{UAH} NRM hasn't built any viable institutions - after all these years

If NRM is not careful,  it will burn this house Uganda down!

Sociologically; a family, community, society, tribe, nation will be weak or totally disintegrate once there are no strong institutional framework - the enduring structures. Has Uganda achieved those institutions framework – the answer is NO! Having no enduring institutions, it simply means there is no culture, no social direction and ideologically the society in reference, is totally empty. 

Let me offer an example;

a.        New Vision – told us a story of a woman somewhere from western Uganda who had to walk a distance and gave birth by the bush path that hyenas were almost snatching her baby from her. 50 years and such are the stories where we have the air force (police and army) plus a full Ministry of Health which can’t be reached by this particular woman!

b.       Cattle is dying off in Ankole since wetlands where all decimated! Neither NEMA nor the Ministry of the environment could do anything! Those institutions exist by virtual of the law – the act that give them artificial existence. NEMA has been looking on when all wetlands in Kampala, are being encroached on basically by untouchable people within government and gradually lake Victoria is collapsing! 

c.        Corruption in all state institutions has flourished, since institutions like ministries are basically personal entities and totally dysfunctional. Small fish are take to court in almost sham judicial processes. Just imagine that the Ministry of works and transport can’t even design a simple bridge in this country a ministry full of engineers- and it is called an institution.

d.       NAADs is an epitome of institutional failure under NRM. In 2005 I went to Luwero and tried to understand how NAADS worked. What I discovered was interesting and shocking; Families had been give one pawpaw stem, three coffee trees, two bananas stems etc. One lady council member at Luwero district headquarters just rounded it up and said to me that NAADs does not work and it will never work. NAADs was doing all these sort of things under the watchful eye of the Agriculture Ministry, local district administrative organs etc. 

e.       The judiciary and parliament are in the same category. Ravaged with selfishness. Parliament members as the lawyers are simply other African office works looking for daily bread other than serving.

Basically there are just a few institutions that really work in Uganda namely; Bank of Uganda at a minimum, Uganda Revenue Authority, Kampala City Capital Authority and to some extent the Uganda Police Force albeit with a very rotten officers’ cadre and Byarugaba’s NSSF. 

Presently the fate of the 33 million Uganda hangs on just a shoe string of the executive and the repressive arm of the state – the army. But even then, the army in Uganda beside its own laws is a very weak institution ravaged with corruption in particular besides other maladies. 

Living in Europe, it was difficult to know who an army general was, yet these people live within the community and the military, is like any other job and any other institution of the state.

In Uganda roads are closed off because a solider lives nearby! A minister however inconsequential his or her position is – is a small god YET prime ministers in Europe cycle, walk or hike a bus or train to their stations of serving the population.

What has been achieved then - nothing so far!

Bwanika

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Bwanika Nakyesawa Luwero