What is therefore, bereft of this nation? The answer is straight on the wall: Cry the beloved country!
To wit: A country where child sacrifice is on the rise and the culprits are never brought to book just because of evidence beyond reasonable doubt has not been adduced and in defense of the human rights of the killer as if the killed did not have rights also.
A country where female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced abundantly and with abandon in the name of culture. The next time a culture that removes people’s eyes will evolve and in the same vein, this country will obviously absolve it. Primitive Idi Amin would have criminalised such a culture.
A country where fires incinerate markets, night clubs, schools and nobody learns a lesson to prevent future fires by way of criminalising all such institutions without functional fire extinguishers, sand or training in fire drills?
According to the press in the recent Nakivubo inferno, the water hydrants around the area were empty at the time of the catastrophe. Where were the people responsible for monitoring the state of the hydrants? Unless charges are preferred on people for negligence, no sobriety will prevail in Uganda and with forests of petrol stations in and around Kampala, this country is apt to become ashes one day.
A country where building standards are not followed and the powers that be stand aloof as these dangerous structures proliferate at the alter of killing innocent, poor site porters. I bet, even if Mulago collapsed, the country would only shed crocodile tears and life would go on because Ugandans never learn through experience. Cry the beloved country.
A country where safety belts, helmets, life jackets and speed governors are deemed a burden from the Police instead of a primordial prevention for accidents.
A country where, in the implementing of its constitutional mandate in preventing diseases such as malaria, the health ministry is taken to court just for trying to save the lives of 320 persons that succumb to the disease, because the plaintiffs have obscurant political and economic and other myopic intentions against the wananchi. If this country was not crying, it would have charged such people for murder afore thought!
A country where some people have jiggers and want the Government to extract the jiggers for them. These are the same people who will get cholera after eating fresh feaces because they do not want to build and use pit latrines.
A country where most people cannot afford health charges at any health facility when they or their siblings become indisposed and when the Government endeavours to ameliorate the situation by the introduction of the health insurance scheme, they cry foul including the elite who pretend to be protecting these people.
Ironically, when these people become victims of disease, the said opponents of the scheme cannot even contribute one shilling for these people’s treatment at the critical time of need!
A country where poor women sweep Kampala roads and drain feacal infected drainage systems without masks or gloves and with dust entering their lungs with a potential of acquiring chest infections. Nobody ever bothers to sue companies that flout labour laws in this regard. Cry the beloved the country!
A country where the youth smoke bangi, use khanabis, inhale aviation fuel and sober members of society watch as if they do not know that these youths will be a danger to them and their families tomorrow.
A country where we talk of modernisation of agriculture without even the concerned ministry putting one hand tractor in at least one village. How do you expect the wananchi to walk the talk when they are still using muscle power like the stone age man?
A country where government property, such as vehicles rot in ministry compounds without being disposed of by the Public Procurement and Disposal Authority so that monies accruing from such sales are used to procure replacements?
A country where people living at the equator cry foul when there is no hydro power when the majority would have invested in solar energy for domestic use and pay no bills to God who created the sun rather than Umeme?
A country which discovers oil and people start writing and discussing and calling this blessing a ‘curse’. If this country was not crying, it would curse these people instead.
A country where patriotism let alone nationalism is deficient. Where support for Air Uganda, the country "flag" bearer is not even in the minds of government officials who ply the routes that this airline operates, but preference is to foreign airlines. If I had powers, I would make all government officials use this airline to inculcate the element of patriotism.
Relevant Links
There are many other things this country can continue lamenting over. The quest bereft of us is, do we have to continue like this? The answer to any sober thinking person is, no. I would personally suggest the following; that government strengthens and ensures that laws, policies, ordinances in regard to the above are implemented. Parliament should honour budgets in connection to items related to these cries.
Secondly, Parliament should pass a Bill creating an autonomous body to regularly monitor and evaluate the state of affairs in every sector, ministry or organisation and report to the concerned ministries and Parliament for action. The wananchi are entitled to living in a country that can protect them rather than crying everyday without any rescue.
