Museveni is robbing the poor and lavishing the rich

 PRESIDENTIAL ROBBERY

For the last couple of months, President Museveni has been really generous. He has doled out millions of shillings in sacks to youth groups in Jinja; relinquished Buganda’s property [Ebyaffe] with 2b/= cash of the 20b/= arrears to accompany it, unconditionally; given hundreds of millions to veteran groups in Luwero and elsewhere; rewarded our golden boy, Stephen Kiprotich with a house, vehicle and all Moscow athletes with millions of shillings; motivated the Uganda Cranes with close to a billion of shillings for their world cup qualifiers against Senegal. Recently he donated about 80m/= to a church charity in western Uganda. The brown envelop appears to be dropping endlessly from Statehouse like manna from Heaven.

Unfortunately, these monies end up lining the pockets of the rich people who receive the money. In essence, the president is robbing the poor and lavishing the rich and powerful.

Two things come to mind; either the President is in a state of panic over the damning political mood in Uganda right now, or he is consciously accepting that things are not as he had always thought that they were. If the latter is true, then we have come to see a metamorphosis of a man who was once ensconced in the world of political ideologies to the world of reality - because his dream of steering Uganda to middle income country by 2017 was, in itself a symptom of an illusion, not a tenable vision.

But let’s forget his supposed transformation; let us focus on the seemingly strange act of altruism from the President. Many political analysts will agree that the act of lavishing out public money to various groups of people does not only serve to procure political favors, but it also serves to extend his patronage. The money that Mr. Museveni is donating to partisan groups is not his personal money. It is tax payer’s money which should be used for common good of all through state institutions.

When Mr. Museveni gives out cash rewards to Mr. Kiprotich, he does so on his account as the President, thereby expecting the people of Kiprotich to look up to him as the benevolent giver.  When the President doles out cash boost to the Cranes and charters private plane to fly fans to foreign lands, he does so in his individual capacity. In the same manner, when Mr. Museveni reaches out to youths, veterans, women or PWDs groups with money in the sac like a typical cowboy, he expects to fulfill personal political objectives.

One would not be bothered with who gets what kind of money from the President. But the trend is worrying for many reasons including an indication that government institutions responsible for such interest groups are literally dysfunctional.

The philosophical debate on whether altruism really exists for the sake of altruism has long dominated the worlds of psychology. In fact reading a 2010 New York Times opinion piece by Judith Lichtenberg enhanced my conviction that through an act seemingly altruistic, the President is really procuring political favors ahead of 2016 Presidential elections. Indeed, both Immanuel Kant and Freud questioned the nature of altruism because they both recognized that people’s motives are always hidden.

However, the prospects for future favors, the boost to reputation and enhancement of likability are some of the obvious reasons politicians like Mr. Museveni appear to be altruistic. In fact Mr. Museveni’s motives are palpable considering the timing and his known lifelong presidential ambitions.

It is very unfortunate that the President, who once had very clear programs and well articulated vision, has succumbed to this below pedigree approach. This blatant “Reverse Robinhood” effect - stealing from the poor and giving to the rich, are a testimony to the predicament of the many impoverished Ugandans.

When we examine the statistics of unemployment among youth, the figures are as gloomy as that of mortality rate for expectant mothers and children.  One would be duty bound to assert that the President is inadvertently admitting to his own guilt of failing Uganda by suffocating the institution of government that should distribute national resources equitably. This patronage seeking is the root of the endemic corruption in Uganda today.

The overall impression one gets is that, as long as the ordinary Ugandans continue to exert themselves, they will do so without the direct intervention of government. When they succeed, they will somehow get rewarded through the “altruistic’ gimmick of the President for publicity purposes. In essence, investing in public infrastructure, such as high altitude track and field, sports complex like Lugogo once boosted of; or putting in place scholarships in schools to support talented youths, are never a matter of ideological interest to the President. It is a pity that our own President robs us the poor to lavish the rich people!

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