Aboneka Writes

Everyone is excited about the expectation of the first oil to be pumped out by 2020 and to this end, there are many processes that seem to be in haste in order to achieve this target. Over years now, the Albertine graben has been busy with developers undertaking various activities in a bid to ensure smooth operations. The question that is never answered is, whose oil is it? Whose development is it? To have over 817 PAPs not compensated for their land for a central processing facility in Kasenyi, Buliisa is not good news at all to them! No wonder, recently the residents had to protest and stop the Developers from accessing this land until they are fully compensated! They are absolutely right, there can never be development for us without us; you cannot want to acquire of 300Square miles where people derive their livelihood all in the name of development and leave them helpless. As if that is not enough, we have gone ahead to launch the East African Crude Oil Pipe line that will run f

There can be nothing for us without us-this is the most important aspect of governance and service delivery. As citizens, we give Government two things, votes and taxes and we expect is adequate quality services therefore, in terms of governance, the definition of a tax is different; it is quid pro quo as we always ensure we demand for what belongs to us. The oil, minerals and other extractives are here, but who cares about the citizens who will be affected by the extraction and development of the minerals? According to the National Development Plan 2, and the Vision 2040, oil and gas and other minerals are seen as the major financiers of the economy by 2040. What this means is that we must invest heavily in order to reach this target but most importantly, investing in engaging the citizens who are both the financiers (tax payers) and ultimate beneficiaries. But there is much more to this; the bigger question of whose oil is this? To some, the oil is seen to belong to the President w

Since Uganda became a multiparty dispensation, the struggle of parties has seemingly grown! The sole purpose to transit from Single party politics to multiparty politics was to allow the thriving of democratic competition which is very healthy for any democracy. By and large, one can say that it is evident that Uganda is a multiparty dispensation if they choose to go by the data. I last checked and we have about 29 registered Political parties in Uganda and to most of them, I have never heard about! If one chooses to go by the data that Uganda has 29 political parties, they would quickly pass if for being the most democratic! However, given all these political parties, Uganda still runs as a single Political dispensation! The NRM has consolidated itself into power for the last 31 years and the "Multi party dispensation has seemingly died off! Of course there are opposition parties that have stood the test of time to challenge the status quo but whether they have been allowed sa

I have carefully followed events around me for quite some time but one thing bothers me in whatever interventions we make as a country and as a people; the loss of foresight. There seems to be more concentration on uplifting girls and women in total isolation of boys and men! Our country is not a “single sex” country, but rather a “mixed” one. Everybody is focusing on the girl child, claiming that they are the most vulnerable thus the special attention and treatment. There are a number of girl and women interventions by Organizations, individuals, government and some that are borne by legal instruments such as affirmative action for the girl child, 1.5 advance points, free seat in Parliament among other campaigns which have in fact turned out to be reverse discrimination against the boy child. I am aware that there is background to all these interventions but who ever cares about the boy child! The boy child too needs quality education, reproductive health education and services, ec

Africa continues to grapple with warring trends of un educated and unemployed youth. According to the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook (2016) trends for Youth report shows that as a result, the global number of unemployed youth is set to rise by half a million this year to reach 71 million – the first such increase in 3 years. This means that with a youth population that is expected to double, to over 830 million, by 2050 in the whole continent, the incidence of unemployment among youth in Northern Africa remains elevated at 29.3 per cent in 2016, representing the second highest rate across all regions. Therefore, these figures indicate that there is a real huge problem in Africa. It has also been argued elsewhere that unemployment is caused by lack of an education. However, it is also true that many young people graduate and still have no meaningful, professional employment; does this therefore mean that the education is useless? Perhaps in this case, yes it is useless if

Uganda continues to grapple with warring Inequalities. According to World Bank (2016), Uganda’s economic growth has stagnated due to stagnant house hold incomes and growing inequality. Uganda’s growth is not inclusive. According to the Private Sector Development Strategy 2015/16 – 2019/20, there is rising inequality among Ugandans, which means that the emerging opportunities are poorly distributed. For example, Central Uganda and Greater Kampala host 66 percent of Uganda’s GDP, while northern Uganda takes only 7 percent, East (13 percent) and West (14 percent). It is therefore very evident that the gap between the rich and the poor widens everyday despite various efforts. Unfortunately, this gap grows everyday and seems to be immune from the several mitigation measures and it is not known whether the mitigation measures offer long term solutions or a simply sweeping a dusty courtyard! What this has created is two categories of society-each worried and defensive of the other. The r

Freedom-fighters is now a household name in Africa as many parts were liberated by a few individuals who took up arms to oppose the colonial rule and bad governance at the time. The major driver for the freedom fighters was to restore justice and peace against all odds. Many were welcomed as heroes and saviors for liberating their communities from oppression. What was clear is that the freedom fighters were self-nominated as no one appointed them to fight for the good for the community but rather believed they could cause a change on behalf of the people. It is important to note that our fore fathers were selfless men who stood against all tides for the sake of the community. They were servants. Recently, some freedom fighters suggested to their community that they are not servants and employees but freedom fighters who are fighting for their own beliefs. Without going to details of their beliefs, this act is selfish and doesn’t depict the character of freedom fighters I have kn