Elections In Uganda: Is Change Possible?

By Jacob Waiswa Buganga

It is election season in Uganda and other parts of the World.

It is time for prospective leaders to contest for power to serve citizens and experience 'successful' careers in politics.

Ms. Nancy Linda Kalembe - a Presidential Aspirant in Uganda,

There is one issue for sure that prospective leaders never mention: the fierce search for jobs and survival, or at least be recognised and open new opportunities for future appointments. They are like any other citizens who chose different avenues to find sources of livelihood.

Service to one's country has been most noble since the introduction of formal democracy around the World. However, it has had a sharp twist in recent years, when individual ambition to exercise power before others has proven stronger aspiration than the real desire serve and change lives of fellow citizens. The rhetoric is citizens' concern, yet in practice, concerns about the self matters most.

https://youtu.be/WG-IQXQ7_4s

Museveni (above) at one of the international press interviews revealed the truth about what and for whom he really stood for since coming to power in 1986

His statement on being a servant of his children and grand children only did not affect support he had and still enjoys, because of vested interests supporters have in his rule, as protection of business interests and enjoyment of favours in case of any threat to such interests.

While everyone has a duty to determine a leader of his or her choice, over time, those in power have restricted citizens' efforts to decide who that person should be, and even influenced decisions against national values. This has not gone on without opposition. The question though is: how effectively organised, knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced are they? Even with the experience they have, have they learned anything, or are simply time-wasters?

Patrick Oboi Amuriat -the president of leading opposition political party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)

Despite the limited success at changing leadership, very costly elections are organised every 5 and exhausted voters asked to actively participate. It is costly in terms financial resources spent, lives maimed or lost, and further deterioration of the quality of life of citizens. But, then, it goes on and on.

If loss of lives is the cost for a successful election contest, of what relevancy is such an election, when millions continue to live in poverty and social services are limited in quality and access? An election should be one, not a game or joke as it has proven to be in recent years. In fact, lowly voices argue that, other than run costly and unproductive elections, it is best for those in power to invest in social services and improve citizens' quality of lives. A section of the opposition, noteable People Power/ NUP believe that any earlier efforts by the opposition was comedy, and at no time would Museveni stay in power, even after rigging elections. However, experience has so far indicated that they never live by their word and cannot be trusted. Often, NUP leader was seen escaping arrest or confrontation with security personnel, while below they can be seen without berrets or red tops, which they vowed to wear as long as they existed.

People Power / NUP Party spokesman shortly after confrontation by security security forces.

People Power / NUP leader in red tie after going through a test of his own courtesy of security forces

While, again, everyone may have the power to influence leadership, much of what can be seen indicate practices like vote-buying and selling, supporting incumbent to guarantee security of one's property and business dealings, voting based on perceived chances of candidate winning elections, and culture of election-rigging that ensures preservation of the statusquo.

Nevertheless, election time still provides an opportunity to turn despair into fortune, to turn hopelessness into hope, to reawaken veteran voters to play active role in elections, to organise effectively and massively towards ultimate victory, and to strategically defend people's victory with the best mechanism to successfully deter alteration of voter numbers. If any such actions are impossible for the opposition, in their respective formations, then it is better to save one's effort and those of the people, time and resources, or even avoid risks to live through destruction of livelihoods, injury or death.

As interested citizens surge to contest for leadership, voters must seek for accountability from, first; the incumbents, much of which is lived experiences; second, assess individual personality and values of political parties in relation to aspirations as masses, and probe their knowledge, skills, experiences in leadership, and abilities shown in solving past challenges. He or she should not be a leader who says one thing and does another, or one who is renowned for self-talk, self-gratification, or whose message does not make sense, and are impractical, whose talk is usual noise and meaningless.

Leadership of a country should not be about ability to excite people and shift moods from one end to another. It should be about having knowledge of the country's policies and policy gaps, from which to build from planned actions.

It should be about understanding the real needs of the population and drawing interventions to address them in the order of priorities, and on record time.

Amb. Irene Wekiya, former NRC Jinja City and integrity of Parliament.

It should be about strongest desire to serve others rather than protect own interests as leader, or business interests of the individual. He or she should be a leader for all and have a national outlook, without regards to where he or she comes from.

It should be about ability to explain his or her vision and articurate clearly the very needs of the population, describe with accuracy and in a replicable and comprehensive manner how such needs will be translated into tangible goods and services, envisioned, and in a reasonable time, like within a year rather than 10 or 30 years.

It should be about a leader, who will render current generation of youths productive rather than let them expire intelletually and physically, or even face extinction without any known contribution to the country or themselves. These youths should able to leave a legacy behind for newer generations to inspired-to-aspire, as Prof. Amb. Badru Kateregga loved to say during his very arousing and memorable lectures.

Wanzala Richard has been champion of youth causes since 2004.

It should be about a leadership that can make use of existing manpower to contribute towards the economy without undermining the integrity of the natural environment, and ensure sustainable livelihoods of families.

This leadership should guarantee families effective means to secure decent shelter, nutrious for healthy development of children, decent income, quality healthcare, and quality education for their children. There is no best guarantees for sustainable security and peace for all, including reigning leader and his expendables, as securing quality services for sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing of citizens that no weapons of mass destruction can guarantee. Instead, they are rendered dormant and non-essential, or unjustifiable to dwell on as the basis of security.

It should be about leaders, who respect life and work towards nurturing it. Otherwise, how can a fox be the shepherd or even part of the sheep? It should be elsewhere.

It should be about leaders, who have strong foresight, enough to undo impending danger, prepare in advance for undesirable scenes with high-degree risk management strategy in pursuit of ultimate goals, and put in place systems and mechanisms for safety of his or her people, including ensuring confidentiality of information sources, or one that could endanger anyone in their political parties, against the increasing uncompromising, insensitive, robotic, and reckless security agencies.

They should exercise high-degree intelligence and awareness of the dangers at-hand posed by the incumbent, enough to win confidence of citizens and faith that change is possible, while pursuing leadership and a country for all to be proud of as citizens, where future of all citizens lay and disinterested in facing racism and xenophobia in other countries, with leaders who value lives of their people and work tirelessly and meaningfully towards prosperity for all.

Jacob Waiswa Buganga at an International Event

The author is a peace psychologist and founder of IMI-BMA

Mental Health and Governance in Uganda

MENTAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE
Psychologically, the ekimeza (round table discussions) offered an opportunity for frustrated and disappointed citizens to vent such psychopathological conditions off –which alone was therapeutic as affected participants will leave the forum calmer and feeling better than they came –having ‘blown’ out the toxics of anger on those leaders that betray their people. In the same way as earlier noted above, the need for identification can have significant influence on stability of the state once that state fails to respect such a need.  But according Whitman (2005:2), the objective of policy was to preserve and increase the relations (like ekimeza) we value and to exclude or reduce the relations we hated. Preserving hate feelings only generated conditions for conflict rather than peace.

Good governance catered for citizens’ cultural (leadership), political (decision making),  economic rights (access to development opportunities) and safety concerns –which if the government of Uganda had valued as one way to grant wellness and peace to a society that deserved such rights, violence would not have occurred. True measure of good governance was its ability to deliver development based on realizing people’s humanrights.  Indeed, the cultural-led violence was merely a spark that triggered the silence conflicts of economic deprivation, ineffective representation, and hopelessness of life under the sets of political, economic and security rights or concerns of the people of Uganda, as the case in point.

It can be submitted, now, that there is  need to let ebimeeza (plural) flourish at all leaves as forums to brainstorm societal problems, for problem-solving, for venting and psychological healing or peace and for enabling policy reform and formulation for the benefit of the common man, and for healthy relationship building as meaningful avenues for good governance and peace-building. However, more research is needed to define and set limit of the ekimeza/group discussions so that, while it assumes the rights and freedoms of assembly, information and expression, and appreciative of its responsibilities to society and governance, it knows it limits for orderliness Uganda and common good of its people.

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Mental Health Seminar: Call for Applications

Integrated Mental Health Initiative (IMI)
Presents
“Sustaining Mental Wellness”
Seminar

Date:   6th June, 2018  and 10th June 2019
Time: 10am -3pm

Period: 5 daysVenue: Narambhai Road, Plot 15, Jinja
Partners: Afrikan Yoga, Makarere University, and Black Herbals International.Speakers: Kiwanuka (Black Herbals), Pablo Imani (Afrikan Yoga) Dr Juuka (IIAM), Massade (Nutreal Ltd), and Prof. PeterK.Baguma (School of Psychology, Makerere University).
Subjects: Holistic Mental Health, Life-Style
“Achieving sustainable mental wellbeing”
Organising: Integrated Mental Health Initiative (IMI)


Work Plan

1. Bookings
2. Contact Speakers for confirmation. (Dr Juuka, Elder Kiwanuka, Prof. P.K. Baguma.
3. Contact potential sponsors: Sponsors/donors will have logo on flyer.
4. Stall Holders: Space for business and organisations to hold a stall within the hall to raise awareness of their products and organisation. Stall holders incur a small fee. Sponsors can be stallholders.
Potential Sponsors and Stall holders: NOGAMU National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda. Forever Living Products Uganda, ACACIA Yoga Centre
PHONICS Uganda, AIRTEL, ECOBANK. NATURE UGANDA. AIRTEL UGANDA, In Foris Group Connecting (U), NTV, SIMBA fm.
Serena Hotel, Imperial Hotel.
5. Contact faculties and departments: Psychiatry, Mental health and Psychology Botany, Agriculture, Food Science & Technology faculties (Makarere University) The involvement of 1-2 (persons) members of the faculties above to team with organisers to conduct roles within the organisation of the event. (Confirm faculty involvement life-line 21/05/16)
6. Set roles and duties of Faculty Members: Flyers, Raising awareness, Registration, Assisting Stall holders, Ushering, Preparation of Venue, Clearing Venue.
Note. Faculty members may have to utilise text communication to raise awareness of the event.

BUDGET (Life-line items)
Hall hire
Printing of A5 5,000 –10,000 full colour flyers
Printing of A2 Poster 50-100
Stationery, notebooks and pens.
Photocopying
Expenses: Transportation, Meals for speakers
Expenses Organisers and faculty members: communication airtime and travel

To register $150 for nationals and $400 for internationals, including accommodation
To SPONSOR the event, FUNDRAISE or DONATE, please contact us.
See www.integratedmentalhealth.org
www.facebook.com/integratedmentalhealthinitiative

Urban Youth Unemployment: Which Way to Go?

Jacob Waiswa, Peace Centre,

Makerere University

June, 2012

 

Unemployment is a common global challenge responsible for the increasing instabilities recorded in recent years and putting pressure governments to reform and create meaningful policies to reduce it, so that citizens realize their dreams of career, social, economic and spiritual fulfillment. Without those life goals, the citizens are reduced to miserable; psychologically insecure, healthily insecure, food-wise insecure, personally or physically insecure, economically insecure, politically insecure, and spiritually insecure.

The phenomenon is massive in urban areas, where land is scarce, opportunities for development are few, and society is highly classified to favor access of national resources and benefit from the available resources by a given class of people. In the developing countries favor goes to members of the ruling families and their close friends.

For a country like Uganda, agriculture, which presently employs 70% of the population directly or indirectly has land (the most important factor of production) limited to areas distant from urban centers yet lacking technological awareness, leadership foresight and priorities, and integrity. 

Urbanization influences population patterns. It is constantly spreading in rural and semi-rural areas, leading to shifts in development statuses of those areas from being merely periodical auction centres to trading centres, from trading centres to towns, from towns to municipalities, and from municipalities to cities of various degrees of modernization. 

The developments come with attractions to mainly young people in form of entertainment, modern dressing styles, generally good life, jobs of all scales, better education, better health facilities, better market prices or market for items, places for adventure, and areas to best nurse dreams for success.

Rapid urbanization and industrialization makes a strong case for rural urban areas. In Uganda, the present and former industrial parks have neighborhoods infested by congested settlements by people, who came from distant areas of the country; as far as Arua, Teso, Lango, Acholi, Karamoja, Toro, Ankole and so on. To some, several generations have risen up in and around urban settlements.

In pursuit of good life and prosperity, internal immigrants are faced with stiff competition for development opportunities, which suffocates their ambitions; forced to resort to unethical and crude means of reaching life goals like bribery and corruption in recruitment institutions while frustrated youths move in robberies or killing to survival, or remain a time-bomb for future violence.

Congestion adds lots of seemingly invisible yet calamitous events. Daily life frustrations generally yield aggressive attitudes to the hardy personalities, and that is furthered in day-to-day errands like driving and health decision-making for other road users. Ever occurring accidents are thus inevitable and threaten lives. But also encroachment on forestland and wetlands has led to destruction of the environment and, in turn, worsened the livelihood situation through global warming, water scarcity, and famine.

The trend provokes concern among the political class, barely indicating it their responsibility to resolve the crises. When no solution is found, the countries run done into the valleys of battles to vent their frustrations or for the leaders to defend their greed and anti-people policies. Such were direct outcomes of the Arab spring revolutions in 2011 and of the on-going protests around the world as new approaches to making points to those in power, who are obliged to change the statuesque; about unemployment and unbearable economic situations.  In some countries, however, citizens have been forced to assimilate or to stomach their troubles, without having to express dissatisfaction. Governments achieve that through highly stringent laws.

From the mental public health perspective that gives rise to a sick population; very aggressive and destructive one, even to the personal-self. Besides, the population is so poor that it cannot afford basic needs, including proper nutrition and health care, or not even in position to exercise the discipline of preventive health. The biggest health challenge in developing countries has been maternal health.

Today, conception is a ‘junction’ between life and death. Citizens are too poor to afford critical care services, which leaves them with one choice; public health care facility, where negligence, lack of motivation, and limited personnel add to the ‘insult.’ Reducing the unemployment burden, among other anti-poverty initiatives could provide a new lease of life for citizens.

Uganda is one of the most corrupt nations in the world with a poor attitude towards the fight against corruption. Prosecution of corrupt people is discriminative. And because corruption is highly structured, the leadership is culpable. So the heads of anti-corruption crusades are forced to reach a compromise with corrupt administration in order to save their jobs. But population growth is at uncontrollable levels rendering governance difficult. Unless more resources are identified to keep with the pace of increasing population, so that industrialization is supported and the development the service sector reinforced to generate opportunities for job seekers and promote entry into production of private individuals, urban unemployment will be prevalent.

Government who are architects of science training have gone further to propose higher salaries to science professionals and incentives to science training. This however is another source of inequality and future disharmony. And there is no way security of the country can be guaranteed amidst widespread unemployment, high peak poverty, food insecurity, rising human insecurity, and ecological insecurity. The focus of professionalising the army to fight physical insecurities can always be a temporary fix and would not stand without the dealing with other forms of insecurity. However, it can facilitate their realisation.

Insecurity has been prevalent since 2005 climaxing into the 2011 protests expressing discontent about the economy and its managers. These though have been responded to by force of arms rather than through addressing real issues: urban unemployment. Despite the repressive approach to suppressing protests, inward responses (maladaptive) and interpersonal conflicts equally prevalent while waiting for widespread violence and eventual political collapse. Domestic violence was equally high in 2011 and early part of 2012. It is unthinkable for tax officials go about coercing citizens to pay tax when no income-generating activities exist for them to earn taxable incomes. As a consequence, the government runs out of revenues to run essential economic development initiatives.

While the government of Uganda is keen to attract foreign investors, it is beginning to grade them to fit the real demands of its nation. And already the immigrations have taken a step to scrutinize the so-called investors for validity authorization to work in the country. If this is emphasized foreign investment will turn out to be meaningful to the economy. It will be interesting approach encouraging industrialization outside urban areas, as it would not only help create employment but also to decongest the city, to facilitate protection of wetlands, and to facilitate improvement of public health. The country’s monitoring and evaluation system is influenced by the history of dictatorship, where passing decrees without accountability is the norm. It is another case of a structural problem that requires years of rehabilitation to make the M & E potent and ensure support to citizens’ economic dreams. The same is the case with the 77% lack of acknowledge of government efforts to eradicate poverty.

The choice over what training program to pursue is dependent largely on psychological and physical qualities. Unfortunately, the present economic environment shows limited opportunities in the public sector while its governance is marred with corruption, which chokes fair distribution of development opportunities. Current education, therefore, ceases to concentrate on ascertaining job availability for recent graduates to providing general knowledge and skills to adapt to numerous career roles and environment needs. For example, where the public sector fails to serve its people, the freely welcoming and accommodating private sector can be taken advantage of by graduates in a short-run while awaiting the jobs of their dreams. In fact, any training program should be one that prepares students for creative and management roles to survive and thrive in all situations.

It is notable that absence of leadership to manage the population and welfare needs (through effective planning, innovations, and employment) of the people is responsible for the limited participation in production process, poverty, widespread discontent, and violent protests. The youths have particularly been marginalised until early this year when funds were set aside to support youth initiatives. Only 37% showed they could explore their potential and rise to greater levels of development.

The congestion is one aspect of urban living that adds to the frustration and misery of unemployment. Encouraging industrialisations away from congested areas would help to evenly spread development, control migrations, manage well health and security issues, and, of course, provide employment opportunities to youths in their upcountry home areas.

The recruitment system is not only a victim of circumstances, as high population and limited opportunities (or stiff competition) for jobs in both the private sector and government, but also that background prompts job-seekers and recruitment agencies to apply unethical ways to achieve a common objective: ‘give me I give.’ That makes the recruitment system unfair as was showed at 78%.

Good investment is one which puts into perspective national resources, national needs, and national interests for sustainable well-being of a country’s citizens. For example, agriculture, being the biggest employer at 70% to 76% should have been given priority by decision makers and investment promoters. Unfortunately, the new threat (land grabbing) is spreading fast across the country-side and denying peasants the main source of livelihood (food production). Conflict is always a direct outcome of poor investment as was indicated by 52% dissatisfaction after it failed to address the needs and interests of the nation. 

Swift development according to desired time-frames cannot occur without the critical tool of monitoring and evaluation (M & E). It is an excellent application where people share a common background, common aspirations, common challenges, and have a shared responsibility in achieving common goals. However, the traditional is still new and institutionally weak. It is mostly emphasized in civil society bodies and found within them; it is the norm. With it limited in government institutions, impact in line with the aspirations of the people, too, is limited. Instead citizens are only preyed on by both their leaders, local capitalists (or agents of foreign firms), and foreign firms at the expense of the welfare of its people as they further give room to environment degradation, corruption, institutional decay, and entrenched citizens miseries. That explains the constant disharmonies between government and its people with dissatisfaction of the M & E tool at 79%.

While new thinking presses on innovations and entrepreneurship development, away from job seeking behavior, that thinking need to be concreted and developed across the country with a nationalistic backing of the government. Doing so would not only help develop citizen hidden potentials, but work to support other citizens through creation of employment opportunities, and provide an opportunity for every Ugandan to have some kind of project they run, for short and long-term benefit. Indeed a job-maker, at some point, dictates how much he or she would earn and when to take holidays, an element that lack or limited in most work-places. Otherwise, the focus of government, like other regimes elsewhere in Africa to focus on repressive tactics as remedies to popular discontent, provide no solutions, only worsens the situation.

Constitutionalism and Peace: Case of Kampala City in Uganda

Jacob Waiswa, Peace and Conflict Graduate Program, Department of Religion and Peace Studies, Makerere-University, Kampala-Uganda

Constitutionalism is the biggest challenge in Uganda, without which attainment of peace remains a dream.

From the Lancaster-drafted constitution concluded in 1962 to today, motivated by greed, the document has undergone a series of amendments, including changing systems of governance and the lifting of term limits; to match it with the contemporary needs, interests, and positions of stakeholders.

As a consequence, delivery of social goods and services became constrained, leading to misery of the majority of the population. The state of affairs amounts to conflict. When war is eminent, government loses control, gets filled with irrational fears, and only worsens the violent situation.

 It is only until interventions are made will the population realize and work for peace. Peace is always a central destiny for belligerents regardless of the gravity of the conflict.

The interventions are led by the civil society, mainly international agencies, who work to resurrect citizen desire for socioeconomic and sociopolitical order in transit to viable democratic state.

Constitutionalism is, thus, an important approach for conflict prevention, management, and transformation to achieve sustainable peace, which is possible if the collective ideals of citizens are incorporated to peacefully moderate relations along the path of development.

Is it Conflict or Peace in Uganda? An Expert View on Land

Jacob Waiswa,

Peace and Conflict Program,

Makerere University,

Kampala, Uganda

 

With the population of Uganda at 33 million, available natural resources are quickly and continuously facing exhaustion, rendering the next generations to come at risk of extreme starvation.

The struggle by Ugandans to survival has led to both psychological and physical insecurity. High crime rate involving murderous act are reported everyday in the media, diminished confidence in government has increased pressure on it to deliver through violence.

Already 52% Ugandans are food insecure. Only 48% Uganda households were food secure. More than 800 million in 20% of the population suffers from chronic under nutrition. Millions more are vulnerable to malnutrition.

The forests and wetland are other victims of population explosion, whose fate (global warming) affects everyone, though the peasant are most, or affected first. When it rains heavily, there is natural violence due to floods, and disease pandemics such as cholera.

It has over the years scored high in areas formally national protection areas, as out-of-bounds for human settlement, for example Bwaise, lowlands of Rubaga, the Golf Course, Lugogo, Nakivubo, Bugoloobi, and Namanve. Wetlands occupy 13% of the Uganda surface. Settlers in such areas are emigrants who left sufficient hectares of land in rural areas.

That has increased congestion in Kampala’s slums, the apathy of poor sanitation, insecurity, and disease outbreaks; time and again. Wetlands are fraudulently acquired for development by investors, with clear knowledge the national environment authority. When the quest for jobs fails, the youthful population becomes a menace to government, city management, and fellow citizens who may find the economic situation unbearable.

The discovery of oil in western Uganda has spread both uncertainty and fortune: uncertain because unsuspecting peasants in oil-rich areas are being hoodwinked by moneyed investors to sell of their land without the right information for them to make commercial decisions. As a result they lose arable land without sufficient compensation to find alternative lands for agriculture, and being food secure in a couple of years is almost impossible.

Most of the foreign firms secure land for investment fraudulently, costing the nation billions of shillings. The heat of conflicts, regardless of where they occurred are felt in the capital, Kampala through emigration and immigrations, and their subsequent effects like land wrangles, encroachment of protected areas, poor sanitation, unemployment and insecurity..

Foreign investors may form 100 percent foreign-owned companies and majority or minority joint ventures with local investors and may acquire or take over domestic enterprises. Uganda's reformed commercial legal system is far faster at case resolution than the rest of the country's legal system. Residents and non-residents may hold foreign exchange accounts. There are no restrictions or controls on payments, transactions, or transfers.

The colonial legacy contributed to future conflicts on land that, until now the conditions for conflicts are visible, ever waiting for sparks. The 1900 agreement gave Buganda a privileged position in the Uganda protectorate.

Land in Buganda had always been a political and economic tool held by the Kabaka in trust for his people, and through his chiefs and clan leaders, though generally owned by the people. In September 11, 2012, government restriction of the Buganda’s king to free move about his territories, traditionally belong him, led fierce protests, which an estimated 40 unarmed Ugandans died.

The lands secured are often not appropriate for human settlement; they are either wetlands or forests, while industrialization in some other areas necessitates eviction of city immigrants, some of whom are refugees. It can be noted that 40% of the rain is generated by forests and wetland.

By encroaching on them, rainfall formation patterns begin to stagger backwards. Attempts by forestry and wild life officials to rid natural reserves of people, was and for a long time turned violent.

Such are continuous cause of conflict between law enforcers and settlers, between developers and environment activities, and above all; between settlers and environment hazards like cholera. Those conditions represent the structural anomalies in the country, which amount to conflict, not just outburst or explosions into full-scale wars as some people say.

What Can Uganda Learn from Ghana’s Oil Experience?

Jacob Waiswa 

Peace Center,

Makerere University 

Introduction 

Oil is one of the most precious minerals in the world today alongside gold and diamond. The wealthiest nations in the world today are dependent on it. There are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Iran, United States, Canada, Great Britain and Russia. And in Africa there are Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Libya, Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and, of course, Ghana. As usually the case in Africa, Ghana’s oil reserves were discovered in 2007 to become the nation’s multibillion dollar industry –producing over 200, 000 barrels of oil everyday. 

Experts refer to Ghana’s oil and gas discovery the largest on the continent in the last decade. Uganda is a new entrant on the oil production scene. Formal reports about the existence of oil were made known to the world in 2011. That caused anxiety among the mainly middle- class whether its discovery will be a curse or blessing whilst citing naughty examples around the world like the Nigeria Crisis and foreign interventions in the Arab Peninsula. 

 Ghana's Experience

 It is interesting to note that Ghana did not have such conditions as anxiety over the discovery of oil in 2007. Luckily for it, it has got a smaller and well-informed population who had information about oil experiences both in Africa and Europe. Nigeria provided the most immediate experiences to it. Ghana provided foreign firms and their governments most business friendly environment reinforced by well-practiced and respected democratic principles. It is in Ghana’s interest and will power to pursue experiences of successful countries like Norway.

Ghana practices high level of transparency in all its business dealings. Decisions are based on contributions of expert knowledge and experience by stakeholders, who are accounted to each other. Those are the ministry of energy and oil agencies like Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), Ghana Petroleum Commission (GPC), Ghana Investment Promotion (GIP), Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA) and Ghana Gas Company (GGC). 

The nation’s experts, universities and research institutions in the field of oil production and economics add to existing bank of knowledge, and do have and enjoy the platform to convey it. Ghana is open to expert criticism and challenge to its policies. The media reinforces the search for accountability through amassing interest to report on oil concerns and offering a platform for government and stakeholders to report their annual returns. 

Despite involvement of foreign firms in the oil industry Ghana was shrewd enough to raise its shareholder percentage above 50. It was a strategy aimed at ensuring socio-economic security of its people against the always exploitative foreign firms. Realizing the background of their economy is Agriculture, Ghana was not swayed away from it by oil wealth. They remained committed to Agriculture. In fact, 60% percent of the oil revenue is allocated to the agriculture sector. For Ghana, stability and democracy are relished.

Ghana’s revenue is for the good of its people and it ensures equity while meeting citizens’ needs. The people of Ghana are very enthusiastic and cannot easily be taken for granted; they are empowered enough to demand for and equal share of the country’s wealth. Trade unions are a recipe to the already conducive trade and working environment. They forge a healthy working relationship with firms dealing in oil and together maintain good income levels of workers in the industry. Contracts made between government and oil firms and policies that follow are constantly scrutinized to ensure their projected outcome. 

 Lessons for Uganda 

From Ghana’s oil experience Uganda learns to involve stakeholders in the debate on the oil subject and take outcomes seriously, to invest in trade diplomacy and experiential learning from successful oil producing countries, ensure sustainable peace for oil economy to thrive through the values of democracy (transparency and accountability), encourage a vibrant civil society and societies of trade unions, scrutinize firms intending to invest in the sector to ensure their viability, mind the welfare of people through environment protection, encourage oil research and studentship, and maintain a larger share capital in oil firms as a buffer against foreign business exploitation.

Conclusion 

The debate on the oil sector is normal and must be encouraged to compel parties in the oil sector to account for every transaction done, which in a long run reduces unnecessary anxieties and smoke fumes for war. A foundation based on democracy in oil governance will potentially turn the discovery of oil in Uganda a blessing.