13 February 2002
editorial
Mali is a poor African country with a GDP of $2.9bn, a population of 12 million people, and a defence budget of $34m.
Uganda is a poor African country too, but much richer than Mali with a GDP of $8.5bn. It has twice Mali's population - 22m - and an official defence budget of about $140m.
Mali, however, has just hosted a very successful African Cup of Nations tournament. It invested a massive $100m to build or upgrade six stadia and infrastructure, and spread the goodies by way of roads and electricity to new venues.
Purely in advertising terms, Mali, already an increasingly popular destination for tourists because of its reputation for stability and the gentle nature of its people, got more than $100m in advertising value for itself.
Uganda, although a richer country, wouldn't manage hosting the African Cup of Nations. In 1999 when we held CECAFA club championships, it was so badly managed, we even got into trouble with the continental soccer governing body and are still paying back a debt of $11,000. Uganda's national side The Cranes always faces embarrassment when it travels, with players spending nights on the floor of airport lounges because we've failed to provide hotel accommodation for them.
The floodlights at the popular Nakivubo Stadium don't work right now. And when a big match is coming up that might require them, it is not unusual to see a kamyufu (electricity man) tinkering with the lights to get them to work after kick-off.
One of the most striking things about this is that Mali president Alpha Oumar Konare did not back all these investments as a political ploy. He is stepping down from office and not standing for elections.
Last financial year, the Uganda government allocated just Shs 560m to sports, which compares unfavourably with Mali's investment of Shs 180bn.
Clearly, though Uganda is richer, it can't match Mali. What this tells us is that it is not so much how much money you have that matters, but how you use it.
Investing in sports has an effect that most other things don't. If you build a health centre in Masaka, it will mostly be the people from that area who will benefit from it. Having a good sports development programme from which a good team emerges could result in the team travelling abroad to represent Uganda and bringing national honour. Or it could have supporters spread as far away as Arua, Moroto, and Kisoro, thus spreading happiness to all corners of the country when it wins. (ACONS)
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