2018: Arua, Cranes, Quiin Abenakyo and the bridge
By the time you read this, 2018 will have less than 48 hours to live. As expected, to some it is good riddance, to others not quite.
On the economy side, the year is closing with growth prospects looking good, if only all of us could share in the good times.
At the same time, the dampener is that a key player in the economy, Bank of Uganda (BOU), is experiencing some stress. Facts and falsehoods about the BoU and its managers are being thrown about without a care.
Yet the central bank is so far not acquitting itself well in the public hearings before a parliamentary committee — Cosase — looking into its handling of bank closures.
Most of the officials behave like those proverbial deer caught in the headlights, not sure which way to turn. They are frozen. Maybe it is time to unfreeze things a little at the central bank.
As we wait for the unfreezing by way of personnel and process/systems changes, Cosase will need to be on guard to not be used to besmirch reputations, and a key institution in the process.
I am sure committee chairman Abdu Kutuntu is alive to the crosscurrents and undercurrents at play. The New Year will probably clarify the issues swirling around the lender of last resort.
In politics, Arua is the stain on the year. Okay, someone stoned a car in the presidential convoy, a daring but utterly foolish act.
But for the presidential guard and other security agencies to retaliate by beating up all and sundry, breaking down hotel doors, and brutalising people was unconscionable and criminal.
Teaching an entire lot of people a lesson, collective punishment, demonstrates a sick mentality. Stopping Bobi Wine in his tracks did not need to come at this cost.
But again, having stormed Parliament to beat up MPs dissenting loudly against the creation of a presidency-for-life last year got us to a point where anything, absolutely anything, is possible in Uganda’s politics. We have been there, where anything was possible.
It was a very ugly place. We have learnt nothing. Uganda will survive and thrive, but this will not end well for some people. That could be something worth bearing in mind in 2019.
Okay, not all doom and gloom in public affairs. The Nile at Jinja got a swanky new bridge. To appreciate this, remember that Uganda is cut into two by the Nile. That is a fun fact yet a crazy one. We need new bridges at Karuma and Pakwach like yesterday. Karuma has received some encouraging noises, may be 2019 may set off real action.
Although not yet finished, the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway is running. Lots of relief there.
On the arts and culture end, our writers did very well. My colleague and poet Harriet Anena closed out the year with her joint win of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa this December.
It was left to UK-based Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, author of the novel Kintu, to open things up in March by snagging the Windham-Campbell Prize and pocket $165,000.
Writing well pays well. Literally. I got to warn you though. This stuff takes a lot of hard work. That said, there is never a better time to start writing. Start now. Like they say in business: start small, start now.
In terms of fashion and beauty, girl or girl, did Quiin Abenakyo do it. People, we got to start winning in these popular things that easily attract broad public attention. Just about every munaUganda who cared rooted for Quiin to become Beauty Queen of the World. Well, she managed Miss World Africa, ending in the top five.
It was a first for Uganda. There is little that 40 million human beings can’t accomplish. Surely, we can fix Kampala’s inexplicable chaos for a start.
Sorry, I digress (although I have a fetish for countries that can’t manage their capital cities).
Uganda Cranes, and the She Cranes, brought plenty of cheer. The soccer guys are back at the Africa Cup of Nations. They returned there in 2017, having been absent since 1978. We are now getting used to this Afcon thing, and the 2019 tournament may just see them play past the preliminary stages.
Meanwhile, the She Cranes, fast-establishing dominance on the continent, are headed to the Netball World Cup yet again. They plan to do better in Liverpool in 2019 than they did last time in Australia in 2015.
Happy New Year to you all
Bernard Tabaire is a media trainer and commentator on public affairs based in Kampala.
[email protected]
Twitter:@btabaire
