allAfrica.com: Uganda: 'PWDs' Crippling Local Politics (Page 1 of 1)

Many politicians would, if accosted by the sight of persons with disability (PWDs), become quaint and readily promise generous assistance to mitigate the plight of their impairment.

In the years since the NRM has been in power, the catchword has been to uplift the marginalised social groups, like the PWDs.

Hitherto, the PWDs were distanced from mainstream social activities by the stigma which scowled at their crippled conditions. Their status is now radiating growing concern from official circles.

Of course, the fundamental hardships of the PWDs and other disadvantaged segments are not yet tackled. But, a start has been made with the accepted declaration of intent to reverse their discrimination. The gestures being made symbolise a new awakening of our society. This is why wide variants of our politicians would be glad to stage and drape themselves also as possible mouthpieces of the PWDs.

However, a good deal of our politicians is dismally silent towards the glaring disabilities of our society which forbid our full lives. While the politicians rebound with a pickle of sympathy to the cries of the physically handicapped, they are awkwardly indifferent to the even greater situation of disability which is prevalent throughout the entire fabric of our social life.

Disability describes the malfunction of some organs in life which renders the over-all performance of life to be inefficient, insufficient and deficient. Each living body has organs which fuel its well-being and existence. Thus, in humans we have eyes for sight, ears to distinguish sound, noses for scent, lungs to breathe, etc.

The collapse of lungs would certainly trigger the dysfunction of all other organs, resulting in the cessation of life. But the loss of eyes or ears only interferes with identification of surrounding objects, weakening navigation and agility. This reduced prowess defines disability. Death is a permanent and complete injunction against ability, while disability is a partial, or sometimes, a temporary one.

Like in the human anatomy, society, too, has organs which underwrite the functions of its structures. Social activity is diverse, springing from the many requirements to satisfy human life. Each organ of social life has intimate impact on the others.

During the NRM struggle, we declared that we would, henceforth; bestow on Ugandans their true empowerment so that their destiny would always rest firmly in their hands. This is why, starting from the progressive ceding of responsibilities to the Resistance Councils (RCs), the current political parties were introduced so as to provide different platforms of participation for the people.

Presently, these parties have turned out to be an incredible farce. They have remained essentially unorganised throngs. Their structures are idle. They have become mere charades, brandished only seasonally during electoral fights amongst the elite. They are stored away like private brief cases, awaiting only the next elections.

Because of this, these parties have ceased being the organs for steering our country. They themselves are parties with disability (PWDs).

The defect in our parties is extremely hounding. Normally, parties identify and vocalise tenets over which they draw the people. They are organs of intense debate and propagation of ideas. Today, all we witness in them is stunned speechlessness. There is a widespread contempt for democratic habits and consultation between the enlisted members. The parties are treated as the personal affairs of the leaders who are the owners.

The effect of this has spiraled into a frightful spell. Most NRM politicians have literarily retracted from their leadership role and slunk amongst ordinary passengers of a canoe, not caring about managing the voyage. They meekly trust that with President Museveni bravely at the helm, any direction by him will do.

Consequently, the media has reported that some NRM MPs are rooting for a fourth term for President Museveni. Before they have grappled with the hot issues of the 3rd term, they are freakishly demanding a fourth one. They repeat the circus of a deranged person who asks for a mound of more food to eat when he has not yet been treated of his diaorrhea.

It is not by default that the Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi has advised President Museveni not to plan yielding power, arguing that revolutionaries never retire.

Since President Museveni is seen by our NRM MPs to be the only one drudging at the steering wheel of our country, it would have been tendentious for Col. Gaddafi to urge him to step down, when clearly the revolution is said to be dependant only upon his deft hands.

What type of revolution it is that rests solely on the exertion of an individual revolutionary will remain a lasting puzzle. Col. Gaddafi is probably right to think that our country must be inhabited by complete imbeciles.

Therefore, the politicians who are so eager to display magnanimity to the PWDs should also be mindful of our failed political situation. Such is the imperatives of failed organs.

The author is a member of NEC (NRM) representing historicals.

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