Matovu A. Twaha
29 November 2009
column
I read Gawaya Tegulle's piece two weeks ago; "Keep Uganda's Economy out of Gaddafi's hands now!" and I found it wanting in many aspects especially when he advocates dismissing investments made by Libyans (to him Arabs) in Uganda.
While every Ugandan of average understanding would not want to see his or her country economically occupied in the name of investment, Gawaya did not clearly state from which corner of the world some clean investment could come.
To him, the objection is on the Chinese and Arabs, and he says: "We shall consider the Chinese another day, but let us focus quite a bit on the Arabs, whose presence here is most signified by that of a certain Col. Muammar Gaddafi, President of Libya" because of their poor record in issues pertaining promotion of human rights.
Before I show a number of misconceived assumptions to him and others who may have bought his argument, let me state this: The Arab states, especially from the Gulf region, have become a basket of global financial investments. And theirs is drawn from seemingly bottomless Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).
The bankers in the West first discredited the SWF, which is money literally kept by the state on behalf of its citizens, but they're now praising its viability.
Look at the Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index. In 30th position, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, has overtaken Israel (32) -the country Gawaya is fond of praising at every opportunity - to become the Middle Eastern country perceived to be the least corrupt after Qatar (22). Globally, the list is topped by New Zealand (1), Denmark (2) and Singapore (3).
At the time of writing this I perused business pages of our newspaper here, The Gulf Today, and here were some sample headlines: "UAE to go ahead with $5bn Pakistan Refinery Project, [11th Edition of Dubai Air Show 2009] Order Book Climbs to $8.3bn on Third Day, [Abu Dhabi's airline] Etihad, IAE (International Aero Engines) in $200m Deal, [Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company] Masdar to Sign $1bn Deals With Local Firms. These are some of the headlines and actions we keep witnessing daily as the Arabs keep investing hugely in Britain, the US, Asia, Latin America and especially in West Africa and Djibouti.
With the employment opportunities that have come with Warid Telecom in Uganda, I gather there are very few UAE nationals who have heard of it and fewer are aware it is owned by their highly respected Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan.
To Gawaya, people should be afraid of the Chinese and Arabs because they're "more or less 'licenced' opponents of democracy, good governance and human rights and every cherished freedom that most governments are reluctant to let their citizens enjoy." He better tell this to the Iraqis, Afghans and Ugandans who are almost entirely controlled by the Americans and British, the 'champions' of democracy, freedom and human rights.
Second, Col. Gaddafi's money is not Arab money. It is Gaddafi's who happens to be an Arab and he is widely hated in the Arab world. By the way, a "rogue", whether he be an individual or a government, can smoothly conduct business. To understand this better, look at Iran which still runs some companies in its arch foe country, America.
I love Eritreans. Their Consul General in Dubai, Yohannes Telemichael told me two weeks ago that they resisted donations and unclear investments "from whoever. We want only partners, and that's why we're not controlled or influenced by any country." I would buy Gawaya's opinion that investments made in Uganda have to be scrutinised, only he is too selective and applies unsubstantiated arguments to make his case.
Where was Gawaya when we were showing the world the negative aspects and anomalies in the acquisition of Kalangala's forests for growing oil palm? The Arabs, interestingly, do not have money in Kalangala's palm oil project.
I do not want to dwell much on the Arabs because while many people bash them, they normally come with their bowls to beg them. I saw UK's Premier, Gordon Brown in October 2008 here. He collected $12 billion from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE alone "for the International Monetary Fund."
Some leader of a country I will not mention is about to send his beggars to the Arab states as the 2011 elections approach. If you have his ear tell him that his bashings to the Arabs is now much known since the Arab Sheikhs here have many secretaries from the Sudan and Palestine who follow international affairs with zeal. They're aware of his biggest real side. The negative side.
Mr Matovu is a Senior Reporter for the Sharjah based daily, The Gulf Today in United Arab Emirates. Regular columnist, Austin Ejiet, has been recuperating and hopefully returns soon.
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