Why not abolish Constitution than repeatedly amending it?

The framers of our Constitution included provisions to ensure access to opportunities by all. Objective 11(i) of the National Objectives and Directive Principles of State policy provides for the duty of the state to put measures that protect and enhance the right of the people to equal opportunities in development. Under objective 12(ii), the State is duty-bound to ensure a balanced development of all areas of Uganda.

Article 21 guarantees equality of all and prohibits all manner of discrimination on grounds of, among others, tribe, ethnic origin, social or economic standing or political opinion. Had the Constitution provided penal sanctions for breaches of its provisions, many of our administrators stand guilty as the evidence is overwhelming that they have nakedly sinned not only against the Constitution, but also on human conscience and morality.

A few days ago, I discussed with a friend about street children. I asked her whether she has ever seen a street child belonging to any of the western or central tribes of Uganda. It is not by coincidence alone that such a situation exists. Through binoculars of common sense, we see that street children coming from particular ethnic communities is a symptom of systematic starvation of opportunities to those tribes or failure on the part of government.

The evidence of why some tribes are left out in the development agenda is not hard to find. I visited offices of National Identification and Registration Authority (Nira) recently. From the gate man, registration officers, field managers, to the soldiers providing security, the language of operation was Runyankole. I wondered whether to be truly Ugandan is to belong to particular tribes.
The evil of naked tribalism is prevalent in all government agencies.

We may pretend that it is not happening, but the vice is killing our country and if not corrected, it will not augur well for future generations. Leaders should realise that entrenching tribalism is like building the country on a dormant volcano.
Insensitivity to the fate of citizens and greed that propels insulated corruption is another sin against the citizens and the Constitution.

Former MPs will soon be given Shs100m each! This is not only disgusting, but also an insult to teachers, doctors, and police, etc, who work tirelessly on meagre pay. It is offensive to taxpayers whose money will be spent on this long-distance parasitism. At least citizens can tolerate parasitism by the current MPs, but not when the parasite has fallen off our bodies and long gone. Excuse us!

Denis Birungi,
[email protected]