Ugandan political leaders debate the economy

Party leaders take up President's challenge to focus on substance

Munyonyo, Uganda – In response to the call by President Museveni for all parties to increase their focus on substance and policy, six Ugandan political leaders yesterday took up the challenge, engaging in a televised debate on the issue of the country’s economy.

NIMD Conference

NIMD’s Africa Regional Conference, which began here yesterday, was privileged to receive a visit from His Excellency President Museveni who, for the first time, endorsed his country’s infant political party dialogue platform.

The official conference opening was followed by another first – a debate on the Ugandan economy, featuring representatives from all six parties with representation in Ugandan’s parliament.

The robust and lively debate, which was moderated by Angelo Izama, political correspondent for the Uganda Monitor, represented the first time that the leaders of all six parties have appeared together on the same stage discussing economic policy issues.

Participants in the debate included representatives from the five opposition parties – namely, Hussein Kyanjo (JEEMA/Justice Forum), Walyemera Daniel Masumba (Conservative Party), Yona Kanyomozi (Uganda People’s Congress), Vincent Mayanja (Democratic Party) and Augustine Ruzindana (Forum for Democratic Change) – and Amama Mbabazi, Secretary General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

Probing questions

The leaders were asked a series of probing questions by the moderator, and this offered each party an opportunity to explain its approach to the problems currently facing the Ugandan people, and to demonstrate its economic credentials.

Discussion in the all-too-short debate, which lasted for just over an hour, ranged across various topics, including the effect of the informal economy on the government’s ability to raise taxes, the issues facing Uganda’s large agricultural sector, and the always thorny issue of corruption.

The dynamics of the discussion were also interesting, with the leaders of the five opposition parties offering a range of alternate policy positions, and the government representative responding to criticisms of its track record in stimulating the economy, providing opportunities for Uganda’s poor and stemming the tide of corruption.

While Mr Mbabazi defended the government’s interventions in the economy, opposition representatives criticised the focus of these interventions, offering a range of alternative positions. Each speaker did, however, support the basic notion that the state should be involved in the economy, suggesting a convergence of social-democratic orientations.

An unanimous opposition?

This unanimity perhaps reflected the current state of politics in Uganda, which has only just recently returned to multiparty democracy after two decades of one party rule by the NRM. In this respect, Uganda’s parties are now undergoing a process whereby the opposition needs to distinguish itself from the government, despite the NRM’s previous emphasis on broad-based coalitions within government.

According to the FDC’s Augustine Ruzindana, “the missing link in our economy is about how we prioritise our expenditures. Why spend more money on security? We need to invest in key sectors such as education, health care, infrastructure – that’s how you transform the country. It requires honest government.”

The NRM’s Mr Mbabazi later stated that “Our policy is to invest in people, in universal education. The fact that the majority of people are not in the formal economy is a fact of life which can only be changed by improving the economy.”

He also responded to opposition criticisms by echoing the words of President Museveni in the conference’s opening address.

“As the President said,” stated Mr Mbabazi, “what is a party in opposition? Ideally it is one that offers viable alternative policy proposals. Where we disagree [they] should give clear alternatives, and where we agree, we should actively work together.”

The UPC’s Yona Kanyomozi rejected this position, arguing that the opposition’s role is to monitor the government’s progress in fulfilling its mandate born out of the contract between government and the people secured at the election. He also argued that there is no need for opposition parties to offer alternatives, apart from in their election manifestoes.

Meanwhile, responding to a question from the moderator on the dearth of statistical information currently available to effect proper planning, JEEMA’s Hussein Kyayo criticised the government for its lack of planning, despite the recent growth in the number of ministries, members of parliament and local government districts.

The Democratic Party’s Vincent Mayanja emphasised the need for investment in the agricultural sector. The role of government, he said, is to invest in agrobusiness, for example through electrification of rural areas so that farmers can process their crops on site, thus adding value and increasing incomes.

Tackling corruption

All participants agreed that corruption within the government and civil service has been a blight on Uganda’s ability to grow equitably and sustainably. The UPC’s Yona Kanyomozi perhaps summed it up best, by saying “When the fish rots, it starts with the head”, a reference to a traditional Ugandan proverb.

This sentiment was echoed by the Conservative Party’s Daniel Walyamera, who argued that while the necessary infrastructure to stop corruption is in place, these institutions tend to persecute the small-time offenders, while the big fish escape prosecution altogether.

The NRM’s Mr Mbabazi responded to this by saying that “the raising of awareness about corruption is all a part of the fight against it. There is nobody who is not talking against corruption in Uganda. You have to be careful when you’re listening to Ugandans,” he added, “because for them, any allegation that comes against an officer becomes evidence that that person is corrupt. But as the government, we insist that due legal process must take its course and the allegations must be proven.”

The debate was a further sign that the setting up the Interparty Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) is now beginning to ‘pay dividends’ in the form of a more level playing field, where political dialogue between parties leads to greater openness and trust.

It is hoped that the goodwill on display during the debate will continue in the lead-up to the national elections in Uganda in early 2011.