On debt and Taxes: Over taxing is not a viable option to debt repayment and income generation.

 In June 2021, the International Monetary Fund(IMF) approved one billion US dollars approximately 3.5 trillion Uganda Shillings to Uganda. The money was approved to facilitate part of our 45 trillion national budget and also radically help Uganda invest in the fight towards Covid-19 and boost income in the medium term.

Among the reasons for approval, IMF noted that Uganda has committed herself to radically fight corruption among other vices. The approval was in the assumption that Uganda is on a constant growth trajectory and is on track to low middle-income status by 2033 or 2034.

Whether Uganda will commit to its mandate is a question of concern given the past record of misuse of funds, lack of accountability and the growing financial debt that is projected slightly over 50 percent of our GDP by the end of 2019-2020 financial year. With a debt nearing 50 trillion- there is a lot of our money channelled to debt repayment and serving from the national budget, approximately 10 trillion of our budget will go to serving debt.

While the majority of Ugandans languish from abject lack of basic essentials given the abruptness of the second lockdown, it is key for us as a nation to think towards providing economic relief and investment support to businesses and entities that are trying to stay afloat in the pandemic.

Amidst the high competition in our highly capitalistic nation and monetary state, it is imperative for the government to take on policies and strategies that work towards providing economic relief to cushion Ugandans from the shocks of the pandemic on their economic dexterity.

Middle income is an economic development initiative. Uganda needs to shift into a developmental state that is configured to run the economy, invest in people and can manage private and state enterprises and run them efficiently.

Rather than the state looking for avenues to tax Ugandans without investing, it could avail tax reliefs that will boost the economy but also create value for taxes through service delivery and restoration of institutional autonomy and functionality. We need to move away from the current revenue state and create a developmental state that intervenes purposefully in the economy to be able to move in the desired direction of middle-income status.

With the magnitude of debt, we have accumulated, it is likely that Uganda might default on debt repayment given the fragility of our economy and failure to frugally manage our finances. We are a country spending what we don't have! We cannot tax ourselves out of debt, taxing already constrained people won’t guarantee debt repayment if we do not address institutional failures in our governance system. Poverty reduction is not a matter of enhancing aid flows but a matter of the political will to create and demand, design, implement and sustain institutional arrangements which will deliver pro-poor growth and social provision.

The government needs to stop borrowing and find inward solutions to our income deficit. Lower taxes so production can be affordable. Invest in the creation and availability of markets for goods and services produced within the country. Encourage zoning and regional production of goods and services. create checks that can curb corruption, downsize on government offices by joining and grouping ministerial work that is duplicated, reduce on ministers and parliamentarians and stop the radical gerrymandering disguised in decentralisation.

The next few years for Uganda and the global south are going to be tasking in economic growth and development. If Uganda continues to borrow, our economy is going to be constrained and abject poverty will be the narrative for us, accompanied by chronic unemployment, inflation and excessive lack of basic needs for survival. Therefore, our efforts as a Nation should be concerted towards reducing corruption and pushing for a developmental state that can facilitate a new paradigm to our development agenda as a Country.

TRICIA GLORIA NABAYE

Resident Research Associate

Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies.

On Casper: The not so friendly ghost

 He asked me as a matter of fact;

“Onjagala?” The audacity! I was not shocked that he would ask, I was more worried that he would use it against me.

He insisted regrdless of the little things I did to distract him 

Why are you asking?” I retorted 

“Mbulira onjagala?” I nodded in the affirmative.

Of course I love him, but knowing where he stands with me is more important than where I stand with him. I am sure I love him but I am not sure of how he feels towards me.

I think of him every night and day…

He took my heart, and then took my pride away.

Well now he knows that I love him...now what?

PS: Someday, I won’t write short prose. But for now, it delivers the message.

Random thoughts... What if strong is what you do not want to be all the time?

 I have grown up hearing people call me strong. One will say, “ But Guulo you are a strong woman, you get through this or whatever “ And it is supposed to be a compliment and sometimes it has cemented assurance in myself. But what if strong is not what I want to be all the time?

I want to be ale to fall apart and be vulnerable. I want to cry and wail like a damsel in distress sometimes. I know it sounds weird but I need to touch brokenness in the presence of people I love so that I know what vulnerability feels without judgement and with reckless abandon.

I have to be strong, for a long time it has felt like the rule to living this life. But I feel like at the expense of finding my raw softness, I have chosen strong. I have built my thick skin and unwavering resolve to doing life regardless of the stroms waging. And people love strong but I need to touch the raw enotion that has been buried for so long.

What if strong is not all that counts? 

What if in our rawest selves we are most human? Yes the facade for strength keeps our very selves at bay.

I am not speaking of unpacking in our trauma and hurt and building “woe is me” fortes. I am speaking of being alive to empathy and all the other emotions that make us humane.

I want to cry without holding back. I want to laugh heartily without restraint. To be able to touch the depths of emotion with one agenda- To live in the moment. 

I want that. 

What if strong is not what I should be? What if?

Of little boys and endless pursuits

He wakes up after Mama and Papa have gone.

I am late but for reasons I had planned earlier 

He whispers good morning in his sleepy groggy voice. He is so cute when he wakes up.

I head out to the garden to pick some fresh leaves for my morning smoothie and right behind in big sandals that belong to his brothers is a little chubby guy moving with his little feet...swiftly saying nothing but following ever so intently.

I head to the kitchen and he gets himself a seat to watch me get busy. He waits patiently with no squeamish movement. He follows me around the kitchen in utter content of him just being there. 

I pour some green juice for him and he sips to check the body approval of the liquid.

“It’s yucky Gloria” I laugh knowing he is just about right on all fronts.

I head to the bedroom to get ready for work. He sits down on the floor to play with a belt. He is okay knowing I am near by. He is so cute just sitting there being Ay in his own little way. I ask him to sleep in my bed as I go to take a shower and ever so assuring he tells me, “Wake me up to say bye to you before you go” I whispered, “Okay, baby”

By the time I return, he is sound asleep and I am not sure I want to wake him up. So I shut the door quietly and head to work.

My heart is full. My love jar is overflowing. I can’t wait to get home from work already. 

IS NATIONAL UNITY POSSIBLE IN UGANDA?

https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/is-national-unity-possible-in-uganda--3383080

In the past weeks, the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the National Unity Party (NUP) respectively held leaders’ forum meetings in preparation for the next parliament to plan strategies for service in the next August House. All this is happening amidst extreme regime brutality, arbitrary arrests, an increase in political prisoners and deaths with little accountability from the government and with overwhelming inadequacies in the justice system to administer justice.

The Ugandan political landscape is experiencing spasms of upheaval and conflict that usually presage a major political repositioning. This is occurring in a period when our economy is in recovery, taxation is at an all-time high, unemployment and social injustice are extremely increasing. We risk living through the tremors and darkness of the 1970s.   

In an era of grave polarization, national unity sounds like a far-fetched dream. While disagreement is the bloodline for democracy, today the divide seems untameable particularly because people are no longer considering facts in our politics.

Uganda is facing one of its gravest moments in the history of Museveni’s 35-year rule. Uganda’s democracy is crumbling, socio-economic justice is under interrogation and faith in institutions is at an all-time low. Partisan warfare has replaced evidence-based problem solving and lawlessness in the regime that is reinforcing political differences. 

 The Ugandan political system clearly is failing to address obvious problems, on numerous issues, we are failing even to have a civil conversation.  This is widening the partisan gulf, not just within government, but also in our broader society.  In our Republic, effective governance requires some level of cooperation and yet the answer for many voters to these deficiencies has been to support candidates who exemplify partisanship, confrontation, and political coarseness.  We are at risk of attempting to solve our problems by doubling down on their main cause.

As Ugandans, we need to foster diversity of opinion in order for us to come together and forge a way forward in our steps to build Uganda. We need to embrace how we can live with our deepest differences. We equally need to find ways for rationality to take a stand alongside passion and ambition in reaching public decisions. 

There needs to be a strong civic duty in pushing for collective unity, enshrined in the preamble of our constitution, that “We the people, recalling our history which has been characterised by political and constitutional instability; Recognising our struggles against the forces of tyranny, oppression and exploitation; Committed to building a better future by establishing a socio-economic and political order through a popular and durable national Constitution based on the principles of unity, peace, equality, democracy, freedom, social justice and progress”.— In this, the onus to take Uganda forward sits on our collective drive as a people willing to compromise and move forward.

Uganda thrives or fails in direct proportion to the extent we live in our collective call to protect, honour and uphold the constitution of the Republic. To achieve unity, we must understand the roots of our disunity, we have segregated ourselves into tribes and cocoons of political belonging and we have nurtured seeds of disunity, sectarianism and patronage. We are constantly entering into the deadly competition and zero-sum politics. Ugandans need a government that works regardless of where they lie on the spectrum, a government where institutions function to deliver what people need.

The fundamental place we can begin to build our national unity is to start seeing our focal and central point of concern as Uganda. We need to work towards a shared vision of the Uganda we want and score agency towards a reconciliation process. Democracy requires compromise, we need to have a national dialogue and mediation across the divide to ease the tensions that are choking the spaces of political engagement and governance.

We are at crossroads and we are caught between turning our political divide and disunity into a moment that will redeem our democracy or we risk turning into a fully-fledged radical autocracy with expanded disunity. We need to come to a unifying vision for our nation. Without a focused vision of working towards national unity, we are bound to lose our Country. 

BEYOND 2021 POLLS: PREPARING FOR A DISPUTED ELECTION

https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/beyond-2021-polls-preparing-for-disputed-election-2732916

As Uganda winds up the two-day presidential nominations for the 2021 general elections, the realities of legitimacy and democracy continue to highlight the crippling electoral cycle of Uganda. The key concerns of the electorate continue to create doubt in the validity of the ballot. For the electorate, the question at the forefront is, “Can we trust that Uganda will have free and fair elections in 2021?” 

The complexity of this year’s electoral landscape—from pandemic-related social distancing and the unprecedented scientific campaigns likely means that some of the presidential campaign’s biggest drama will play out in the hours and days after election Day.

Elections in a democracy should be about free and fair elections with a possibility of change of leaders and one leader conceding to another. There’s a growing realization that the complexity of next year’s electoral landscape is being framed by the events that were witnessed in the presidential nominations violence and the outright human rights violations.

Learning from the discontent around the disputed elections of 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016, and how the courts of law failed to deliver a satisfactory verdict with the provided evidence, it is clear that Uganda should be ready to face the realization that if the results of this election are disputed, it won’t be a legal battle that determines the outcome. It will be a contest of political will and power. Pleading with courts and ruling government officials to do the right thing is akin to continuing to believe that the tenements of civility and decorum in democracy still apply in Uganda, 35 years later.

The goal to uphold democracy is to create public guarantees―from elected officials, police and military―that will help to protect the integrity and results of the 2021 elections. Election protection is a non-partisan issue focused on upholding the constitution, and protecting widely-shared values of an accountable government and democratic freedoms.

The media, civil society and the electorate should be focused on protecting the integrity of the elections. With so much at stake, concerns of violence, voter intimidation, arbitrary arrests and the fragility of the voting process continue to front the need for civic consciousness. Democracies are fragile and democracy can fail and what people do or don’t do can determine the direction of Uganda for the next five years. Beyond voting, democracy depends on individuals and institutions that value the integrity of the process as much the final results. Therefore, the credibility of the electoral process will bank on a collective resolve to reduce the risk of political polarization among the electorate because the fundamental demands are deeper than partisan politics.

We need to rethink and reimagine our electoral cycle from the management of candidates to the handling of the disputes that arise from the elections. The nominations of candidates have greatly shaped the narrative for the coming campaign season and how the violence witnessed, presents a grim environment for the months ahead.

The Electoral Commission and security agencies can improve the perceptions of the credibility of the election by improving public confidence in the behaviour of their officials, in the handling of the nominated candidates and moderation of the rhetoric from the media. This can also reduce the risk of election-related violence, because as perceived fairness and credibility of the election increases, the potential for people to engage in violence and dismissal of the election results may decrease.

Against this back drop, the electorate need to prepare for a disputed election and the exigency that will follow such a reality. The possibility of protests, violence and insurgency all threaten the foundations of the democratic system because so much is founded on the general election.

In an unprecedented election season highlighted by the global pandemic, scientific campaigns and low voter education, the onus falls on all the stakeholders to protect the credibility of the elections. Public confidence in the electoral process is on the litmus paper in proving whether there is integrity of the ballot in providing Uganda with its next leadership.

Tricia Gloria Nabaye

Research Resident Associate: GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES

THE ELECTIVE POLITICS OF GERRYMANDERING

https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/the-elective-politics-of-gerrymandering-2458554

With the mandate vested in Article 63(1) of the constitution of Uganda, parliament approved 46 new constituencies comprised of 45 counties, Nakawa divided to make Nakawa west constituency and 10 district were given city status ahead of the 2021 general elections. This brings the number of constituencies to 353. The approval of the constituencies came after the Electoral commissions road map roll out for the 2021 general elections and before the youth and special groups elections.

Amidst contention from the opposition, the August house approved the creation of more constituencies. It should be highlighted that the process of creating new constituencies before the general elections has become characteristic of the political life of Uganda. In 2015, ahead of the 2016 general elections, Hon. Adolf Mwesigye, the then Minister of local government passed a motion for the creation of 39 counties which was ultimately approved and passed by parliament on the 20^th August 2015. With no accountability of service delivery and feasibility from the previous constituencies created, one wonders if it is plausible to have another 46 constituencies approved.

It begs the questions, are the new constituencies geared towards service delivery or are they a clear case of gerrymandering? Which if not stopped will continue to minimise the already struggling pillars of democratic processes in the election cycle of Uganda.

Gerrymandering fosters party power manipulations of the elections and the electorate and it should be stopped. Many Ugandans look at a constituency and district or city status as equal to a service provided. It is reasoned that with the over decentralisation comes ease of access to service delivery but the reverse is true, continued decentralisation makes service delivery hard and many resources are lost catering for administrative cost.

Additionally, given the recent economic shocks experienced during the COVID-19 outbreak that have left many people financially constrained, creation of new constituencies promises a burden on the tax payers in the long run. Consequently, one wonders if the creation of new constituencies is viable, if not to influence the 2021 general elections.

Gerrymandering promises party loyalists and sycophants a chance at representation and an increase in the numbers in parliament for the ruling party. The created constituencies will be a campaign point for many political aspirants in the ruling party and as such, even those who lost at the primaries will have a chance to run as independents in the coming elections.

The challenges gerrymandering poses lie in the legitimacy of the ballot. The majority of the electorate have been disenfranchised with the separation of constituencies and the creation of new polling grounds. This disempowers their votes; in other words, they are up against a stolen vote because their vote will be rendered useless in that case. The subdivision of the constituencies amounts to theft engaged in by the ruling party and this undermines the key principles of free and fair elections utmost the rule of democracy.

It is imperative to note, that the real politics of the land happens in the heat of the electoral cycle long before the ballot is cast because then the ruling party restructures its battle ground and creates a map that will foster more representatives in parliament than those of the opposition. As a result, single party control of redistribution of constituencies fosters partisan unfairness more than any other variable. It is a strong highpoint of rigging the system for one’s benefit.

The rationale of creating constituencies should have a standard format and it should have a systematic flow to it. It is imperative to note that in gerrymandering we falter the jurisdiction provided for the Electoral Commission to exercise its mandate to create constituencies.

Gerrymandering not only accentuates the ever growing political polarization among the political parties in Uganda but also creates a greater divided among the electorate in the communities. The electorate need to create a homogenous voice in regard to the needs and baseline requirements needed in their politicians. In the absence of the national consensus and a national agenda on what the citizenry desire from the restructuring of constituencies, politicians will continue to use gerrymandering as mechanism for divide and rule.

Redistricting should shift from the hands of the legislators into the hands of non-partisan commissions that can help restructure the constituencies, with a common goal of service delivery and resource mobilisation. Only then can the electorate have their say in how and when the redistricting can take place.

Conclusively, in our effort to preserve democracy and to have free and fair elections in Uganda, we need to be conscious of every attempt and ploy that is employed to disempower the electorate in their choice of leaders. For that reason, it is important to have any form of new legislation and policy order that directly affects the general elections happen at the beginning of a new electoral term rather than close to the general election.

 

TRICIA GLORIA NABAYE

RESIDENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATE: GREAT LAKES INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES

 

Of redemptive love

 

There you were...

Not even trying to shine but shining you did

There you were...

Immaculate in every way 

Upbeat to make the world a better place even if it was for one more person...

There you were... 

Making me come alive to the redemption that lay in your heart...

Your calm undertones of speech made me feel safe...

I was seen in ways I had forgotten how

Your laid back self made my impatient self learn to love the Selah...

For I was sure that you were here to redeem this heart...

And there ever so subtle...libra in every way 

You strung a new charm into my heart...

In your being was a future I was willing to pursue 

Your hand...I was willing to hold for a lifetime 

And then some...

You... redeem me

Of raw emotion

To the men that made me tussle with my heart

 

To you who I love with every being in me

You who love bombed me enough for me to stay over the years

To you who bread crumbed me into a place my heart would not take any more

To you for whom, I prayed for more than I prayed for myself

For you who was the holder of my firsts

For you… for whom staying in faith of your love showing up, would be a betrayal of myself.

Yet I kept coming back to you…Until the pain of loving you would be the cause of my insanity.

 

To you who gave me feels of Lolita

To you who in the bosom of your embrace I questioned my morals

You who gave me joy and emptiness in every experiences

You who taught me that absence can certainly mean letting go

You who in having you, taught me how to choose myself

 

To the one who dropped my heart with no sense of fragility

To the one who for a very long while let my faith run wild

To the one who never thought of the pieces left to be picked

 

Yet I do not hate you for it

My love takes no prisoners

I am still here picking up the pieces and polishing my heart.

I am here rebuilding the little corners within that carry  darkness…

A darkness you left.

I am pained and yet my healing is in forgiving you

In letting you go…I will find my freedom to love yet again.

Of Soulmates

If your Soul mate stood before you, would you know?

I have met my soul mate…

 I have met my soul mate, yet I did not end up with him. Typing those words brings an ache, a shiver in my body and a smirk on my face. Who meets their soulmates and lets them get away?

I met him and I touched him, I felt his hands and sat next to him and I experienced life with him and somehow, he was gone and I was ready to move on… or maybe that is what I have come to believe.  You ask, how do I know if he was my soul mate? I was whole. When he was here, for as long as he was… there was a sense of wholeness that enveloped my being. When he was away for as long as he was… I lost my way.

 With deep affinity I loved him, I prayed for him and celebrated his life’s journey. In him my love was full. I had seen the one they say… “Flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood”

Did he know that you were soulmates? I am not sure, I don’t know. It is hard to tell. Could I have claimed a soul mate in a man blinded by self that he would rather sink into an abyss of loneliness? Could he be selfish enough to condemn himself to the worst kind of human torture? That is a question he has to answer for himself.

 And so, I go on, knowing I have seen the one who fires up my soul into completeness. I have laid in the embrace of the one whose love justifies the rest of my days. Yet our paths drifted apart.

Does it hurt to see them slip away? Every. Little. Bit. But what is my love if it harbors prisoners? May my love be true, that it will allow him to follow his own path, knowing that I will never lose the touch of my soul mate…. for my love will exist across time.

 Life goes on…life will be lived and I go on, I can trust my heart to carry me on into the depths of love and bringing me face to face with the holder of the home for my soul.

 

 

 

REMEDYING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS BEYOND COVID-19.

 

The Covid-19 pandemic is thought to cause a worse financial crisis than that of 2008. Economists argue that it might take about mid year for countries to start seeing a semblance of stability in the economy. 

According to the IMF, “Since the pandemic’s outbreak, prices of risk assets have fallen sharply. At the worst point of the recent selloff, risk assets suffered half or more of the declines they experienced in 2008 and 2009. For example, many equity markets—in economies large and small—have endured declines of 30 percent or more at the trough. Credit spreads have jumped, especially for lower-rated firms.”

As we gear into another financial year, we need to have our checks and balances in order to avoid receding into a grave financial burden. In this fast-moving environment, we need to think in scenarios, rather than pretending to know how the economy will evolve over the next 1 ½ years.

Export earnings have dropped by 4.1 trillion Uganda shillings in the past two months. Ugandan Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija told parliament that the east African country has suffered the effect of the pandemic, which forced the country to lower its economic growth projection for this financial year by 0.3 to 0.8 percentage point.

Kasaija said the projection was downgraded from the targeted 6 percent for the financial year 2019/2020, adding that in the worst scenario millions of Ugandans would be pushed into poverty.

The aftermath of the pandemic is an issue that we should handle with great importance as a continent and as a country.

While the African continent roars with few numbers of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is imperative to note that the numbers continue to soar on the continent and in the world.

As a Country, we have been commended on early response to the pandemic and early execution of the lock down in order to put in force complete social distancing.

In his presidential addresses, the president intimated that factories within Uganda were responding to the pandemic by providing material for use and also making reusable masks for doctors as the need continues to rise. In the end, supporting local businesses to stay afloat as we go through this health crisis.

In the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools are set to reopen soon with the hope that the disease would be contained by then and movement will be restored to that effect. 

While companies, government offices and all of the non-essential services are on hold for the moment, key concerns raise on the frailty of the Ugandan economy and how it will muscle back after the pandemic.

Therefore, as we progress through the lock down days, fiscal policies need to be adjusted to reflect the times in order to create shock absorbents for the Ugandan tax payers. fiscal policies will play a critical role in mitigating the negative impact of the pandemic on economic activities and challenges in the affected sectors, while monetary policies will help reduce the impact of the deterioration of the Balance of Payments

Policymakers and economists need to understand and prepare for the threat that the economic system is more likely to face and work collaboratively on appropriate strategies and policy measures to counteract the downturn.

It is clear by now that COVID-19 is going to have long-lasting negative consequences on the economy. Policymakers must apply their measures optimally to counteract the downturn. They must ensure that their decisions are well-informed and based on thoroughly conducted empirical evaluations.

The pandemic also brought to light the struggle and redirection needed in the financial budget for 2020/2021. It should be able to cater for the health sector in regard to provisions of hospital equipment, safety gear, remuneration and revamping of the whole sector. It is evidently clear that a viral infection has the ability of wiping a whole country off before a gun can. 

In other words, while we allocate resources to military artillery, we should also invest heavily in the health sector in the next financial year.

Uganda after the Covid-19 pandemic needs rapid response in creating shock absorbents for Ugandans in order to avoid people running into debt or much less out of business. The strategy for survival should be reflect in the tax culture, in the prices of commodities and in the access to services after the pandemic.

Also key measures taken to stop the spread of the pandemic should not be turned into status quo in order for people to be able to move ahead and work back the lost time in business.

There is life after such a pandemic but the ability for us all to survive a financial death/ drowning is going to depend on the effort of government and it’s financial wing. The solution will lie in their ability to steer Uganda out of red zone poverty worse than before into a progressive standing, short of that, many Ugandans might not be able to thrive and survive the aftermath of such a pandemic.

UBUNTU IN THE TIMES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

As of March 19, 33 African countries had reported more than 600 cases and 17 deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new corona virus. More than 40 people have recovered.

From the beginning of the pandemic, the World Health Organisations warned of the risk that COVID-19 will have on Africa where there are weak health systems, poor sanitation facilitates, water scarcity and urban crowding. These pose additional challenges to the fight and prevention of the COVID-19.

On the 19^th Of March 2020, MTN Uganda issued a cut down on their tariffs and put aside 500 million Uganda shillings towards the fight of COVID-19. Airtel Uganda as well, removed transaction charges for the next 30 days of the lock down.  On the same day, Solidarity Uganda took food supplies to the quarantined Ugandans at the Central Inn-Entebbe as a sign of standing in Solidarity with them. A gesture of our collective responsibility and ubuntu-ness as a Country.

While we cannot come together and radically serve the community, sharing in society responsibility is going to be a great resource for Ugandans in the face of the corona virus pandemic. Ubuntu will help us serve our communities better beyond the selfishness that usually engulfs us in the face of capitalistic and monopolized survival. We are only going to survive if we acknowledge each other’s contribution to society. I am because you are—Ubuntu. In that spirit, we will be more responsive in practicing measures that not only benefit us as individuals but as a society.

With our health care institutions in dire need of revamping to prepare them for the outbreak and a lack of rapid response units in every district, there will be a need for doctors and nurses to volunteer their time and resources in the coming months. Arguably, Uganda even in the presence of meager resources has managed to put up measures to contain the pandemic. The Ministry of Health has been critical to quarantine people coming into the country with 14 Europeans exiting for refusal of being quarantined.

Crises have a way of making us realize our unity as Ugandans. We have weathered a lot of crises together as a nation. We went through the World Cup Final Bombings, the Budo Fire, the Ebola Outbreak and recently the Boat Cruise sink-in as a unit. We can only but win the outbreak of COVID-19 as a unit. Let us rally around washing hands and providing clean water to vulnerable and less advantage people in our communities. We can also adhere to the lock down and protect our families. Small efforts will help us in avoiding exposure and also save lives.

During this time our success stories will be in the collective responsibility and togetherness. Our efforts towards working together will be the highlight in the fight of COVID-19. It is this collective responsibility that has helped us survive other pandemics like Ebola, Marburg and HIV/AIDS in the past.

Uganda registered a COVID-19 case over the weekend and it is in our combined effort that we can work towards reducing the possibility of a spread of the disease.

ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL ENCOURAGE POLITICAL DIALOGUE IN THE 2020-2021 ELECTION CYCLE.

On 15^th January 2016, The Elders Forum of Uganda (TEFU) and the Inter Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) gave Uganda the first ever Presidential debate ahead of the 18^th February General Elections 2016. The debate highlighted key National issues and laid foundation for post-election dialogue which was realized in the Uganda National Dialogue Process.

The debate offered a platform for candidates to articulate their vision for the country and to interrogate one another on their respective plans for the future. This helped the public to understand, question the critical pillars of the respective electoral manifestos of the candidate and fill in the gaps that cannot be filled in the drama and hype of the ordinary rallies which are given to the public.

In his poem, “The debate is the thing”, Justice Ogoola highlighted the heart and soul of the need for debate; “ Here the nobler ideas and ideals of the mind take pride or place to titillate the political soul of the electorate, on the campaign trail candidates stand on the shifting stands of populism, at the debate the candidates stand on the solid platform of fundamental ideals and critical ideas. With firm figures and facts to wow the audience with wit and humor to charm the electorate, the debate soothes the politics of rancor, binds the wounds of the mundane. Truly the debate is the thing.”

In those words, Justice Ogoola brought forth the life of debate and the need to provide the electorate a chance to critically analyse the presidential aspirants. It brought a new perspective on the importance of issues that matter in our community, electoral campaign issues like election violence and fear mongering. The debate was a new tool of politics which revealed that we can practice politics with decorum and respect for all.

Ahead of the 2021 general elections, the urgency and agency of debate as a tool for better political dialogue and to restore civility in the election cycle becomes viable. The debates will help Ugandans have a national conversation and a chance for the presidential candidates to present their vision for the country in a civil and level headed way.

It brought critical questioning to the issues that have been characteristic of the NRM governance, like NRM’s alleged history of election rigging, political persecution, stifling of the media, arbitrary killings, and corruption, most of which continue to exist in government. 

In the face of changed legislation to scrap the age-limit in 2018, increased stifling of dissent and a closing space for civic engagement that has been witnessed in the FDC and Mr Robert Kyagulanyi’s desire to carry out consultations ahead of the electoral campaigns creates need for political dialogue inter alias a presidential debate that will provide a  chance for the electorate to shape its choice in voting and provide a probability for critical analysis of the candidates manifestos and vision for Uganda.

The Presidential debate will also feed into the vision for National dialogue which has been central to the conversations Ugandans have been having in the informal consultations and pilot dialogue exercises of the Uganda National Dialogue Process that was spearheaded by The Elders Forum of Uganda(TEFU), Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) , National Consultative Forum(NCF), The Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) and Women Situation Room (WSR) who make up the Uganda National Dialogue Coordinating Team.

 In the effort to create social cohesion and consolidation of peace, a safe space for debate and dialogue is an inevitable necessity for the electoral process before us. The debate will provide an avenue for democracy to thrive ahead of the 2021 general elections, it will afford a chance for candidates to prepare better visionary manifestos and road maps for their service to the people of Uganda. It is a chance for accountability from the leaders against their manifestos presented in the 2016 campaigns and presidential debate.

The debate promises civic engagement and participation for Ugandans in the electoral cycle— a catalyst for upholding democracy and governance issues of Uganda. Ugandans have the responsibility of choosing leaders who aspires towards the Uganda they want. A constant provision of spaces for dialogue goes a long way in building pillars for engagement, critical analysis of issues at hand and ultimately a solidification of democracy in Uganda.

The debate is the thing and will be the thing that shapes and changes the direction of the electoral campaigns and the 2021 general elections.