Swamp
Confessions of an Academic Pseudo-Giraffe
10.10.06
Wealth for all, please
Uganda has 333 MPs. I’d say it’s a pretty high number considering the relatively modest role they play in daily politics (everything is up to the president). But it’s nothing compared to the whopping number of ministers: 69. There are so many ministers that it took the daily papers a couple of days to settle on the truthful number after the latest elections.
The MPs at least are elected by their constituents. The ministers are hand-picked by the president. Of course he has a number of factors to consider (tribal sentiments and district balance, for example), but ultimately it’s his personal choice how many ministers he appoints and who they are. There seems to be a lot of flexibility as to the size of the Cabinet – before the elections different presidential candidates presented there plans on how many ministers THEY would have if they won.
Those who don’t know how things work might perhaps argue that ministers’ and MPs’ posts are positions of responsibility, whose occupiers should humbly serve the best interests of the people. Hell no. These posts, especially cabinet portfolios, are considered personal rewards from the president, and they can therefore legitimately be used for personal gain. The former health minister Jim Muhwezi is a fine example. He apparently stole millions from the Global Fund and other sources. When questioned on how he could use his position like that, he answered “I fought,” meaning that he was M7’s buddy more than twenty years ago when both were rebels in the bush fighting against Obote’s second government. There are at least two ways to explain this mentality: 1. everything is OK if M7 is your buddy, and 2. if one engages in armed struggle against a corrupt government, one simultaneously earns the right to be part of the next corrupt government. From the viewpoint of power, everything is justifiable. The former NRA leaders openly admit they robbed banks and shops during their own rebellion. It’s a tale about clever inventiveness, not a warning example. They needed money to buy food, and they finally made it to ruling positions, so the robberies were legitimate. It’s as simple as that.
After elections five years ago, Museveni’s brother Salim Saleh started complaining about how rudely he had been treated. He hadn’t received a minister’s portfolio. He’s an army officer with no educational qualifications. “Is it my fate to die without becoming a minister?” Saleh moaned. Well, this time he was rewarded. He is the microfinance minister (a new post, no doubt) and enjoying the perks, no doubt, as if there was no tomorrow. There are others like him. There’s usually some kind of third agriculture minister who once a year kindly instructs everyone to grow more pigs. And there’s some low-ranking minister of the roads department whose job, twice a year, is to say “Oh, sorry for that pothole. I’m working on it. First thing tomorrow”.
Because the parlamentarians are chosen by the people, the president has to use other means to make sure they are on his side. When necessary, he opens the government coffer, half of whose contents come from foreign donors. It’s not too long ago that he paid all MPs quite a bit to change the constitution to allow him a third term. Now there’s a new parliament, and new legal (read: presidential) perks for the MPs. Recently a plan was introduced to purchase luxurious 4WD vehicles to everyone. The benefit would be worth at least $40,000 per head (a primary school teacher here would make that amount, if working continuously with current-level pay, in about forty years). When the Daily Monitor asked the MPs what they thought about the plan, their faces were glowing with pleasure. Some had the decency to admit the people might not like the idea. However, they felt, after careful consideration of all factors involved, that the plan was wholly legitimate and ultimately greatly beneficial. 93 per cent are going to take the money regardless of what people think. And, by the way, Museveni is a hell of a president.
Bonna bagaggawale, as the current slogan of the ruling party goes. Wealth for all. 15:43
The MPs at least are elected by their constituents. The ministers are hand-picked by the president. Of course he has a number of factors to consider (tribal sentiments and district balance, for example), but ultimately it’s his personal choice how many ministers he appoints and who they are. There seems to be a lot of flexibility as to the size of the Cabinet – before the elections different presidential candidates presented there plans on how many ministers THEY would have if they won.
Those who don’t know how things work might perhaps argue that ministers’ and MPs’ posts are positions of responsibility, whose occupiers should humbly serve the best interests of the people. Hell no. These posts, especially cabinet portfolios, are considered personal rewards from the president, and they can therefore legitimately be used for personal gain. The former health minister Jim Muhwezi is a fine example. He apparently stole millions from the Global Fund and other sources. When questioned on how he could use his position like that, he answered “I fought,” meaning that he was M7’s buddy more than twenty years ago when both were rebels in the bush fighting against Obote’s second government. There are at least two ways to explain this mentality: 1. everything is OK if M7 is your buddy, and 2. if one engages in armed struggle against a corrupt government, one simultaneously earns the right to be part of the next corrupt government. From the viewpoint of power, everything is justifiable. The former NRA leaders openly admit they robbed banks and shops during their own rebellion. It’s a tale about clever inventiveness, not a warning example. They needed money to buy food, and they finally made it to ruling positions, so the robberies were legitimate. It’s as simple as that.
After elections five years ago, Museveni’s brother Salim Saleh started complaining about how rudely he had been treated. He hadn’t received a minister’s portfolio. He’s an army officer with no educational qualifications. “Is it my fate to die without becoming a minister?” Saleh moaned. Well, this time he was rewarded. He is the microfinance minister (a new post, no doubt) and enjoying the perks, no doubt, as if there was no tomorrow. There are others like him. There’s usually some kind of third agriculture minister who once a year kindly instructs everyone to grow more pigs. And there’s some low-ranking minister of the roads department whose job, twice a year, is to say “Oh, sorry for that pothole. I’m working on it. First thing tomorrow”.
Because the parlamentarians are chosen by the people, the president has to use other means to make sure they are on his side. When necessary, he opens the government coffer, half of whose contents come from foreign donors. It’s not too long ago that he paid all MPs quite a bit to change the constitution to allow him a third term. Now there’s a new parliament, and new legal (read: presidential) perks for the MPs. Recently a plan was introduced to purchase luxurious 4WD vehicles to everyone. The benefit would be worth at least $40,000 per head (a primary school teacher here would make that amount, if working continuously with current-level pay, in about forty years). When the Daily Monitor asked the MPs what they thought about the plan, their faces were glowing with pleasure. Some had the decency to admit the people might not like the idea. However, they felt, after careful consideration of all factors involved, that the plan was wholly legitimate and ultimately greatly beneficial. 93 per cent are going to take the money regardless of what people think. And, by the way, Museveni is a hell of a president.
Bonna bagaggawale, as the current slogan of the ruling party goes. Wealth for all. 15:43
