{UAH} FIRST LADY MADE AN IMPRESSION AT KYANKWANZI
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The 2015 retreat of NRM's parliamentary caucus left most of the
attendees uplifted and hopeful. While the end-user of whatever was
deliberated and agreed on is the voter and citizen, individual
brilliance adds polish to leadership as it is in the game of football.
There, where as a team plays as a whole to win or lose a game, some
players stand out. Let's just look at "Kyankwanzi" from the angle of
First Lady, Janet Kataha Museveni, a second-term legislator.
She was in full attendance, seated in the front row, dressed visibly
in African print and when not wearing a large round hat, carried a
neat self-styled haircut. Then she had a way of posturing herself why
contributing on the floor. One of the facilitators, Mr. Peter Kimbowa,
while taking MPs through a psychology mind-game, defined her
countenance marked by a raised chin while speaking into the microphone
as the best poise for anybody who is ready to excel.
Aside of the visible attributes, Janet's contributions on the floor
swayed discussion considerably with colleagues quoting her often on
subjects she addressed herself to.
Janet is a citizen, tax payer, voter, legislator (representing Ruhaama
County), better half of the President, minister, mother of the nation
and of a generation of new leaders. Her stake in Ugandan affairs is
therefore multi-pronged. Citizens to look forward to are those with
the most to lose if things went awry. A leader who seeks to excel and
who can be trusted to give their best for their country is the one
with multiple stakes in it. Janet can therefore be used as an example
of what instincts push a person's critical interest in the affairs of
their country.
If every MP present at the retreat regarded the country's liabilities
as their own and went on to popularize the same among their voters,
NRM would surmount any challenge in implementing resolutions that take
so much time to crystallize in the mind and on the ground.
Among the key points Janet raised at different times during the
retreat are the following; several MPs had raised the issue of failure
to implement projects including donor-funded ones after Parliament had
cleared the way and attributed that state of affairs to arrogance and
seeming negligence of technocrats in ministries particularly that of
Finance. Clearly, it was a case of lack of co-ordination by officials
in various government departments.
When the First Lady got up to talk, she instantly diagnosed that
"there is something we are not doing because ministers, Parliament and
officers in the field are fighting battles. We have to work as one
government. This is the right place to sit as a family and agree to
work together." No doubt she was applauded on this. This input was
later reflected in Resolution no. 6 on ".....working towards a maximum
deepening in the co-ordination and harmonization of national economic
management....."
Reports indicate that the various government departments operate as
though some are in Scandinavia and others in Alaska, some in stone-age
and others in the computer era, hence unconvincing outcomes in
delivery on public good.
During debate on the Education and Sports sector, on the issue of
scholarships and loans available, Janet asked the Minister (Jessica
Alupo) how many students are on the various slots and the definite
position on counterpart funding for government and parents for
children on U.P.E and U.S.E programmes. She wondered why such
information isn't publicized as if programmes are done underground
adding that this creates laxity among civil servants as they are used
to people not knowing what's going on in the various structures.
(Applause again!)
On the Health sector, after the presentation of the Ag. Minister (Dr.
Elioda Tumwesigye), the First Lady after acknowledging that some
commendable work was being done noted that when NRM came to power the
country begun on a catch-up programme with the rest of the world as
there were so many things to do. She suggested that local technologies
be utilized to substitute the importation of similar ones, for example
cold rooms for vaccines as used by the National Medical Stores (NMS).
"Why not use indigenous structures? Why import? Are we going to be
dependent forever?" she queried. Colleagues applauded!
She went on to lambast the failure to execute projects years after
they have been cleared (by Cabinet and Parliament) and funding
indicated in official documents saying this makes people lose hope in
government commitments adding that "it is ridiculous to keep hearing
such statistics."
The other matter she raised was that training of medical workers
shouldn't be only academic but "ethical, too". This was in reaction to
complaints that medics neglect or maltreat patients. She herself told
a story of when she rushed an accident victim to Itojo hospital in her
constituency only to find that the doctor was at a bar guzzling the
bitter.
At one point she was applauded for leading the fight against Aids and
particularly Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (MPTCT). She
was instantly urged by MPs (led by Namutumba's Mutyabule) to led her
bet to the fight against malnutrition among children. Even on this she
had something to say; that mothers don't know how feed their children
and need to be sensitized as one of the simple things not being done.
After presentations by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic
Development, Maria Kiwanuka and bank of Uganda governor, Prof.
Mutebile, Janet, in her reaction, urged the governor to ensure that
the economy is integrated and self-governing.
She qualified her call by referring to the Agricultural Credit
Facility (ACF) which the governor had just introduced to the MPs as a
source of capital for large scale farmers engaged in processing of
farm produce. Her appeal was that ACF should have a component for
small scale farmers such that when they go all-out and gain bumper
harvests, government buys off the excess, stores it in silos then in
times of shortage the stores are harnessed to stabilize supply for
food and trade. This was also applauded and contained in a
resolution-number 6!
All MPs who made it to Kyankwanzi made an impression seeing as some
weren't present at all while others attended partially. Whoever sat
through it all proved their leadership clout. Quorum is vital to grant
discussions weight and higher chance of dissemination.
The head-of-state didn't attend fulltime as he had to break off to
attend to other business in Kampala. In his absence, the First Lady
didn't miss a single session. When the President returned, one member
of the organizing committee reported to him that the First Lady had
attended in full and was punctual each time. That, too, was applauded!
One may wonder whether the concerns the First Lady raises in public
she puts them to her hubby, who is the chief mover and shaker of
things, during their free time. Perhaps she does or may be for the
first couple, office things are left in the office. What is clear is
that the First Lady has too much to lose if Uganda's situation doesn't
get better for she has been blessed with many titles.
In the endless search for a stream of transformational leaders to
actualize the various romantic ideas generated by think tanks and
discussion groups such as the NRM caucus retreat, multi-stakeholders
with many tags are the best bet and that's where the success story
begins.
Robert Atuhairwe
Published in Red Pepper of Thursday Feb. 19, 2015
--
"TRY TO GROW UP!" "OKWANGALI IS A DUNCE!" "TRIBALISM IS NOT A DEED,
EXCEPT OF SPEECH!" "A GENERAL WITHOUT AMBITION IS A CORPORAL" "A
GENERAL WITH TOO MUCH AMBITION IS AN INSURGENT" "THE PROBLEM OF
AFRICAN LEADERS IS CITIZENS WHO DREAM TO BE CARRIED ON THE HEAD"
MEMBER OF THE VISIONARIES CLUB, THIRD AXIS
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey Semuwemba at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.
attendees uplifted and hopeful. While the end-user of whatever was
deliberated and agreed on is the voter and citizen, individual
brilliance adds polish to leadership as it is in the game of football.
There, where as a team plays as a whole to win or lose a game, some
players stand out. Let's just look at "Kyankwanzi" from the angle of
First Lady, Janet Kataha Museveni, a second-term legislator.
She was in full attendance, seated in the front row, dressed visibly
in African print and when not wearing a large round hat, carried a
neat self-styled haircut. Then she had a way of posturing herself why
contributing on the floor. One of the facilitators, Mr. Peter Kimbowa,
while taking MPs through a psychology mind-game, defined her
countenance marked by a raised chin while speaking into the microphone
as the best poise for anybody who is ready to excel.
Aside of the visible attributes, Janet's contributions on the floor
swayed discussion considerably with colleagues quoting her often on
subjects she addressed herself to.
Janet is a citizen, tax payer, voter, legislator (representing Ruhaama
County), better half of the President, minister, mother of the nation
and of a generation of new leaders. Her stake in Ugandan affairs is
therefore multi-pronged. Citizens to look forward to are those with
the most to lose if things went awry. A leader who seeks to excel and
who can be trusted to give their best for their country is the one
with multiple stakes in it. Janet can therefore be used as an example
of what instincts push a person's critical interest in the affairs of
their country.
If every MP present at the retreat regarded the country's liabilities
as their own and went on to popularize the same among their voters,
NRM would surmount any challenge in implementing resolutions that take
so much time to crystallize in the mind and on the ground.
Among the key points Janet raised at different times during the
retreat are the following; several MPs had raised the issue of failure
to implement projects including donor-funded ones after Parliament had
cleared the way and attributed that state of affairs to arrogance and
seeming negligence of technocrats in ministries particularly that of
Finance. Clearly, it was a case of lack of co-ordination by officials
in various government departments.
When the First Lady got up to talk, she instantly diagnosed that
"there is something we are not doing because ministers, Parliament and
officers in the field are fighting battles. We have to work as one
government. This is the right place to sit as a family and agree to
work together." No doubt she was applauded on this. This input was
later reflected in Resolution no. 6 on ".....working towards a maximum
deepening in the co-ordination and harmonization of national economic
management....."
Reports indicate that the various government departments operate as
though some are in Scandinavia and others in Alaska, some in stone-age
and others in the computer era, hence unconvincing outcomes in
delivery on public good.
During debate on the Education and Sports sector, on the issue of
scholarships and loans available, Janet asked the Minister (Jessica
Alupo) how many students are on the various slots and the definite
position on counterpart funding for government and parents for
children on U.P.E and U.S.E programmes. She wondered why such
information isn't publicized as if programmes are done underground
adding that this creates laxity among civil servants as they are used
to people not knowing what's going on in the various structures.
(Applause again!)
On the Health sector, after the presentation of the Ag. Minister (Dr.
Elioda Tumwesigye), the First Lady after acknowledging that some
commendable work was being done noted that when NRM came to power the
country begun on a catch-up programme with the rest of the world as
there were so many things to do. She suggested that local technologies
be utilized to substitute the importation of similar ones, for example
cold rooms for vaccines as used by the National Medical Stores (NMS).
"Why not use indigenous structures? Why import? Are we going to be
dependent forever?" she queried. Colleagues applauded!
She went on to lambast the failure to execute projects years after
they have been cleared (by Cabinet and Parliament) and funding
indicated in official documents saying this makes people lose hope in
government commitments adding that "it is ridiculous to keep hearing
such statistics."
The other matter she raised was that training of medical workers
shouldn't be only academic but "ethical, too". This was in reaction to
complaints that medics neglect or maltreat patients. She herself told
a story of when she rushed an accident victim to Itojo hospital in her
constituency only to find that the doctor was at a bar guzzling the
bitter.
At one point she was applauded for leading the fight against Aids and
particularly Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (MPTCT). She
was instantly urged by MPs (led by Namutumba's Mutyabule) to led her
bet to the fight against malnutrition among children. Even on this she
had something to say; that mothers don't know how feed their children
and need to be sensitized as one of the simple things not being done.
After presentations by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic
Development, Maria Kiwanuka and bank of Uganda governor, Prof.
Mutebile, Janet, in her reaction, urged the governor to ensure that
the economy is integrated and self-governing.
She qualified her call by referring to the Agricultural Credit
Facility (ACF) which the governor had just introduced to the MPs as a
source of capital for large scale farmers engaged in processing of
farm produce. Her appeal was that ACF should have a component for
small scale farmers such that when they go all-out and gain bumper
harvests, government buys off the excess, stores it in silos then in
times of shortage the stores are harnessed to stabilize supply for
food and trade. This was also applauded and contained in a
resolution-number 6!
All MPs who made it to Kyankwanzi made an impression seeing as some
weren't present at all while others attended partially. Whoever sat
through it all proved their leadership clout. Quorum is vital to grant
discussions weight and higher chance of dissemination.
The head-of-state didn't attend fulltime as he had to break off to
attend to other business in Kampala. In his absence, the First Lady
didn't miss a single session. When the President returned, one member
of the organizing committee reported to him that the First Lady had
attended in full and was punctual each time. That, too, was applauded!
One may wonder whether the concerns the First Lady raises in public
she puts them to her hubby, who is the chief mover and shaker of
things, during their free time. Perhaps she does or may be for the
first couple, office things are left in the office. What is clear is
that the First Lady has too much to lose if Uganda's situation doesn't
get better for she has been blessed with many titles.
In the endless search for a stream of transformational leaders to
actualize the various romantic ideas generated by think tanks and
discussion groups such as the NRM caucus retreat, multi-stakeholders
with many tags are the best bet and that's where the success story
begins.
Robert Atuhairwe
Published in Red Pepper of Thursday Feb. 19, 2015
--
"TRY TO GROW UP!" "OKWANGALI IS A DUNCE!" "TRIBALISM IS NOT A DEED,
EXCEPT OF SPEECH!" "A GENERAL WITHOUT AMBITION IS A CORPORAL" "A
GENERAL WITH TOO MUCH AMBITION IS AN INSURGENT" "THE PROBLEM OF
AFRICAN LEADERS IS CITIZENS WHO DREAM TO BE CARRIED ON THE HEAD"
MEMBER OF THE VISIONARIES CLUB, THIRD AXIS
--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or Abbey Semuwemba at: abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.
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