What Transforming Society?

At the core of Mr. Museveni’s National Plan is an ambitious dream of transforming Uganda society. Transforming to what? Supposedly it is tripling the per capita income (GDP/PPP?) to $900 by 2015.

Nothing is wrong with that, except the archaic top-down process of coming out with the plan. We cannot even guess the elements that were taken into considerations. Since you have not consulted widely you miss out important elements—besides the effects of the unknown Heisenberg uncertainty principle in play—and rendering the outcomes unpredictable if not rejected. The whole thing seems Newtonian linear thinking: Input these and you get these formulated results.

As I stated before, others have tried along the same lines. Believe it or not, Museveni himself has tried various schemes, which were effectively national plans. It is telling that none of them has worked beyond the catchy initial grandiose pronouncements. In a photo op the man was seen carrying AGOA shirts for exports to the US. If anybody has seen Uganda shirts in US stores, shout! Did I hear somebody just picked up a Kenyan pair of trousers from a US department store?!

Humans are complex, and Ugandans are no exception—even more so if you consider regional differences and aspirations. In addition, there is the mix of the endemic cultural confusion in the sense of self: What is the essence, if any, of being a Ugandan? So, without being sympathetic to complexities, any policy is dead ab initio.

Material well-being is a good thing. But focusing only on increasing ability to consume is really not transforming society's sustainably. It may end up creating a nation of desperate automatons, full of anger, lust, resentment, fear and depression with no sense of honor and community. And you heven't seen nothing yet of the lethal alienation of blighted forests of slums.

The universal traditional Uganda begins in the village. There is where a sense of honor and community can begin to be instilled and nurtured to translate into the whole country of Uganda—a bottom-up strategy. Anybody who can conjure up ideas about strengthening the spiritual (not necessarily religious) and material well-being of the village will transform Uganda for the better. This would be in accord with scientific evolutionary evidence of how man has managed to survive for millennia in the face of all manners of odds. If the village unit is strong and vibrant, the nation will be strong and vibrant. Chances are families will also be strong—raising strong children. It is so simple, it hurts!