Make public administration and politics generally less attractive

ABUSE of POWER

For a couple of years now, Hon. Beti Olive Kamya has attempted to convince the nation that Presidential powers ought to be tamed. Beti has recognized that the excess power vested in the President of Uganda by the 1995 Constitution - as variedly amended - is the mainstay of abuse of public trust. Beti appears to argue that it is the lavishing of such excessive power in the office of the President that affords the occupant unfettered confidence to abuse power.

Whereas Beti’s arguments seem plausible on the surface, a critical scrutiny of it shows some cracks in the fabrics of that belief. I am compelled to believe that the real problem with African society is not about absolute power that is vested in its leaders; rather, it is how that power is accumulated. It is about the way the people conceptualize power, leadership and governance.

It is no doubt that the power that is vested in the leaders originates from the people. Evidences are there to illustrate that however powerful a leader maybe, if the people were to resolve to challenge abuse of power, they would. This happened in Burkina Faso, Tunisia and elsewhere. 

A conscious population therefore, is the basis of good governance heralded by moderate exercising of power and distribution of it. Power in every society depends largely on the resolve and consciousness of the masses who apportions it, regulate or normalize its use. 

The Ugandan society lacks that level of consciousness to unify against abuse of power. In fact, some people are even contemplating whether Britain left Uganda too soon and they would invite the British back if possible.

The challenge of exercising power in Uganda is not any different from that in Kenya, Tanzania or Zambia. The variation lies in the consciousness of those citizens. When you google “abuse of power in Africa”, you will be surprised with 99,200,000 entries on that subject. Contrast that with “abuse of power in Asia”, 71,500,000, and Latin America, 14,200,000 entries - all generating within 0.59 seconds or thereabout. Given the poor culture of documentation in these regions, these figures may also reflect variations in the levels of consciousness across the three least developed continents of the world.

Suppose Beti has a point, how would she redistribute the power effectively in Uganda where every person strives to gain power for self perpetuation? Beti has to produce a blue-print of her proposal for public scrutiny. For now, it’s unconvincing to assert that the excessive Presidential powers is the major source of Uganda’s problems without enumerating how that power is accumulated.

Under the tenure of Mr. Museveni, it is even more challenging to effectively resolve the problems of power redistribution because of political corruption, an ideology of perversion and narcissism.

There is an inherent absurdity in the fact that the Ugandan society is now fully compliant with the corruption. In fact, the process of abuse of power begins with tribalism, favouritism and culminates with bribe soliciting; monetary or otherwise, during elections. This act signifies the sanctioning and normalization of corruption through which the society subverts its own interests. Through that vice, the people relinquish their will and with it, the power, to the “elected” individual. This makes power tendering a lucrative deal such that an astute President, whether he is made powerless through a constitutional amendment, will always amass power by bribing and procuring unprincipled allegiances.

In my view, making public administration and politics generally less attractive is the most effective way to tame the power problem in Uganda. By lowering wages and privileges of politicians, banning any forms of bribery during elections, and punishing those who violate electoral rules by steep jail terms and a ban of violators from contesting in subsequent elections; ensuring a minimum qualification of at least five years of experience in public and/or private sectors, and instituting term/age limits for every elective position, will certainly restore credibility to our politics.

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