Frederick Womakuyu
10 November 2008
analysis
Kampala — On entering his office at development house, you realize that Fagil Mandy, long, crossed the threshold from an ordinary civil servant to something more splendid.
The aura can only be likened to that of a diplomatic office. Some government officials of his calibre have either left disgracefully or retired quietly to their villages.
But by extreme contrast, Mandy has held onto the position of undisputed doyen of inspectors, retiring to a private education consultancy firm. He no longer visits schools for inspection but works as an inspection consultant in the ministry and in his private time, is privileged to author books.
In his latest work, Self Engineering, My Success Story, a 251 page autobiography, being launched today, Mandy shares how he lived, worked and gradually reveals what has made him what he is.
"I want people to learn what I have gone through, he said. "My experiences could be lessons to others."
One-and-half years down the road, here it is, a bona fide varsity - level hardback book. Even Mandy sounds slightly amazed. "I worked five hours-a-day in the last half of the year," he says. "I had a lot to say."
You can sense relief in his voice, and who could blame him? Like it or not, Mandy is remembered for introducing minimum standards in schools and inspection of almost three quarters of all the schools in Uganda, something that has usually eluded current and past inspectors.
It is upon such commitment that the media and sections of the public branded him controversial; something he is happy about in his book. He says;
"the media groomed me to glow and grow."
At one time during his crusade in Fort Portal, he banned the wearing slippers in public places, a campaign he called "promotion of sanitation and hygiene."
In Tororo, he advised teachers not to elect baboons, but when reproached by parliamentarians over the issue, he denied; saying he had said buffoons.
Mandy was a tough inspector who sent teachers shivering and made students obey rules and regulations.
He was also instrumental in establishing co-curricular activities like drama, sports and science fair in all institutions of learning. He loved group work where he monitored and evaluated the work done by each individual and if it was not satisfactory, he revisited until he got the right results.
In 2001, Mandy took many by surprise when he retired from public service before the mandatory age. "Some people still do not believe. But for me, it was the beginning of a new chapter," Mandy adds.
He started an education consultancy, which offers leadership training to individuals of all ages, organising public lectures, meetings and evaluation and monitoring of programmes on behalf of firms at a fee.
It is from this consultancy that Mandy has put together enough resources to come up with an autobiography about his life.
In "Self Engineering, My Success Story," Mandy talks about the factors that influenced his social, professional and spiritual growth. He narrates his fight through the maze of village paths and city highways, most of the time alone and at times, with the help of his mother and others who were there for him.
"My behaviour and outlook was partly influenced by the people I mixed with. When I am speaking to university youth, I advise them to associate with people who will influence them positively," Mandy said.
Mandy lives in a modest two bedroom apartment in Mukono with his wife, Florence Mandy, a manager at Gilman Hotels, whom he married in 1993.
In the book, he talks about Mandy as a businessman. He details practically how he is successfully managing their Gilman family hotels, giving tips on how to run a successful business.
He also teaches the community how a family can run a prosperous business and at the same time bring up successful children. The father of six, all graduates and working, with three boys overseas as engineers, Mandy is no doubt a role model to many parents.
Mandy who became a father in form four, says he kept close to all his children.
"I was around to study and develop them, he says "This was the only way I was going to know them."
Mandy wrote and acted in many plays alongside his children. One of the sons, Fardy Mandy, an electrical Engineer and Network Supervisor for the UN in Sudan acknowledges his father's efforts.
"He taught me to value simplicity in life. To be a simple person avoiding undue complexity so that people feel at ease to work and deal with me," he said.
Mandy's autobiography gives the necessary skills in managing society, how leaders can be groomed. He gives vivid examples, where as a politician and civil servant he managed to transform society through political science.
" I taught people through ChakaM'chaka and their lives changed for the better," he said. The book also gives tips on how to interact with the media. Mandy acknowledges that many civil servants do not know how to communicate through the media.
"Many are fearful and do not want to avail information to the media. They either don't know what to say or are not aware that the media cannot only develop society but also shape individuals," he says.
Prof. Timothy Wangusa, Mandy's former teacher of literature at Makerere University, says Mandy, is humorous but principled.
"He is a happy person who cracks jokes many times, but can also be very strict and tough," he adds.
Mandy joined the civil service as a 22-year-old grade five teacher in1971, before becoming resident district commissioner and then Commissioner for Inspectorate in the ministry of education in 1996. Strict and committed, he seemed like the right kind of guy to handle lazy and indisciplined civil servants. Mandy had spent years studying the education system in Uganda.
He was born to Amir Khan, a Pakistan immigrant in the western district of Kabarole. Khan served as a postmaster in Fort portal town, but left the country before Mandy was born.
Mandy's mother, Marian Nanfuka, was a peasant farmer in Kabarole district. however, for lack of better options, she moved and settled in Kyebando, near Mulago in Kampala and later got a job as a housemaid with a British family.
Young Mandy started working as a potter at the age of six to supplement on the school fees that his mother paid.
He attended the Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo (ITEK), where he graduated as a grade five teacher. He was later posted to Nyondo Teacher Training College, Mbale.
"It was the first time a fresh teacher with a diploma was posted to train other teachers in college," he says with pride.
Going to study in Kyambogo had never crossed his mind. He says he even did not know what they studied there until he found out from one of his teachers at Lubiri.S.S.
Education being his passion, Mandy was convinced that the teaching profession was the best. The profession,combined with his nerve, charm and tough instincts proved invaluable throughout his life as a civil servant.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
