{UAH} The folly of intellectuals, technocrats working for Museveni

The folly of intellectuals, technocrats working for Museveni

• August 18, 2021
• Written by YUSUF SERUNKUMA

A recently deceased friend of mine and publishing guru Alex Bangirana (RIP), who was a well-travelled and read man, told me the fascinating story about how the Chinese Communist Party works with its intellectuals, scholars and researchers.

The story goes that every vice chancellor at a public university, professors in senior positions such as heads of departments (such as ICT, economics, history, medicine) have de facto membership in the highest echelons of the Communist Party.

But quite significantly, Bwana Bangirana continued, these professionals are members because the Communist Party believes their education can help transform the fortunes of the country. Basically, the political elite seeks nothing beyond harnessing their learning.

Thus, one called upon, they are challenged to guide the party from the point of their expertise, and knowledge. If the political wing of the Communist Party wants to invest in Africa's mines — as they continue to do — they will check with the professors and researchers in the disciplines of political economy, governance, African studies and other related ones.

The recommendations offered by these educated fellows will be debated by equally credentialled professors, and technocrats in these disciplines, and will be adopted by politicians to the letter.

Indeed, the successes China has made in a short period in different places across the world needs no explanation. So is Singapore as the same doctrine was espoused by Lee Kwan Yew: harnessing the learning of its professionals.

The Chinese or Singaporean story could be exaggerated — or non-existent completely—but the insights they offer should not be lost in understanding Ugandan politics especially as Museveni continues to recruit university teachers and researchers into his ranks.

It is often unscholarly to compare Africa to North America or even the East Asia tigers. But it should be instructive that countries in the western hemisphere invest a great deal in knowledge to drive their countries forward.

In the United States, for example, think tanks drive their domestic and foreign policies. These think tanks oftentimes prescribe problematic exploitative capitalist and racist positions. But the fact that knowledge – academic/research-driven – is a core pillar for political work needs not to be lost in these details.

Not too long ago, my friend, journalist and researcher Angelo Izama was appointed deputy director/member of the Board of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA).

Once I saw the news, I got in touch, not to share any messages of congrats but, rather, to chide him for accepting the offer. My questions were hard and quick: "don't you really think they are only interested in your public profile, and not your expertise," as veteran journalist, analyst and itinerant scholar?

"Don't you see yourself subjecting all your learning and exposure to a former cattle herder or children of former NRA rebels, whose single qualification is having the "right" ethnic parentage and right names?" And because of these accomplishments, they have the last word on everything? While Izama appreciated my reservations, he was content UIA will give him the space to exert himself as a scholar and researcher.

Forgive me dear reader, but I have seen enough of this government that I cannot give it any benefit of the doubt. I profusely disagreed with Angelo, while at the same time, appreciated his sense of things. Maybe I am wrong. I once appeared on the Capital Gang – Kampala's premier radio political talk show – alongside the newly appointed permanent secretary of the ministry of Finance, Ramadhan Ggoobi.

The discussion concerned Bank of Uganda and the many crimes Uganda's central bank has committed. These blatant crimes ranged from printing more money than scheduled, closing all locally-owned banks without minutes [which meant handing over the economy to exploitative foreign-owned banks] bankrupting country coffers by simply bullion-driving cash to Mr Museveni, etcetera.

I recall brother Ggoobi, the famed advocate of "economics that works" (whatever that means), going on for extended periods outlining – like he was answering primary seven exams – a list of things that Bank of Uganda should do to steady the ship.

I could not believe my ears. I was struck by his almost childlike naivety and sheer non-observance of the world around us. Listening to brother Ggoobi, you would think Bank of Uganda opened yesterday and was looking for ideas. But Ggoobi's oversimplification, and outline prescriptions underline a major malaise in Ugandan public discourse – which actually signals to a failure to appreciate an all-too-absorbed, I-know-it-all leader.

The thought that the dysfunction in Bank of Uganda, or entire country's public service was because the people in those offices were lacking in technical know-how is outright heedlessness.

The assumption that the outgoing technocrats had wrong answers to easy questions cannot even be said by an undergraduate student of politics studying Museveni's Uganda. It should be obvious, I thought, that Uganda's extremely powerful politicians – especially former NRA rebels, their wives and children—are constantly finding ways of bypassing the technocrats for personal benefit, which comes by way of giving easy prescriptions.

To this end, actions are symbolic rather than actual. It is not simply the 'designed-to-fail' argument but, rather, 'designed-to-benefit us' – us with power. Either way, malfunction is the unsaid part of the script. So are questions such as "where were you when we were fighting?" or statements like, "I hunted my animal, and they now want to take it away from me."

They come from a deeper place. As opposed to the Chinese Communist Party, when Museveni hires an academic, analyst or researcher, all he wants is the symbolism of their public profiles. Not their expertise. The chant, "even Professor X works with us," is all he needs. As the joke goes, you have to leave your head at the entrance upon joining Museveni's government.

yusufkajura@gmail.com

The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University.

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