URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Two years ago, I suffered in these inner city roads in Gulu with its manhole-size potholes like those that littered the Ring Road. Gulu had some of the most horrifying roads one could ever fathom. Two years later, I could not recognize any of these horrifying inner city Roads. Road development and the cleanliness of Gulu Municipality now have set a new standard and redefining the course of urban development. The ongoing development has reset the foundation for a rebirth of Gulu City from the horrors of two decades of war, commuter population and internment. With a little bit of green spacing, Gulu could become the greenest City in Uganda, and we should embrace such to stave off our environmental degradation.
Could the progress that I saw in Gulu exemplify FDC’s potential once it ascends to power at national and regional levels? I need to study other districts where FDC is firmly in control, like Kasese, if its leadership is as focused and outcome based as the one in Gulu. It is possible that other than a properly conceived Party ideology or its implementation, individuals have innate capacity to espouse unique traits that produce stunning results, even in the most hopeless situations. One of our own, an emerging intellectual firebrand, Ms Janette Abalo has conducted research on positive deviance for her MPH degree in Norway. By positive deviance, she refers to exceptional performers in extremely difficult situation, such as the violent corruption, sectarianism and divisive politics that have stalled development in most local governments.
My very first encounter with the Gulu LCV, Mr. Ojara Mapenduza was perhaps an impromptu one, courtesy of the sociable Nwoya MP - Hon Simon Oyet. Mr. Mapenduzi was meeting a team from ACCORD who had completed capacity building training for Local Government leaders in the Acholi region to maximize on their roles (I heard them refer to Acholi as a sub-region and I cringed). The ACCORD team spoke very well of the performances of Gulu Local Council and that reaffirmed my faith in what I had adjudged.
My impression of Mr. Mapenduzi was upfront – amiable, poised, jolly, sensitive to the comfort of his guests, and above all, very polite and respectful of everything around. He was even chaperoning for us to eat the goat meat he had roasted for his guests before it cooled! These personal traits are, perhaps, what endears him to lead the Gulu District Council with such a sense of unity and purpose.
I am told that in Gulu, once politics is done with, unity of diversity prevails immediately. This, precisely, is why in Gulu, the Electoral Commission has struggled to steal votes for the ruling Party to generate fake and corrupted leaders in vain. People here still value integrity of process and product. They know that a falsified process will produce a fake or illegitimate result. They value trusting and trustworthy leaders who can rise above trivialities and pettiness. Here, the gift of leadership is not in short supply.
I was therefore frozen in space and time in deep thoughts, as to whether the proper use of World Bank Funds to build these roads could be replicated in other urban places, townships, and Municipalities in this country. The other thoughts that flooded my mind is whether these glittering roads will be maintained for even five years.
We need more beautiful Cities like Gulu to decongest Kampala. Services should be distributed to different locations in the Country. For instance, the headquarters of Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Fisheries, should be in Gulu. Ministry of Education should operate from Karamoja etc. As is, few have the passion of living in Kampala. It is simply a painful experience of nonstop noise, risk of being run over by erudite boda boda, total lack of respect for traffic rules – lights, zebra crossings, pavements, lanes, shoulders, boulders etc. The most challenging aspect of it all you find improperly trained Police Traffic Officers commanding traffic as if they have no energy or sense of direction in their heads. In a away you start to see a conspiracy between Police and lawlessness come alive in this City. When in Kampala your life expectancy is reduced twentyfold and you feel a constant sense of doom beckoning at you!
Indeed, one must value the development in Gulu and use it to attract investments, trade and tourism. There is peace; people are travelling back and forth during odd hours, but with caution. I understand that some robbers still linger around the peri-urban areas and are known to the authorities. I am told a one notorious thug called Ojara is even known to the Police (a random person told me so, this is unqualified) in the area, and yet he is at large! I travelled in villages; the sights of permanent structures of jaw-dropping designs are sprouting sporadically, and land is becoming expensive. I wish these people leased, and not sold their land.
As I left Gulu, I was satisfied that this region carries a unique potential for growth. Its success is a manifestation of the much-desired change in governance. Whether the success of Team Mapenduzi exemplifies the potential of FDC, or that of positive deviance, it is evident, that democracy, when properly applied, can generate great and visionary leadership.
It would be cruel to end this reflective note without recognizing the other developmental partners and government agencies that have contributed to Gulu's development. It is certain that the unity of diversity is the driving force that conjoins with the vision of these leaders. However, we must fix our democracy urgently so that natural process of selection prevails to generate the type of leaders that we desire. We need leaders who can stave off this endemically corrupted regime to deliver.
End.
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