ELECTIVE POLITICS & POVERTY
This week presented yet another onslaught of NRM from a by-election in Butambala. The DP Party has made a significant inroad in a place once considered a bastion of ruling NRM. Butambala is a remote district where every elected person claims to be NRM. The tales of Butambala also illuminate a relationship between supporting NRM and increasing economic disparity. People in Butambala are among some of the poorest in peaceful Uganda and Butambala stands as a replica of places with blinding loyalty to the NRM.
The victory of a former UYD firebrand and the founder of Popular Resistance Against Life President (PRAP), Mr. Muwanga Mohamad Kivumbi in Butambala is a defining moment for the NRM. It illustrates a growing consciousness that in the last 26 years of monopoly of power, the NRM has not been honest to its followers. The NRM treated those that opposed it with much contempt and detestation and considers any forms of opposition as an act of rebellion. In retaliation, opposition figures are harassed, arrested in a manner not befitting of modern human treatment and jailed without charge, just to humiliate and disengage.
What has also been evident is that most of the areas that have offered blinding allegiance to the regime have remained in perpetual state of poverty. The areas that have been actively engaging the regime have attained better results in reducing their poverty levels and self-sustenance. Many cases are there to illustrate this; take for instance Karamoja, Busoga, Bunyoro and Toro. These areas have been the poorest and most neglected regions in Uganda. Had it not been for the recent buzz in oil exploits, Bunyoro would remain a neglected region of Uganda. What Bunyoro has shared in common with Busoga are the stunning number of people living below the poverty line; those demobilized by jiggers and other adverse living conditions. Moreover, these regions have been very peaceful for the most part of the last 26 years and they have supported the NRM overwhelmingly for the same period of time.
What then are the theoretical underpinnings that can explain the similarities in regional decadence if it is not closely associated with the rather deceptive and exploitative nature of the NRM regime? There are few explanatory models to this dilemma; first, we could advance the theory of Acquired Helplessness to explain the presumed relationship between variables “supporting NRM” and “increasing levels of poverty (societal decay). Secondly, we can advance the theory of resilience to explicate the ability for self-sustenance and sporadic socio- economic growth in those areas that have maintained a mixed blend of anti/pro NRM methodology.
The theory of Acquired Helplessness is prevalent in health sciences and more so in rehabilitation sciences especially among the seniors, those recovering from illness or those enduring prolonged illnesses such as stroke and so forth. This theory posits that to provide all round support to a person in need only helps in his/her deterioration of functional abilities. It urges caregivers to promote functional skills for self-help among those whose functional abilities have been impaired by illness. The typical “NRM society” is presented in this model as one that has been demobilized by many illnesses, most importantly, corruption, injustice and impunity. The NRM is the causal agent in society that wreaks havoc on society’s functional ability to exercise their will and rights. By stealing votes, it impairs that faculty of society that should be making competent choices, thus leading to marginalization. Just like a sick body, a society riddled with such malaise, cannot function. Given the patronage, these societies quickly acquire a mindset of helplessness, the conviction that no amount of self-exertion can produce results - their true voices will never be heard and they have nothing to do about it. Their allegiances are therefore manufactured and their functional abilities thwarted remorselessly. So they are conditioned to support the regime at a cost of sheer negligence.
To the contrary, the regions that have utilized mixed methods by tolerating both NRM and opposition among its ranks have fared much better. These communities like Buganda (Luwero), Acholi, Teso, Lango etc., have developed competent faculties upon which they regulate their aspirations and strategize for national resources as serious contenders. One would assert that these regions are more conscious politically and economically to understand the true nature of the NRM. These regions have also endured the worst forms of vertical violence in the last 26 years to become resilient. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. Generally, these societies have illustrated self-reliance, independence of thought and higher levels of accountability.
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