Government encouraged cattle rustling – Besigye

Observer's Edris Kiggundi writes about how Dr. Kizza Besigye while campaigning in northe-eastern Uganda, he found things in a mess and promised fix the mess once elected the next president.  

Bukwo –The IPC flag bearer, Dr Kizza Besigye, said last week that the NRM government encouraged cattle rustling by allowing the Karimojong a free rein to invade neighbouring communities.

Campaigning in Sebei last week, Besigye said if government had offered protection to the weak communities and looked into the grievances of the Karimojong, the security situation in north-eastern Uganda would have been better.

“Government did nothing when you were being attacked. They have just woken up today, but even then they have failed to disarm the Karimojong,“ Besigye said.

He was responding to queries raised by some people during a rally at Kween district headquarters, eager to know what his government will do to ensure that Karimojong raids and cattle rustling end.

First, Besigye said, government should empower vulnerable communities by providing them with sufficient security.

Secondly, there should be a buffer zone between Karamoja and Kenya, to stem attacks from the Pokot and other Kenyan groups. Lastly, Besigye said, the government should ensure that Karamoja has enough water because that’s one reason forcing them to invade other communities.

If all these are fulfilled, Besigye argued, disarmament of the Karimojong would be easier. However, the government has proclaimed the disarmament exercise a success, saying a number of Karimojong have turned in their guns.

In Kaserem sub-county, Kapchorwa district, Besigye toured a health centre and a police post. At the health centre III which has no doctor, Besigye was taken aback by the deplorable conditions.

“This cannot be described as a health centre. It is something else, maybe a death chamber,” Besigye said.
A nurse reported that there were no drugs; so, their operations were limited. The facility lacks electricity yet the sub-county got onto the power grid five years ago. The single ambulance which the health centre had, a Suzuki, broke down seven years ago and there has been no replacement.

Kaserem health centre was opened by Dr Crispus Kiyonga, then minister of Health, in 1993. The FDC leader urged the people to elect him next year, if they want to see change in their lives. He promised to uplift education, increase salaries of teachers and other public workers, and to support farmers.

Genital Mutilation

About female genital mutilation, which has become a dicey issue in the sub-region, Besigye said it had been mishandled by the government which preferred to use force to enforce the anti-FGM law enacted last year, instead of dialogue.

He said that communities in Sebei sub-region needed to be listened to and their views considered. The practice continues to be practised in the sub-region despite being outlawed.

Besigye’s campaigns in the sub-region, ending on Friday last week, were hampered by the mountainous nature of the terrain and the poor state of roads.

For instance, the journey between Kapchorwa and Bukwo (a distance of about 60km) that would ordinarily take just an hour, took more than three hours. Besigye told the people not to expect better roads and other services if they vote for President Museveni.

“Are you part of Uganda? There is nothing that shows that government has done anything for you,” Besigye said during a campaign stop-over at Giriki River, Kween district.

Some of the people in the district of Bukwo, which borders Kenya, said they rely on Uganda’s neighbour for many services, including health and trade because it was easier to travel to Kenya.

Compared to when he campaigned here in 2006, there is a big change in the sub-region. In 2006, not many people paid attention to him. This time, his rallies attracted sizeable crowds and in some districts like Bukwo, his convoy was blocked at various trading centres as people demanded that he speaks to them.

Also this time round, the FDC is fielding parliamentary candidates in all constituencies here, an indication that the party has developed grassroots structures to rally its supporters.

Karamoja next

On Saturday, Besigye headed to Karamoja where he will spend one week. He was scheduled to start with Amudat before moving on to Nakapiripirit, Moroto, Napak, Kotido and Kaabong. Besigye did not campaign in this sub-region in 2006 partly because of the insecurity there.

Due to this and other factors, the sub-region remains a domain of the NRM and the IPC will have to work hard to gain a political footprint here. The pertinent issues which Besigye will have to address here are the disarmament exercise, poverty and the lack of water.

No war 

Earlier, while campaigning in Pallisa, Besigye assured the nation that there is no need for violence after the 2011 elections.

“Going to the bush will not be necessary. We shall defeat them (NRM) comprehensively. That (taking up arms) will, therefore, not be necessary,” he said when prodded to say whether he will rally his supporters to take up arms in case the vote is stolen.

Besigye, who was on December 11 addressing several rallies in Pallisa district as he wound up his campaign tour of Bukedi region, said his campaign team had engaged a higher gear and gained more momentum. Campaign messages, he said, are now running in both the electronic and print media.

The next step, he said, will be to equip IPC and FDC cadres with ample skills to protect the loose coalition’s vote come February 2011.

Besigye reiterated his and the loose coalition’s commitment to announcing their own results, saying they will not wait for the Electoral Commission to doctor the results.

He said ballots are cast at the ballot box, counted at the polling station and declared at the same polling station, which makes sense for anyone who has the declared results to make his own tally and make the computation public.

How IPC will deal with public education system

Margaret Wokuri examines how the IPC government will empower the masses and change society through provision of quality education.

There is no doubt that education is one of the key sectors but again one of those neglected sectors in Uganda. With an enrollment of about eight million children in Universal Primary Education (UPE), Uganda had a golden opportunity to emerge as one of the leading countries with well trained human resource development in the next few years. Unfortunately, this chance has been thrown to waste as the entire public education system is being handled by the current government.

Achievements in education can be measured in terms of enrollment, persistence and attainment. There has been a lot of emphasis on enrollment while totally neglecting the other equally important attributes of persistence and attainment. The various studies done on UPE indicate that out of every 100 children that enter P1, only 23 will finish P7.

Ugandan children are also attaining very little in terms of literary skills. In 2009, only 6% of the children who sat PLE exams passed in grade 1. Twenty four (24) percent) passed in third grade majority failed their PLE. The Uwezo annual learning assessment report 2010 entitled “Are our Children Learning?” revealed that 85% of all children sampled in P7 in the 27 districts surveyed across the country couldn’t adequately solve at least two numerical division sums of primary two; about 72% of the sampled P7 children could hardly understand a story text of P2!

Other challenges in UPE include teacher absenteeism, crowding in classes, high pupil teacher ratio, and hunger while at school and lack of basic reading materials. At a higher level, many children who would have attained university education are left out because they cannot afford the high cost of university education.

The IPC government recognises that education is a key component in development as it empowers citizens to increase their productivity and attain high stands of living. IPC government will therefore put in place remedies aimed at motivating and enabling both teachers and learners to achieve the desired teaching and learning goals respectively.

IPC government will provide a motivation pack to our teachers by paying Shs. 400,000 per month as minimum for a primary school teacher to match the rising costs of living. In addition, there will be provision of housing or housing allowance where actual housing is not practical. Housing of teachers will start with areas that need affirmative action like Northern Uganda and Karamoja and revisit the role of parents in the education of children.

IPC proposes to set an enabling learning environment through improvement of school sanitation and hygiene facilities, provide quality learning materials and subsidize exercise books, pencils and pens for pupils in primary schools as well as compulsory school feeding funded for all primary and secondary schools.

To reduce congestion in classes, IPC government will upgrade and expand school infrastructure and keep the teacher pupil ratio at a maximum of teacher pupil ratio of 45:1. IPC government will also increase the number of quality of modern technical schools across the country to cater for those who drop out of post primary schools.

The IPC government will set up a student loan scheme to help those that are not able to afford tuition at higher levels of learning. State house scholarships that are a reserve for the privileged few will be abolished and replaced with a one that will be competed for at regional levels to allow children from poor families to access higher education. Finally, IPC government will review and reform of our educational system to make school leavers’ qualification more relevant to the job market and the real needs of society.

Ms Margaret Wokuri, director for communication and publicity at the IPC campaign bureau wrote this article in consultation with her organisation’s leadership
wokuret@yahoo.com

IPC changes slogan and launches new strategy

It was excitement all around the country on Saturday as IPC launched its new slogan, theme and campaign strategy. Daily Monitor's Tabu Butagira and Pauline Kaire were in Jinja and relayed the event in this Sunday Monitor article.   

The Inter-Party Cooperation (IPC) yesterday emerged from the political salon agitated for change in a makeover its strategists hope will electrify voters to ditch incumbent President Museveni.

Dr Kizza Besigye, the IPC flag bearer and head of the Forum for Democratic Change party, speaking in Jinja yesterday, appeared buoyed; announcing “Change is Coming” as his new campaign theme - and that for other IPC candidates.

Insiders say this is a sharper and more appealing catchphrase than the “Together for Change” theme initially crafted to bond four opposition parties in the IPC amalgam.

These include FDC, Conservative Party, Justice Forum and Social Democratic Party that all agreed to field joint candidates, but have since faced headache in picking consensus parliamentary and local government contestants.

The IPC has now adopted “A New Beginning; A Bright Future; In Your Hands” as its slogan and re-activated five of its 13-point manifesto – dubbed “The Power of Five” - as the game-changing formula owing to their countrywide appeal.

Dr Besigye, after a month’s campaign, says the top issues affecting every Ugandan - and that he will prioritise to fix, if elected - are jobs and economic empowerment; quality education; a functional healthcare system; roads and infrastructure as well as support to farmers/agriculture.

“The February 18, 2011 election provides Ugandans with this opportunity and we are more determined than ever to win the election and bring positive change to this country,” he said. “It is time for change and the time is now.”

This is the third time Dr Besigye is contesting against Mr Museveni, having lost 2006 vote on the back of his promises that a “political tsunami” was underway to drown the ruling NRM.

Although he lost, the Supreme Court would later rule that both ballots were marred with irregularities, including rigging, ballot stuffing and voter intimidation.

In yesterday’s rebranding, the IPC upped the ante in mobilising voters and cash by energising each supporter to recruit, and follow up to the poll day, five new voters who in turn will each marshal an equivalent number of new supporters.

“The challenge of bringing victory does not belong to Dr Kizza Besigye alone ...if we want to secure a new beginning and brighter future; let us make an effort to make it happen.”

The supporters are being encouraged to make contributions, of any amount as low as Shs500 on weekly or monthly basis, to the IPC docket through mobile money and sending it directly to 0718932055, 0776433555 and 0756755555.

Dr Besigye said: “What we are doing is trying to make it easy to bring in a way for every FDC supporter to contribute to the campaign budget but at the same time ensure that it is not lost or mismanaged.”

Individuals with means and willing to give higher amounts of up to Shs100 million can make their donations to boost the campaigns, he said. According to the IPC flag bearer, they are soliciting money from their members not because they are running broke, but to interest supporters as stakeholders who will be willing to sacrifice and guard the votes to the end.

“We are not begging, but we want the people themselves to run this campaign until they deliver victory for themselves,” he said, admitting the ruling NRM camp had more money available to spend.

“Most of this money will be used for marketing our message of change.”

Dr Besigye put telecommunications companies providing the mobile money transfer service on notice that he will sue them if they tinker with members transactions under government directive.

Mobilisation of small amounts of finances at grassroots level was effectively used by US President Barack Obama to raise millions of dollars which oiled his campaign machinery, and eventually delivered him to victory.

The IPC is trying a similar feat, aware its rebranding would suck up more money in media advertising and other forms of display such as campaign posters, T-shirts and banners for both Dr Besigye and flag bearers for Parliament, LC 5, 3 and 1.

We will stabilise markets and guide investment

The IPC's government's determination to arrest unemployment and offer Ugandans a better deal is captured in this convincing analysis by Margaret Wokuri which was published in Daily Monitor yesterday.

According to the 2005 Human Development report, Uganda ranks number 144 in the unemployment rate for youths aged between 15-24 years. The high level of unemployment in the country is as a result of a number of factors that the current government has failed to address.

Uganda’s National Household Survey 2002/2003 findings showed that 2 in every 3 persons were engaged in agriculture, yet the budgetary allocation for the agricultural sector has been dropping from the percentages of 5.7, 4.1 and 3.7 in 2005/2006, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 budgets, respectively. The 2010/2011 budget stepped this up to about 6 per cent but this still is too low to make meaningful growth in the sector.

Things have been made worse by the massive theft of public funds in the country. The money-lending scheme (Entandikwa), created to stem unemployment, was killed by corrupt officials (mis)managing it. A similar tragedy befell the Shs3.3billion that then Micro Finance Minister Gen. Salim Saleh allotted to the Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCO) in 2006.

Moreover, government has not guided investment in the country. Most investors that are given tax holidays end up as roadside retailers. Others that have been offered land have invested in hotels and non agricultural related industries. Other factors contributing to this plight are the high population growth rates and an education system not tailored to meet the needs of the market place.

A major policy change to be implemented by the Inter-Party Cooperation government is that of providing lunch to all pupils in primary and secondary schools in the country. This is how it boosts the economy: By feeding the 8.5 million children in Universal Primary Education schools on beans (rich protein) and a starch such as kawunga (maize bread), government will spend Shs1.224 trillion per year, 3.75% of GDP, assuming 180 school days. (One kilo of maize at Shs760 feeds 4 children. One kilo of beans at Shs2,000 per 8 pupils. One litre of milk at Shs1,500 per 4 pupils. Total cost per day Shs6.8 billion).

This is money that goes largely to farmers, but also benefits all persons employed in the chain of putting the food on the table – transport, milling and other food processing, warehousing, cooking. Farmers will have a guaranteed and stable market for their produce and they will provide a wide tax base. The pupils will perform better, remain healthier, and grow into a well nourished work force.

The IPC government will equally play an active role in directing strategic investment for development through accountable public-private partnerships, targeting specific sectors. We shall also alleviate unemployment by promoting more local investment in productive sectors like cottage, small and medium scale and agro-processing industries.

The government will provide tax incentives and low tariffs on imported goods for industrial production, as well as providing investment incentives in priority sectors that employ the Ugandan youth. We shall also establish a Youth Entrepreneurs Scheme to boost opportunities for young entrepreneurs and subsidise businesses, as well as revamp Uganda Development Bank to provide affordable medium and long-term credit to local businesses people, which will lead to job creation.

As soon as the IPC government is in power, primary school teachers and health worker’s pay will be increased. This will be part of the bigger picture of promoting economic empowerment and redirecting human resource in these desiring sectors.

Ms Margaret Wokuri, director for communication and publicity at the IPC campaign bureau wrote this article in consultation with her organisation’s leadership.

wokuret@yahoo.com

We shall deal with the issues which cause unrest

In today's analysis in Daily Monitor, Margaret Wokuri presents a solid case on the readiness of the IPC government to reconstruct and develop nothern Uganda, and the rest of the country as well. 

Scholars have written that unlike famine, war has taken place in modern democracies when irresponsible leaders exploit grievances for political and economic gain, or when the lure of ‘simple solutions overwhelm common sense’.

In retrospect, either because of personal ambition, or irresponsibility, leaders took advantage of people’s grievances and plunged Northern and North Eastern parts of Uganda into 21 years of armed conflict.

Additionally, because of the allure of simple solutions, a problem that could have been sorted out politically dragged on, partly, as a result of the current leadership’s obsession with military conquests.


War and conflict certainly destroys national economies, deepens poverty and sows seeds of future violence. Indeed, the economic life of the people of Northern and North Eastern parts of Uganda has been destroyed, the once fertile areas like Teso that were food baskets have been reduced to perpetual hunger and famine, and poverty looms highest in this particular region.

While whole communities are destroyed by war and conflict, it is worse for women who often find themselves taking on new roles of fending for the family while subjected to unique vulnerabilities such as mass rape. HIV/Aids prevalence rates in parts of northern Uganda range between 9% and 14%, compared to a national average of 6.4%. The region has the lowest life expectancy and literacy rates. These factors translate into an inability to participate meaningfully in the national economy, even if this were growing.

Predictably, once all these factors are not ably addressed, they remain a powder- keg for future conflict. To borrow the words of former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan’s words, humanity cannot enjoy development without security and at the same time cannot enjoy security without development. Northern Uganda has missed out on both security and development.

It is against this background that the Inter-Party Cooperation has designed a comprehensive framework to deal with reconstruction and development of Northern Uganda. The IPC-led government intends to address the economic imbalance faced by the people of Northern Uganda by implementing a deliberate affirmative action policy that will target focused investment such as increasing access to clean water, quality education, and a health care system that works.

The IPC government will also avail tractors to farmers to open up their land. IPC government will compensate all those people who lost their properties and family members during the war.

IPC will take gender focused considerations such as insolvency of women in peace and resettlement; women shall be given legal aid services as well as psycho-social support services to help those that have been traumatised by the war recover.

In the north east, Karamoja has its unique challenges which therefore call for unique solutions. The Karimojong peoples have long been perceived by neighbouring tribes as hostile neighbours because of their armed cattle rustling practices. The policy and practice of the current government to forcefully disarm the Karimojong has resulted in untold suffering, and has not solved the problem of armed violence and cattle rustling in the region.

The IPC government shall therefore engage in dialogue and negotiation with both the Karimojong and their neighbours to end cattle rustling, conduct a peaceful disarmament policy and work with communities to enable them change their life style. All Karimojong people need to begin to see the armed forces of the country as forces in place for their protection, and not violent invaders.

The people of Karamoja will be actively involved in the development of their sub-region. Intensive and sustained investment will be applied to the following key areas: water for drinking, livestock and agriculture, education, healthcare, and security.

Ms Margaret Wokuri, director for communication and publicity at the IPC campaign bureau wrote this article in consultation with her organisation’s leadership
wokuret@yahoo.com