result of "forces so complex" that it needed a common national understanding. He did not elaborate.
The civil society activists called for the government to take a lead role in reintegration and coordination of agricultural activities in the country in order to fend off future "negative forces" who may hijack Uganda's main sector that employs more than 70 per cent of the population.
Gen Saleh, who spoke with the guardedness of a soldier, said the looming crisis needs collective understanding of how the government divested its responsibility in agriculture.
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