[An Open Letter to His Excellency]
The National Resistance Movement democratized government by bringing it closer to the population through decentralization. Unfortunately, decentralization is going to be the cause of the political death of your party and government because of the rampant graft and growing disconnect from the population.
Dear President Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Museveni,
Happy New Year.
I pray that you and your family are well.
It is impossible for ordinary people like me to access your office directly. That is why I have written this open letter to warn you of how Local Governments are going to be the downfall of you and the NRM.
Fortunately, I am able to reach you thanks to the advent of the internet which the policies of your government enabled to take root in the country. One way or another, I trust that you will read what I write.
It is with a heavy heart that I bring to your attention the above subject matter. I humbly request that you take it as an honest opinion from a very concerned citizen of this country Uganda.
You decentralised power and enhanced district local governments with resources and an enabling law to be able to take charge of their affairs. You did this in order to help your government to be able to deliver services at the grassroots. Unfortunately local governments have evolved into a cabal of hyenas which are gobbling up resources meant for development and social services and fanning discontent, disillusionment, and opposition to the NRM.
For the past fourteen years, I have taken keen interest in the workings of Local Governments in Uganda. What I want to share is based on my observations and experiences from Butaleja District as well as other districts across the country.
Without fear of contradiction the local governments are going to be your downfall and the threat is undetected and underrated and could easily lead to the demise of the National Resistance Movement’s hold onto the reins of power, in the short or medium term if left unchecked.
You have taken care of security relatively well and covered your bases. However, just like Samson, the strong giant was floored by Delilah thanks to her deceptive outward fragility. I am very fearful that the NRM Government is going to be brought down due to the way the District Local Governments are being (Mis)managed thereby fostering disaffection among the populace and cynicism towards well intentioned government programmes.
What informs my assertion?
The main objective of Decentralization along which DLGs is to bring Government and government services closer to the people as well as increasing transparency and accountability.
Some of its intended goals may have been achieved with varying levels of success and some reservations when it comes to the level of positive impact on the wanainchi on the ground.
It is this questionable impact upon the masses on the ground that I want to bring to your attention. There is growing disillusionment. The population is slowly ceasing to regard Government as a serious partner towards the sustainable upliftment of their livelihoods. Please note the term sustainable.
Local Government Leaders Drunk with Power without clear purpose
Most Local Governments by virtue of setup are structured well and mirror the Central Government in operation right from the Political wing all the way to the Administrative.
Unfortunately, their operations are riddled with numerous flaws which are failing the government and gradually creating a lot of weariness in the local populace, yet the rural populace is purported to be the backbone of the NRM’s support and success.
Most Local Governments are rudderless and the way they are run is no different from a derailed train. The areas of great concern and frustration include;
- Quality of Political Leadership. When the NRM government came into power, democracy was made the cornerstone of our political space as a country. As a result, its implementation trickled down to the village level. However, its implementation has faced some setbacks that call for a serious review in the way the system is operational.
The political structures are filled with both academics and non-academics. However, when it comes to service delivery, these structures are unable to execute their duties as expected for most districts of the country.
Being at the delivery layer of the national governance structures, they have to translate the plans from above into something meaningful on the ground. This ability is grossly wanting in most districts.
With individuals that can hardly interpret policy and data which are necessary for passing budgets and implementing policy, the end result is failure in service delivery.
These leaders suffer arrivalism upon assuming power. What this implies is that they see it as a time to eat (an adage used to define engaging in corrupt activities). This leads them to milk the already desperate populace in their respective areas for personal gain.
They do so by peddling government jobs for sale, teeming up to grab contracts that are eventually poorly executed, determining who benefits from Government Projects, collecting illicit monies from various Local Government officials, among numerous non constructive misdeeds.
End Result – Numerous services are not adequately impacting the intended targets in the local populace hence turning government initiatives into white elephants.
Some of the leaders have turned themselves into the local untouchables and carry out all sorts of activities and misdeeds aimed at intimidating powerless locals hence creating an aura of impunity among the masses. At the end of the day, the word going around on people’s lips is:
This is how Museveni’s Uganda is run.
Slowly but surely, the frustration is building and the time bomb is ticking. Let me cite an example of the PDM where mercenaries from as far as Busoga were brought in to benefit from PDM Money in Butaleja District thereby denying the befitting locals. All this happened under the watch of the leaders as well as your representative, the previous RDC. They chose to look the other side even amidst the complaints of the wanainchi.
- Local Government Technocrats. Each time I hear of corruption scandals in the Central Government, I simply chuckle.
You may want to know that if corruption was a football league, the one at the Central Government can be classified as the Uganda Premier League while that one at the Local Government Level is the Premier League. In other words, it gets much more complex at the Local Government level.
There is a lot of unchecked pilferage in the Local Governments through the diversion of resources both financial and nonfinancial. The schemes are well crafted. While they can be intercepted by an uncompromisable hard headed team of individuals, usually this can be at the risk of even losing their lives. As the Board Chairman of Busolwe General Hospital, as well as my role as a public advocate who supports the rights of individuals that are not being heard , I have witnessed this first hand.
The technocrats are a problem in the following ways:
- Laissez Faire Service delivery – A good number of staff work in a manner that focuses on process fulfillment and not output consciousness. They focus more on procedure, never mind the craftiness involved, while paying less attention to the output of their duties. This is why if for example you chose to audit the roads that are claimed to be worked upon in Butaleja District after all the money that has been dispensed, you would be very disappointed. What is in the reports differs from what is on the ground and this information is available for verification from your security team, the DISO’s office.
- Purchase of Jobs – Take it or leave it, jobs have price tags in most districts. It is not debatable and the District Service Commissions have normalized it. They carry out this heist by colluding with political leaders too for protection. It is on record, one of the local political leaders in Butaleja district confessing to the general public that he takes bribes from job seekers.
- Acting Positions – Numerous staff in the districts are maintained in acting roles deliberately. The intention for this is to keep a leash around their necks by the political bosses who have the power and heavy influence on who gets hired and fired. This forces the staff into working based upon the whims of clueless politicians while forfeiting their professional mandates.
- Untouchables – Considering the way some of these workers get those district jobs, they become untouchable and do not listen to anyone. The Butaleja District CFO was interdicted a while back and a damning report that revealed all his misdeeds released but has ended up returning to the office to continue with his heist. This time round, he is openly on a revenge mission to eliminate all those that snitched on him. Thanks to his god fathers in the Central Government.
- Suffocation – Among the District staff are those who are legitimately playing their roles following the right channels. Unfortunately, they are swamped by the corrupt who have isolated them hence coercing them into carrying out illegalities. This ends up fostering a culture of incompetence across the board. I was recently being cajoled to sign and approve a questionable budget for Busolwe General Hospital and it i only my hard headedness and choice to seek the intervention of the Ministry of Health that saved the day.
- Government Support. There are numerous questions on the readiness of various government agencies when it comes to supporting their line activities in the districts. Take a look at key areas like the Health and Education. They are usually handled without the attention that they deserve.
This stems from delays in supplies like medical related ones for the health facilities leading the wananchi to struggle so much seeking alternative health care services that tend to be not only highly priced but also of inferior quality.
You have cases of UPE Schools that undertake double payments by charging candidates exam registration fees even when they fully are aware that it is catered for already with some pupils and students being prevented by schools’ authorities from sitting as a result. The fight against this has caused a big rift between the current RDCs in Butaleja District and the Political Leaders who seem to benefit from the status-quo.
Poor infrastructure that never even shows signs of improving is also another setback that ends up dampening efforts aimed at uplifting the status of the lay man. Talk of rundown health facilities, schools, boreholes, roads among others. Their state keeps the marginalized lot in a cyclic motion of insufficiency.
- GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SABOTAGING DISTRICTS
Your excellency, I would like to wind up this letter by bringing to your attention the ongoing sabotage by your very officials aimed at appointing those that run or monitor operations in the local Governments.
Butaleja District has for a long time hemorrhaged with very incompetent and questionable RDCs. These were the darling of the shrewd political elite who benefit from the rampant poor service delivery. Recently, we got the appointment of a new RDC, Madam Eva Kwesiga, ARDCs Mr. Jimmy Nambiro and Mr. Richard Kasozi who started their tenure hardly two months before you visited Butaleja District. As we speak, they are being hounded out by the political class that is uncomfortable with their pro-people approach towards ensuring that there is proper service delivery. Basically anyone trying to put your government in good light with the lay man is fought severely by the very individuals that hypocrytically profess allegiance to you only when within your midst. We see them, We know them.
Word is rife that the RDC’s Secretariat has been compromised and is already working on transferring these very good performers out of Butaleja district, hardly 6 months into their posting. One ARDC has already been pushed out thanks to the manipulation at the secretariat.
Butaleja District hardly retains a CAO for more than a year. In the past four years, we have had 5 CAOs and just at the time when we had settled with a one Mr. Mukasa Kizito who was starting to realign operations, he was hounded out of the district by the same unscrupulous politicians who benefit from the skewed service delivery machinations.
In conclusion, my letter is a plea to you to start by using Butaleja District Local Government as a template for re-organisation by acting upon the matters highlighted here. It is my strong belief that you have the ability to change things for the better especially when fed with the right information.
I do know that the security team you have on the ground headed by the current RDC is competent enough and regularly avails the higher offices with the right reports. Why no action is being undertaken on the matters they raise in their reports remains a huge question to be answered.
OUR BELOVED LEADER, PRESIDENT YOWERI TIBUHABURWA MUSEVENI,
ARE YOU BEING SABOTAGED?
Wake up, before it is too late.
Esoŋera ehwenda nj’ehugwa hwi bwa (The fly that loves you is the one that settles on your wound)
I remain respectfully yours,
James Wire
Ugandan Patriot
X – @wirejames
Threads – @wire_james
The Wire Perspective 