By Ndawula Ronald
Pondering my many worries about Ugandas’ economy, sustaining my children and dependents in schools, the soaring debts, prices and compounding interest charges , last friday I decided to search my TV for a channel that can relieve me of the stress and at least concentrate on listening and visual learning through entertainment.
On scrolling the remote I accidentally landed on the Presidential speech and decided to give it some few minutes.
I was disappointed with the monotony of talking points and lack of solutions to the crisis we find ourselves into but later I got some relief when I realised the solutions existed in the past and are not in the future.
In secondary school I enjoyed my geography lessons especially wheat growing in the Canadian Prairies, The Tennessee Valley authority (TVA), St Lawrence sea way, Rhine lands and factors for the growth and problems of New York.
In the same class we studied about the 1896 start of the construction of the Uganda railway and the problems faced by the builders, the Indian coolies, the lions, jiggers and hostile tribes!
I wondered how the Uganda railway we plan to repair, the Kilembe mines we squandered and in ruins, were the right ideas over 100 years ago and are only making sense today!
I entered Kampala in around 1981 in primary school during the war, and stayed at Banda near Kireka train station for a little while and used to see the passenger train wagons (kayoola), hooting and carrying passengers from Kireka, Banda, Nakawa, kinawattaka to the railway station everyday in the morning, at noon and evening.
It’s amazing that in President Musevenis revelation of the solutions of high prices, poverty, hunger these solutions had already been identified and solved by his predecessors and our colonial masters over 100 years ago!
I used to travel on foot or by UTC bus from Kampala to Luwero and from Kampala to Ntinda when I had money and I remember all buses had their bodies inscribed with the words, manufactured by LIBH SINGH, HANAM SINGH (LSHS) Kenya Ltd.
The UTC buses were around, I believe since the early 70’s and it means the Kenyans were already building and assembling bus bodies since then todate.
The technologies of assembling bicycles, motorcycles and vehicles is as old as making cars themselves.
All countries from south Africa to Egypt and Japan and Germany itself where car making and assembly is a lucrative business and railway transport for both city services and long haul, plus Elon Musks’ TESLA electric car are no solution for poverty and economic down turn in those countries.
If it were, these countries would be in jubilation.
By 1986 when NRM came to power Uganda had around 14 million people and had a fully fledged, air , bus and railway transport system, but today we believe this can reverse the poverty clock when we’re 45 million?
I was amazed last friday night when the President came on TV and talked about how we are going to grow more palm trees, to save foreign exchange dollars, do large scale irrigation like we were taught in our old class of 1986 at Makerere College and Ndejje SSS.
I wondered how the lessons of the history and geography class of 1986 are becoming more relevant after 35 years and how the wisdom of the IBEACO(imperial British East African company) 130 years ago of building the Uganda railway is only making sense today after claiming to attain independence 60 years ago.
It’s a shame that the colonial government had foresight about the railway, and in the pretext of independence we squandered everything and yet continue to make grand independence anniversaries.
It is also a shame that we missed out on celebrating the centenary jubilee of the Uganda railway yet it’s the new game changer in The war of poverty!
I would like to remind the President that the solutions he proposes are functional activities in other countries but the situation needs different solutions like tax holidays, tax cuts , austerity measures by government and subsidies on electricity, water and fuel.
The President’s excitement about vehicle assembly lines, this is has been functional in the neighbouring countries but they even do more to assist their hurting population even on Posho.
For the President’s information, Kenya has constructed the Standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi and running, in addition to the still operating metre gauge railway constructed in the colonial days but the economy is hurting and are trying to help their people.
The President’s advisors “Fool figure” and Buchaman should also inform him that Elon Musk is already cashing in on the electric cars but Europe and America are also hurting and looking for immediate solutions to manage the crisis by sometimes sending a cheque in the mail.
The Tennessee Valley Authority in the U.S.A, wheat growing in the Prairies of Canada are practicing large plantational farming, modern and bulk irrigation schemes, mechanisation and are manufacturing organic and inorganic fertilisers but the economy is hurting and are looking for solutions to address the strange times.
With the presence of all these innovations we’re dreaming and excited about, they’re doing more.
How do you make sense to a karimajong dying of hunger now that a bus assembly line and electric car is the solution to his malnourished kids.
How do you convince a hawker who has been pushed off the street that the solution to his familys’ lunch are the palm oil trees in sango bay yet to be planted.
How do you explain to the trader in kikuubo whose business has gone under and loans over heel that an electric motorcycle is the reason and solution to his rent problems.
If the colonial ideas of 1896 are our new revelations and dreams, .
Is it not true that we would be better off with our colonial masters calling the tunes than our squandering self rule?
My geography and History teachers have better solutions now that Uganda is reinventing the wheel to adopt colonial ideas and solutions.
This justifies their pay rise.
Ndawula Ronald the author is the former chairperson of Luwero district
