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Uganda: Museveni Confused Inflation With Wealth
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The Monitor (Kampala)
OPINION
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Capt. Charles Byaruhanga
In his Labour Day speech, President Museveni is reported to have said that the rising food prices was a blessing to Ugandan farmers and advised his audience to go to their farms and produce more instead of politicking at "bimeeza."
The president is also reported to have said that the increasing prices of consumer goods were because Ugandans had become richer.
The president seems to have been addressing a wrong forum. He might have mistaken his audience to be an Annual General Meeting of Uganda Farmers Association. Secondly, one wonders when the president last revised his economics for there is no way one would mistake inflation with increasing wealth. I cannot solely blame his speech on his speech writers, advisors, political assistants and personal secretaries because some of these are matters of common sense.
The president should have known or at least be reminded that his audience comprised fixed income earners whose minimum wage was last fixed at Shs 6000 in 1984 before his government removed the two zeros and devalued the money by 30% in the 1997 currency reform.
This brings the minimum wage to approximately Shs40. The president should have been told that his audience comprised Ugandans who have been demanding an increase in the minimum wage from his government without success because he wants to protect his "investors."
The audience was mainly composed of full-time employees who will not leave or absent themselves from office to benefit from this "windfall" of rising food prices.
Museveni should have known that his audience comprised Ugandans who struggle hard to make ends meet because the country has no employment policy.
He should have used such an opportunity to advise workers on how they would cope with the rising consumer prices with the minimum pay and without being corrupt.
The workers expected wise counsel from the "Fountain of Honour" as to what measures his government was putting in place to arrest the trend of rising prices of consumer goods which include basics like salt, soap, sugar, paraffin and food and not "presidential jets."
The workers were not interested in how much he was going to benefit from selling his cows at good prices as this would be personal finance accruing from the windfall. Their concern on such a day was how government was going to solve their problems.
Mr President, such International Days should be taken seriously instead of just being observed as a routine. It is on such important days that serious governments announce major policy changes aimed at improving the wellbeing of the workers. This way Ugandans would be attracted to attend these functions with enthusiasm.
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The president should therefore not be surprised when he addresses only the police on parade next year because his speech did not add value to the workers' cause.The taxpayers meet the costs of improving his office including his speeches.
That's why he has a advisors, speech writers, political assistants etc who are supposed to add value to his office. If all these people cannot write a speech for the President to fit the occasion, they should be fired to save you future embarrassment.
The writer is former MP for Kibale County, Kamwenge district
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