Dodgy Accounting Errors and Public Cynisism

 

By Arthur Katabalwa

 

I am looking forward to the new working week here in Uganda. More so because we have come to the end of the world cup. Now we can return to the hard work of building Uganda and see the end this season. It has been good though. I certainly didn't cry when Brazil was eliminated from the tournament. Its only a game after all.

 

One of the main talking topics last week was the explosive announcement in parliament by Hon Cecilia Ogwal about the alleged  exorbitant payments to State House employees. The figures were eye watering. The sums were impossible to comprehend. Indeed I posted online the huge gulf in payments that existed (according to that report) between them at State House and the poor teachers.

 

Now, first of all let me say that I am not normally interested in politics; Especially Ugandan politics. Truthfully I find something of the night about it all and that's not just Ugandan but generally. I do have my little causes that I fight for both here in Uganda and my other adoptive home, The United Kingdom. So, on this occasion, where I normally keep a benign interest to politics, this issue caught my eye.

 

Ever since that announcement was made in parliament, I have learnt to believe (probably) that is was a careless mistake by someone in State House. But still, I use the word "probably". I think the balance of truth lies more to the fact that it was a mistake. But the sudden disbelief and failure for some of us to completely believe the story belies another issue.

Hon Frank Tumwebaze

 

You see, I can unashamedly say that in my youth I was an ultra NRM supporter. And I am not ashamed of that record. In fact I am proud of it. But like some in my generation, that fizz has disappeared. Gone are the days when we hanged on, match sticks in our eyes to watch the President in a far off land with maize in his brief case wanting to do barter trade so as to get this country out of the doldrums. The idea in itself was ingenious! Barter trade. And yes, those were the days that we sang the national anthem whole heartedly. But then what happened to find that many people now haven't watched a Presidential Speech in years? Why is it that we have the government of Uganda ashamedly falling asleep through the budget speech? Its a shame! Because like the saying says "Abantu Bakoowu".

 

When that announcement was made in Parliament, people were being slaughtered by the tens in Bundibugyo and the surrounding districts. A huge tragedy in itself on the people of Uganda. Yet I detected, maybe unscientifically, that to many people in other parts of the country, the tragedy was being left in the newspapers. This is the kind of cynicism that is creeping into the hearts and minds of Ugandans. The same cynicism that's making many Ugandans fail to agree with the report made by Hon Frank Tumwebaze; who also in my view has lost a bit of credibility with the public after that Kampala Mayor stuff. You see, Tumwebaze (with all his honesty [probably]) took the bullets for the government in that debacle. When he was then fronted to clear up the mess of that dodgy accounting error, people viewed him with disdain.

 

Whether it was a clerical error or not, there will always be those who will not be persuaded otherwise. They have there valid reasons. State House has not been seen as very transparent with the public purse. The public is concerned about the endless "supplementary budgets", the masses of Presidential Advisors; that list of the allegedly highly paid state House employees (what do they all do by the way apart from Sarah Kagingo?) and the feeling that there is a parallel government run from Nakasero. The interesting thing though is that the head of it all, President Yoweri Museveni seems to be above the fray. Single handedly, the public seems to want to isolate him from the scandals like an elderly father.