NRM is stocking its herd by the plane load

Timothy Kalyegira once observed that “many among Uganda middle class on trips abroad often praised the infrastructure in other countries, only to return and puzzlingly praise the NRM government that oversees Uganda’s disorganization and poor infrastructure.”

Like Kalyegira, you will suffer immensely if you always look at the happenings in Uganda with rational lenses. These see an elected government in power that is trying its level best to deliver a better Uganda. In the process of this trial, it makes glaring mistakes by ticking poor choices out of the several obvious ones at its disposal, leaving many seething with rage and offering solutions -which are ignored.

In September it turned out that a delegation or two to be precise, with a total of 70 people went to the USA to attend the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The Minister in Charge of ICT and National Guidance later guided that there were two meetings, one on SDGs and the UN General Assembly. He then reiterated in The Independent, the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility by minimizing unnecessary expenditures. “We shall continue to ensure that we restrict government officials’ travels unless it’s necessary.” 

Last week, barely two months later,  it turned out that Uganda sent a delegation almost 10 times stronger than the one that made people scream ‘wasteful scam,’ when New York happened. 600 delegates arrived in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28.) COPs have so far; for all intents and purposes, turned out to be glorified talking shops. Here developed nations promise to reduce carbon emissions, use cleaner energy and compensate the developed nations for the brunt they bear because of the former’s abuse of the environment. The developed nations like Uganda meanwhile continue lobbying and demanding for carbon credits, climate justice etc. Maybe our 600 voices (together with the 1400 loud ones from Nigeria etc) will make this COP deliver. But that is all for another day.

In Uganda’s case, I was once schooled that such conferences hit three birds with one stone. They are used for networking and marketing Uganda to attract investors and tourists.

Ridiculously, a minister may meet their counterpart from neighboring Tanzania, far away in Arabia, ‘on the sidelines of the meeting.’ They may also sign several memoranda of understanding to cooperate in various fields or better still  ‘deals’ in the energy sector or other, worth millions of dollars. Whether things tangible, come out of these or what part of each of the 600 travelers plays in them is what intrigues, frustrates and annoys many.

They can’t understand why the government spends like money is running out of fashion, at a time when the country is experiencing sustained economic woes that have led to collapse and foreclosure of borrower’s businesses and reduced effective demand.

You will sleep better if you accept the reality that after 37 years in power, the ruling NRM party under the leadership of Gen Museveni is now totally fused with the state. You can’t tell one from the other or where one ends and the other begins.

Museveni, his party NRM and the army as its military wing, are larger and more consequential than parliament and the judiciary. The central bank is at their disposal for patronage.

In this environment after nearly 40 years in power NRM can only have trouble in recreating itself to remain relevant. NRM has one crucial advantage, though. Uganda for all the talk of progress and development is basically in many aspects still a near primordial society where many are excited by basic and mundane material things like mobile phones, second hand cars and even greasy food plus meaningless titles. A lot of people can accurately recall the first day and time they got off the mat and sat on a sofa.

The day they first witnessed electricity and piped water or when they got their first pair of shoes, got to drink soda or beer or eat bread with butter and fish and chips. There are very many children and adults in the provinces who may be motivated into doing anything by promises of a trip to dusty, potholed, congested Kampala. That is why elevating towns to city status makes very big news in many rural towns even if it changes nothing much. 

In this dire situation where we are existing in a cash strapped economy with no social safety net to talk about as hospitals lack drugs, school fees are leading to the detention of defaulters and unemployment of the youthful population is on the rise, NRM becomes the star player. The two eyed man in the land of the blind. NRM relishes this role. The NRM government dangles privileges from the state coffers for patronage, recruitment, expansion and domination by creating employment opportunities. They duplicate offices to fight corruption even when you have the IGG, advise the president even when you have Ministers, provide security outside of the police and the regular army, carry out oversight which is the role of the huge parliament. etc.

All human beings have a price. The villagers will vote for NRM for a bar of soap or a kilo of sugar. Those out of these categories, especially the educated, working and middle classes, something like flying aboard a plane to a country with planned roads and high rise buildings, can be a life changing experience to die for. Today it  gives one bragging rights to post pictures on social media. In Uganda, fighting to travel abroad on the taxpayers’ money has made headlines with ministers and other high ranking government officials going at each other’s necks.

One time a member of the Opposition in Parliament asked to be included on the President’s list when he was still a frequent flyer.

It is common knowledge that all Members of Parliament have to act in a certain way to earn the golden luck to fly for per diem-paying, ‘benchmarking’ trips abroad on the bill of the taxpayer.

NRM now uses foreign travel as a bait to mesmerize and reward loyal cadres or convince others to join them and enjoy the largesse of being a supporter or an associate of the party. The air ticket has been used to target members of the opposition to ridicule and weaken them further. When a traveler returns home from a government sponsored trip they are viewed and isolated as ‘moles.’

The longer NRM stays in power as the economy degenerates and social services dwindle due to corruption and incompetence, the amount of groceries and carrots thrown around including air tickets, are bound to increase to shrewdly help expand the NRM herd.

Twitter: @nsengoba