I contend that NRM has outlived its purpose

 POLITICS

There seems to be a general and yet not-so subtle consensus that the NRM regime has completely outlived its usefulness. At least events in the last week illustrate so.

The arrest and subsequent extra-judicial detention of a little known author, Vincent Nzaramba over his publication “People Power: Battle the Mighty General” was one event that put the NRM regime on the global slide over its human rights record. This arrest became a historical landmark and signature of the NRM on its record of repressing intellectual rights. This is not the first time they have harassed an author who is critical of the tyranny. In October of 2010, Dr Kobusingye’s Book, “The Correct Line”, was also impounded and copies confiscated. Other notable authors and intellectuals like Editor Andrew Mwenda and others have been occasionally detained and harassed by state agencies for being openly critical of the excesses of the regime.

President Museveni was also on the spotlight, albeit, with his trademark mockery of Ugandans. The DM reported three interesting stories; two on September 21 (See: Museveni, Mbabazi join Entebbe by-elections and, Oil becoming diversionary - Museveni) and the other on 22 (see: Museveni says NRM firm to supply sugar).

While at Entebbe for the campaign in a by-election pitting DP’s Muhammed Kawuma against NRM flag bearer, Patience Tusimire Mubangizi, Museveni was quoted to have blamed the opposition groups for the chronic power outages that have plagued the nation. In the second article, Museveni was in Hoima commissioning a school laboratory at Canon Njagali High School. It was reported that Museveni persuaded the Banyoro to desist from the allure of investing in the oil industry. He advised them to continue investing in their traditional subsistence forms of agriculture.

In the third article,  Museveni issued statement to the press prior to his departure to India, in which he seemed to have switched position on the sugar deficiency in Uganda by blaming “greedy traders” for the short supply of sugar and threatened that only NRM firms would be contracted to supply sugar to Uganda.

These three stories illustrate the perils of political dishonesty of this NRM regime. It is obvious that Museveni has long pursued objectives outside NRM ideology. If Mueveni remorselessly blames the opposition for the power outages and persuades indigenous Ugandans not to invest in oil industry, then we are inclined to conclude that his agenda is mutually exclusive and suspect. The opposition groups are so small and have been largely ineffective in shaping policies and its implementation at every level of government in Uganda in the last three decades.

Further, electricity crisis in Uganda is historically situated in privatization policies of NRM and their IMF/WB mentors. When Museveni doled out Uganda Electricity Board to his croonies, his assumptions were that a private sector player would provide better services to Ugandans. What is also obvious is that mostly NRM leaning investors and agencies are the ones who have been central in brokering most raw deals that Ugandans have ended up with. In the case of Umeme, there are no competitors.

In Museveni’s Uganda of today, most business transaction are conducted by NRM insiders and they influence quite a bit of decisions as to who takes what. Any opposition leaning or independent minded individuals are practically excluded or detained. In that case, NRM agents and firms are the sole producers and perpetuators of corruption. They brood, reproduce and sustain corruption in the pretext of pursuing NRM agenda.

Given the above, one would wonders how the opposition have interfered with power generation and whether there would be any difference in who imports sugar or not because Museveni or NRM have no control over its corrupt machinations. What this translates to me is that, the so-called NRM leaning firms are those that will be fronted by Museveni’s children, relatives and obviously, the regular notables who are already webbed in the corruption chains.

Museveni should accept his failures and permit the proliferation of new ideas and mindsets that will salvage Uganda from its current predicament. Museveni and NRM have proven that their time is up!

END.