Hakuna Mchezo and the President of small things

Just over two weeks ago, if he chose to reflect on the subject, President Museveni would have resolved to emulate very rich entrepreneurs and powerful rulers who are content to work through corporate structures.
The head of Samsung, for instance, does not personally build or sell mobile phones or refrigerators. He is happy that other people are taking some of the credit for the research and development, the engineering and design, the packaging and marketing that have made Samsung a successful conglomerate.

When it was time to kill Osama bin Laden, a huge American politico-cum-intelligence-military machine did the job.
If the head of Samsung insisted on doing all the work himself, Samsung would be a cottage industry.
If US president Barack Obama insisted on eliminating Osama bin Laden himself, Michele would probably be a widow.
To return to Uganda: A couple of weeks back, President Museveni was just about as angry as you can get when your spouse is part of the bunch that is giving you a headache.

According to the President (

Museveni grills ministers over unspent cash

Mr Museveni rejected Rugunda’s explanation, arguing that some projects such as construction of schools, do not require feasibility studies and that government technocrats should have a standard template for schools

), out of $1.8 billion (Shs6 trillion) the World Bank had extended to Uganda, only $400 million (Shs1.3 trillion) had been used.
There are time frames involved. You do not borrow to hoard loans. After specified periods, you pay fines. Finally, unused money is withdrawn. Rather like an individual who dreams big and borrows, but does not have a proper plan, a country can look sheepish.

You can see how the image of the country gets damaged; or, rather, how it gets defined, especially in a country where the delivery of public goods and services is absolutely pathetic.

Addressing his ministers as they closed a government performance retreat on September 9, the President was furious that schools meant to be built had not been built. And neither his wife (minister for Education), Dr Ruhakana Rugunda (Prime Minister), nor Mr Matia Kasaija (Finance minister) had explanations that satisfied the President.
The story of the schools is on top of a tedious recital of hospitals that do not work, of genuine salaries and pensions that are delayed or seem to never get paid; of government ghost workers who get paid; of massive thefts in the President’s pet sector, road construction, and so on.

In Uganda’s context, these are the big things; because we are not building mega particle accelerators or going to Mars. But about our big things, the President seems to be quite lost.

Now, the President has christened this presidential term, Hakuna mchezo; a five-year period of very serious work, but it seems he cannot figure out how to get the big things done properly, in reasonable time, and at the right cost.
You have heard about this top Samsung cell phone that has turned into a fireworks rogue. If Samsung’s distribution and sales people do not get the recall process right, and if the engineers do not quickly sort out the embarrassment, the very head of Samsung’s mobile phone division could be declared incompetent and forced to step aside.
By (poor?) design, on September 9, the day he lambasted his ministers for (in effect) making him look incompetent on big things, President Museveni had another appointment. He handed out a couple of light car washing machines and a dummy cheque of Shs100 million (about $30,000) to Mulago Car Washers Sacco. A small thing, considering the cost of the President’s movement and security.

He has been around places in the Kampala area (where he performed very badly in the February elections), personally doing these small things, because – he admits – his officials have failed at these tasks, or are thieves, and have failed him as they did with all the earlier poverty-eradication projects.
He seems not to appreciate fully that they have failed to do their small tasks because he has failed at his task of managing the big things; of managing the economy; of managing law and order; of managing government.
And Hakuna mchezo will degenerate into a slogan of fun long before 2021 if he insists on acting like the President of small things

Mr Tacca is a novelist, socio-political commentator. [email protected].