One might be entirely right if they said that Uganda was better governed in the years of the Commissioners (1893–1910) & Governors (1910-1962) that often had an honorific address attached to their names like Sir Gerald Herbert Portal(April 1893-30 May 1892), Sir Harry Edward Spiller Cordeaux( Feb 1910- 18 October 1910), Sir Andrew Cohen(1952-1957), Sir Walter Coutts(1961-1962) among others. Don’t get me wrong, I am not basing my argument on the fact that these Governors and commissioners freely left power to the next Governor with much moral support from the outgoing governor/commissioner.
But some of the most peaceful years in the moral and economic development of Uganda where the years of the governors and commissioners despite the fact that Ugandans always tried to resist the colonialists. Our own people who we have learnt to refer to as President have done nothing good but bring about fear, political turmoil and depreciating economic figures, unstable shilling rate and the tear gassing of the nationals because of the incompetence of the police.
Truth be told, all leaders even the Commissioners and governors had their flaws but what they did for this great nation can’t be compared to what the “presidents” have done.
The colonialists saw ours as an Agricultural based economy and so they encouraged people to grow crops especially cash crops like coffee and cotton which Uganda is still earning revenue from. They also claim they discovered tourist sites like the source of the Nile which has also attracted many tourists hence increased revenue. They built the railway to ease transportation of goods but many rails have been buried by the ground. They set Uganda onto a path of organization and centralization through bridging the gap between power and the locals by setting up a parliament kinda thing so as to benefit the local man, unfortunately the slogan “For My stomach” is synonymous with the men and women who seat in the parliament. In the eyes of these men(the commissioners and governors), Uganda is the disaster they dreamt of and even though they are dead, I bet mothing surprises their ghosts/spirits.
Actually for a person like me, I don’t have the privilege of saying presidents because most of them are just figures in my history books. I was born raised and probably will raise kids under one president, who we often refer to as our liberator, what breaks my heart is the fact that we are trying to liberate ourselves from our liberators.
50 years of independence and all we had to show for it was a paper containing #Vision2040, the ruling party which should be advocating for change is instead pushing forward the idea of a sole candidate, most of the Presidential candidates are too old that the youth are really afraid of making a decision, We dream of free and fair elections but we all know that not all dreams come true, the shilling that once made sense to all of us is slowly going down the pit and the foreign dollar is making a run for it, people are mysteriously dying and we have no answers yet. The youth in universities and around Uganda are giving up and many have vowed not to vote come 2016, the nation is in a state of idiocy that can only be swept away by a political revolution that we only hope for.
The city is filled with potholes and manholes, hospitals lack water and electricity while others even lack medicine and doctors, Idi Amin was a clever man, he treasured teachers, now they even have to strike just so they can get a decent wage, Ministers are getting obscene salaries but they are really doing nothing, and all it takes for the city to flood is just a 5 minute heavy downpour. Corruption is the main course meal of every decision maker in the country, Pigs might be kicked out of the parliament but indeed that’s where they belong.
During the state of the Nation address the President makes a speech that is only meant for the middle class but rumor has it that it’s meant for the state. I will stop the whining lest I find myself in a cold place. Yes, such is life in these parts.
The London Gazette: no. 27403. p. 709. 4 February 1902.
