{UAH} Museveni squandered the people’s will - Prof Kakonge - Thought and Ideas - monitor.co.ug

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Museveni squandered the people's will - Prof Kakonge - Thought and Ideas - monitor.co.ug

When and how did you start working with President Museveni?
When Museveni came to power in 1986, I was appointed minister of Local Government. I was at home and somebody delivered a note that I was needed at the President's Office. I hadn't met Museveni before, and this caused fear in me thinking the new regime wanted to eliminate me on account of my relation with UPC's late John Kakonge. John was my elder brother. I bade my wife goodbye, and told her to take heart if I didn't return.

On reaching the President's Office, the secretary ushered me in, and shortly Museveni came to meet me. He then asked me if I could be his minister of Local Government. He told me that he had selected me as Local Government minister because of my background as a scientist.

What was your role as Local Government minister?
As minister, we wanted to reorganise local governments with the aim of bringing services closer to the people. At that time, the people's representative organs were the Resistance Councils (RCs) which had been formed in the NRA liberated areas. We now wanted to streamline the RC system to make it more representative and reflective of the will and aspirations of the local people.

I worked on the document for the decentralisation policy, and to do this, I appointed a committee headed by Prof Mahmood Mamdani. I would traverse the whole country selling the idea of people taking charge of their day-to-day affairs through RCs, and shaping the kind of development they wanted.

And what was the response of the local population towards this policy?
Some people would travel all the way from their villages across the country on their own expenses, to Kampala to offer suggestions on how we should go about the decentralisation policy. This is where I started to realise that Museveni had the people's goodwill, unfortunately he squandered it.

What was your next assignment after local government?
After two years at Local Government, I was shifted to the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports. I was replaced by Amanya Mushega at Local Government. He was there briefly and was replaced by Mr Bidandi Ssali.

How did you get out of Cabinet?
In 1989, all ministers were told to go and stand for elections in preparation for the Constituent Assembly. That was the time Museveni ran a government without ministers, but only bureaucrats and NRM officials. I stood in my constituency and didn't go through. So I went back to my teaching job at Makerere.

How did you find working with Museveni?
Museveni wasn't an easy man to work with. He had a fixed mind on how things should be done. If you happened to have a sharp brain while working with Museveni, then you would find yourself in problems. Working with Museveni meant you had to take orders without asking questions, and this is the style he still employs.

Where did Museveni start going wrong?
He was over-carried by political ambition. He started scheming and doing all sorts of things to entrench himself in power. If he had continued with the spirit of putting Uganda ahead of everything else, he would have succeeded. The original all-inclusive Movement was a good idea that tried to enhance unity among politicians of various political persuasions.

As chairman, what do you say to the views that UPC is now cold, impotent ash?
UPC isn't dead. Now people are realising the ideological impact of UPC. We were in government for a short time but did things that even Museveni hasn't done in 30 years he has been in power. NRM is implementing the policies of UPC without understanding how those policies were designed in the first place. I will tell you that the reason as to why Museveni keeps on fighting and disorganising UPC is that he fears the ideological might of the party.

What do you think is Uganda's biggest problem?
There hasn't been a will to change Uganda for the better. The problem is that Museveni is interested in power as opposed to the national good. Take, for instance, our education system which is basically after creating a middle-class system other than training and empowering critical thinkers for national development. Not only that, but Museveni is running an economy based on criminal activities such as corruption, drug trafficking, fake currencies. Look around, most of the mega structures that are mushrooming in the city are from criminal activities.

The opposition has been criticised for failing to present alternative policies.
That point is raised from ignorance. Museveni is implementing policies which we were doing long ago. I will tell you that in 1974, Uganda was supposed to have all-weather tourist roads. We built regional referral hospitals, and we were to put up more schools, and more girls' schools. We were also to put up more accommodation for civil servants, in addition to the housing units that have since been sold off.

What is your opinion on your colleagues in opposition crossing over to the NRM?
The government is disorganising the opposition with money and patronage on the one hand, and on the other, we see greedy politicians who have no values and principles to protect. Even in NRM, Museveni is using money to manipulate the NRM. Besides, most of these defections are fake, and you are about to see more of such stage-managed defections.

How far with the truth and reconciliation agenda as UPC?
The truth and reconciliation agenda is not to apportion blame, but to help us come face to face with reality and see how to move on. South Africa is a good example, they had worse problems than us but they had to go through the painful process of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation. If Ugandans don't take courage to face our ugly past, the demons will continue to haunt us for many more years. And Museveni will be haunted because he participated in some of these things.

That said, what is the future of Uganda?
The future is unpredictable but its change will come from people with minds to think. This country needs to define its own values and then find means of actualising those values. The whole operation of almost everything in this country is criminalised. We have a crisis of values.

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