Museveni Will Not Give Away Mabira. He is Simply using it to take ”Economic Heat” off himself
19 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in 2010-2011 elections, Agriculture, Corruption, Politics, Presidency
Mabira forest is back in the news and, this time around with a seemingly determined president who is ready to give away part of the forest for sugar cane growing. Speaking as someone who grew up on a farm in Bugerere, and who lived somewhere nearest to Mabira forest at Kangulumira, I would have to say president Museveni don’t have a clue about the environment. President museveni’s argument that giving away part of Mabira in 2007 would have prevented the current rise in sugar prices is so simplistic. His insistence that he will give away Mabira regardless of people’s cries is another confirmation that big people with big power do big evil and know they are doing it.
Yes, some people have argued that Mabira is just one forest in Uganda and in any case, it is very easy to replace a forest but Isn’t that like saying that because an individual locust doesn’t mean to wipe out the entire crop that we should try to stop the hoard of them. Cutting down trees or rain forests, bodes ill for the long-term survival of the human species. Some 25% of the world’s oxygen is generated in the rainforests. As a matter of our own survival it is imperative that every resource not be used up, but that instead sustainable methods be implemented.
What use is short-term success if it guarantees long-term failure? Isn’t it better to implement methods that are good for us now and later? The fact is that cutting down a forest affects the environment. If we lose forests, we lose the fight against climate change. Global warming and increased temperatures are causing higher winds as well. I read somewhere that Sahara Desert was once a rain forest before man started heating the earth with campfires to cook meat, and suddenly the Desert formed. In this 21st century, we are doing a lot of things to destroy these forests. For instance, we’re ruining the rainforest by using too much toilet paper. It may sound funny to a lot of people but it is true. The sky is just falling into pieces on a daily basis and we are doing very little to revert the process.
For Mabira Forest, there was an abrupt forest loss of about 24% between 1976 and 1986 (27,421 to 20,977 ha) due to encroachers. I guess the rebels against Iddil Amin and Milton Obote 2 governments might have also cooked a lot of food in the bushes using firewood at the time. The encroachers originated from the neighbouring districts of mainly Kamuli and Iganga. The trend of encroachment was reversed between 1988 and 1989 when all the encroachers were evicted and an ambitious programme of rehabilitating the forest through re-afforestation was embarked on by the forest department in 1989. We are now surprised that the same government that saw the need to protect the forest is now gearing towards destroying it.
Fact is, the economy is entirely too large and complex for human minds to comprehend. Government policy does have noticeable and to some extent predictable effects on the economy. President Museveni ‘cleaned’ up the treasury during this year’s presidential campaigns and he has been dishing out a lot of money to save his men , particularly, Basajjabalaba, whose businesses are always in trouble. May be the money has run out, and now it is time to dish out state land. Our Nation is being sold down the river to save Museveni’s legacy of mismanagement of resources.
Mabira is a tourist attraction and it cannot continue to generate us income with leaders who see it as a cancer to sugarcane production. Mabira is endowed with about 312 trees and shrub species. Approximately 47% of Uganda’s tree species grow in Mabira, including five rare species. There are more than 287 birds including the threatened Nahan’s francolin (Francolinus nahani); 23 small mammals, vervet monkeys and baboons as well as two arboreal primate species; 218 butterfly species and 97 large moth species. It is illegal to practice medicine without a license in Uganda. It is too bad that Museveni, simply because he is president, is given a license to manage forests he knows nothing about, and cares even less about.
It is suspected that government’s interest in Mabira is mainly Timber. The timber companies usually cut down the large, mature trees for their profit and what Museveni is attempting to do is let loose the timber companies to make the environmental decisions for us all. Both the timber and sugar companies are simply taking advantage of a poor nation with a corrupt system. Which stable country really gives out land like that as if we are a charity case? They also pay peanuts to the Basoga who are doing most of the sugarcane growing but because our people are poor, they still go along with it.
Profits by definition, are the difference between the market value of a product and the cost of its production. Paying workers little and selling the fruits of their labor for a high price is one way enormous profits can be generated. For instance, if Madhvani can sell a 20 kg sack of sugar in the South Sudan for $150, made in Uganda for about $7 in labor and materials, then the labor was actually worth many times what the laborer was actually compensated for the work. Nonetheles, SCOUL is the least efficient of Uganda’s three main sugar producers – the others are Kakira and Kinyara. Their demand for ‘free’ land is abysimal and should be rejected by all free minded Ugandans.
What the government should do is to turn people already owning land around Mabira and sugar factories into fulltime and -state- supported sugarcane growers. There are a lot of people who own large pieces of land in these areas but it is idle. By transmogrifying a group of such people into market-oriented consumers and laborers in factories, they become sources of Profit. In Mabira Forest, many of the deforested portions were turned to smallholder agriculture (sharp increase of agriculture in 1986 and 1989 compared to the 1970s).
There is plenty we can do now to preserve human livelihood both now and later. Education, international cooperation, debt forgiveness, technology transfer, introducing sustainable farming methods, setting aside more protected lands, passing and enforcing laws that both protect the environment and encourage economic growth, providing job training, follwoing the Cuban experiment, etc. All this would be much cheaper in the long run than sitting twiddling our thumbs and then having to pay the price later.
Personally, I still don’t believe that Museveni will risk giving away Mabira because what happened on April 12th 2007 will be made to look like a picnic if he goes ahead with this idea. He has tactically created a situation that takes the heat completly off him as the economy is in a totally bad shape. So people have simply forgotten other issues and everybody has jumped on Mabira. Anyway,the Mehta family should look for the 17,540 acres elsewhere, and they need to pay for it. It should not be free as it looks the case now with their current and past demands. In any case, it requires an act of parliament for Museveni to give away this gazette state land. I don’t believe that all the current NRM MPs will allow themselves to be used again and again just because the president serves them food and wine whenever they visit him at State House under these circumstances.
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Uganda’s Population Should be Controlled because it’s Likely to Bring us Problems in Future
11 May 2011 1 Comment
in Africa, Agriculture, Economics
Uganda is among the ‘time bombs’ that are gonna cause the world problems if the current population growth is not checked. Population explosion, in my view, is going to be one of our biggest problems in the next century, but it’s never discussed in the media which is very unfortunate.
Uganda’s population now grows at an average annual rate of 3.5 percent – the highest ever, despite the war in the north which was going on there for almost 20 years and claimed a lot of lives or the tragedy at Bududa(Mbale) last year. The main questions we should ask ourselves without even going into numbers that may confuse the lay people are: Do we think the world is facing an over-population crisis? Do we think Uganda is/will contribute to this crisis? And do we think Uganda will be so much negatively affected if it does nothing about its population growth?
Clearly there are a lot of Ugandans that live in extreme poverty such that the current rise in food and fuel prices have made the situation worse, and to some degree, poverty is both a cause and an effect of over-population. A cause, in the sense that the country is involved in little industrialization and underutilization of resources which makes most people to work hard on land for food. That, combined with high levels of disease and infant mortality, tends to favor an increased birth rate. For instance, I have interacted with some couples in Uganda who argue that a man should have at least 6 kids such that when on loses 2-3, at least one has got some remaining ones to fall back on, but what if all of them do not die?
Poverty can be considered also as an effect, since in highly populated areas with little wealth being created, each new birth means that the available wealth is distributed among one more person, thus further impoverishing the population as a whole- One more mouth to feed. That is why I argue that men with no enough money or wealth should have less kids with one wife , but if they want to marry or have extramarital affairs(which is immoral but it happens), they should go for either women who are branded ‘KKD’(Uganda street term that means old ladies) or those who are not at all interested in having children or forget about women altogether. There is no point having kids you are not in position to look after.
On the other hand, in developed nations where mechanized and scientific farming has reduced the need for farm labor, and where medicine has improved the health of the people (and made possible artificial contraception), the birth rate is comparatively low, and the demographics of the population shift towards a longer life. The increased opportunities made possible by affluence also cause many women to delay starting their families, and prompt some to choose career over motherhood.
There are 650 acres in a square mile. Each person deserves an entire acre of land unto their very own lonesome but this is not usually the case. The world population is now approximately 7 billion. Hmmmm…. gotchy’all smiling wide now as you break out those calculators, but i’m not gonna do any serious maths because i’m not good at it.But we gonna do some figure analysis.
Uganda is a country covering 236,040 square kilometers (91,136 square miles) with a population estimated to be at 34 million this year. 15.39 % of the total area of the country is water. The population per square kilometer was only 241 in 1999 (93 per square mile) but this has increased tremendously, a reason why land is becoming the most valuable asset in the country.
A certain % of our national land is also allocated to forestry, like for instance, Bwindi National Park which covers over 128 square miles in size; Kibale national park which is about 475 square miles; Queen Elizabeth National Park which is 770 square miles; Lake Mburo National Park- 230 square miles. Basically, because of the rise in the population, all these wetlands and forestry are being targeted by both the government and the landless.They wrongly see them as ‘idle’ land. As a result, the people themselves are creating another big problem called CLIMATE CHANGE.
One could argue that 11.6 million square miles in Africa could fit almost everybody on the continent but the reality is because India and China have already messed up their countries with over population, their citizens are now targeting the less populated regions in the world including Africa. Like, for instance, the last time I was in Busoga(East of Uganda), I saw a lot of Indians now owning land and they are a threat to the locals there involved in sugarcane production. Before you know it, the Chinese will follow them, and there are seriously buying a lot of land in the villages on the cheap. Their respective governments are sponsoring them financially in their endeavors abroad because they want create space. Attempts to reduce the population have also spawned things like China’s One Child Policy. They are going to be staking claims to Africa’s resources more and more as their population grows.There is a serious scamble for land and resources in Africa from Chinise and Indians.
The population explosion is adding approximately 1billion people to this planet every decade. That’s nearly the entire population of China. So what will happen to Ugandans in the next 20 years if their own population keeps growing the way it is now? If the current president cannot handle a food crisis of a population of about 34 millions, how will they do it when the number doubles in the next 15 years?
So it is both logical and workable to conclude that to make our lives better, we must control the population of a developing Uganda. Obviously, this has to be done hand in hand with an increase in the spread of technology, information, and education in the country, and to work hard to raise the standard of living there in partnership with the local population. Because just handing out and extolling the virtues of birth control while people are still pulling pillows by hand and cooking over firewood is not addressing the underlying problem.
Abbey Semuwemba
Doing Ms Public Health Promotion at Leeds Metropolitan University
United Kingdom
Cuban Experiment Should be Adopted to Divert the Food Crisis in Uganda
31 Mar 2011 13 Comments
in Africa, Agriculture, Economics, international, International Issues
Dear Ugandans,
The current rise in food prices is a problem which we are capable of solving ourselves especially if all the stakeholders are committed to the cause. The food crisis problems go well beyond the Uganda borders as it is also a marginal problem even here in the UK where i live such that I have registered with several supermarkets online to help me compare prices before I do my home shopping.But with fertile Uganda soils, surely we can do better with the support of the current government.
The causes of the sharp price rises in 2007 and 2008 seem to be almost the same as those in 2010: increased global demand, rising fuel prices, biofuels production, export restrictions, crop failures, financial speculation and dwindling stockpiles. Biofuels, for instance, has been adopted by several governments as a way of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse emissions by providing subsidies for crops used in biofuels. Some of these governments include: Brazil’s use of sugar for ethanol, Europe’s use of oilseeds for biodiesel and increased US production of corn-based ethanol since the 2005 Energy Policy Act.As a result, the bill for global food imports will top $1,000bn this year according to the United Nations figures.
With China and India now trying to live a standardised western life, the consumption of meat has increased tremendously worldwide considering that both countries have got more than 2 billion people to feed. International figures show that about eight kg of feed is required to produce 1kg of beef and 2kg for every 1kg chicken. This diverts grains from human consumption and forces up prices. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that using an acre of land to raise cattle produces 20 pounds of protein, compared with 356 pounds for one sowed with soybeans. So, one can imagine how the farmers doing cattle rearing in areas like western Uganda balance up food production with animal keeping at the same time.
The Chinese and Indian populations alone consume more food than the whole of Africa. A global conference on food security in Rome a couple of years ago noted that China had been a net exporter of cereals since the late 1990s, and India a net importer only during one year in the same period. Both countries have increased imports of oilseeds, meat and oil in large numbers. So their populations are basically starving the rest of the world. So I hope the government does not give away our land to the Chinese and Indians when they come knocking on our borders whatever the deal they bring to us because we also gonna need that land with a higher population growth in our country.
The problem in Uganda is that many youths have moved into cities because farming is being looked at as a non- starter. So there is a lot of idle land in rural areas, and I think the government needs to do what fidero Castro did during Cuba’s oil and food crisis. The Cuban government facilitated all families with seeds and also set up markets where people can sell their produce. Farming became more paying or profitable than even a job in the president’s office. Food was grown everywhere including the home gardens. Farmers all of a sudden became the rich men and women of Cuba. The government provided credit, research, and extension for low-input agriculture to a well organized rural population.
The government should not to be attempted to starve off Small farmers from their land in an attempt to solve this crisis. Before the 1959 revolution in Cuba, only 8% of landowners were controlling more than 70% of the land, with U.S. owners controlling 25% of all Cuban land. But the revolution changed all this and when the food crisis set in, Castro was never attempted to reverse this process. He instead empowered the small land owners and facilitated them in areas such as provision of fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides. So basically, subsistence farming is not the problem here, after all, Subsistence farmers make up 75% of the world’s poor and they often gain less from price increases than they lose to increases in the price of inputs and other costs of production.
The UN calculates that 22 people can be fed per hectare of potatoes, 19 per ha of rice, and just one or two for beef or lamb raised on 1ha. So what I suggest is that those with idle big land in Uganda should get into some form of temporary agreements with the landless to allow them to grow food. Such agreements can be administered by LCs and other local leaders to save time. For example, when the 2008 food crisis set in, rising food imports cost Cuba over $1 billion. In response, Cuba’s National Assembly of Popular Power enacted Decree Law 259, which authorizes municipal Agricultural Commissions to distribute idle lands to state entities, cooperatives, and any individual Cuban citizen physically fit for agricultural labor. Landless individuals can now request and receive up to 33 acres of land, while those who already participate in agricultural production in some form can receive up to 99 acres. An Associated Press report ( 13 August 2010) cites major progress made as it relates to Cuba’s cutting of agricultural imports: having spent $710 million in U.S. food imports in 2008, this figure was reduced to $528 million in 2009 (a 26% reduction) and for the first half of 2010 this figure has been reduced to $220 million (a 28% reduction if it stays on course).
Obviously, the Cuba government has also spent a lot in agricultural scientific research institutions to produce those admired results. But our government is not so much bothered about this area such that one of my younger brothers who graduated with a first class degree in Agricultural science at Makerere university- a couple of years ago, is now doing network marketing with some company in Kampala because he reckons he could make better money there.I unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to go for his postgraduate studies and i have given up.
Anyway, because of the above policies, Cuba has become one of the few countries with the capacity to implement food sovereignty despite experiencing three catastrophic hurricanes in 2008 alone, and the persistent U.S. hostility towards its national interests.
So unless the government stops wasting money in stuff such as aircraft jets and presidential pledges, and diverts most of this money to agriculture and education, we have not seen the end of this problem. If the government does not address the food shortage in the country urgently, we are likely to see the start of food rebellions in sub Sahara Africa. For instance, violent protests broke out in many countries in 2008, resulting in nearly 200 deaths and helping to unseat governments in Haiti and Mauritania. Families should also be encouraged to produce fewer kids. Why should a man with no house or land produce more than 2 kids when still in that situation? With due respect to polygamists, men with no money should not attempt to marry more than one woman or women who want more kids if they have already got some.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom
Libya’s Investments in Africa aren’t a threat to the West, unlike the Chinese and Indians
23 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Africa, Agriculture, Economics, international
Libya investments in Africa are not really a threat to the west. There are only concentrated in a few countries that are friendly to Gadaffi and his sons, and some of these countries are not so strategic in terms of western investments and interests.Gadaffi’s investment in Africa will not even sadly help him to remain in power because Libyans just want political freedom. Everybody wants to feel free in their countries which is not the case in most African countries. It’s China and India investments that are a threat to the west. Actually, even India is not yet a real threat but China is a bigger threat. China is now the 2nd biggest economy in the world after overtaking Japan. USA still remains the biggest economy and superpower and it is likely to remain so for another 10-15 years.
China in Africa and elsewhere
The Chinese are giving out loans to Africa without conditions unlike the west. China would have been already a great nation if they had not disconnected themselves from the rest of the world. Their earlier kings had a great vision for the country but those who came immiediately after them had no vision.
Economist used to predict that China would need to wait till 2026 to overtake Japan as the 2nd biggest economy but the Chinese have officially done so in 2011. Please look at the statistics. They are now telling us that China will overtake USA by 2020 but we don’t know this for sure. It is also believed that China will overtake USA in terms of scientific research by 2020.
Japan knew that China were at their arses all the time and that is why they stopped loans to China out of fear, but also at the instigation of the US. They knew that they had a serious competitor at the side. It has already beaten Japan to Brazil and Russian oil. So a Europe- Japan- USA partnership Vs China may slow down the Chinese if it works.
The Chinese are everywhere directly or indirectly. For instance, most UK and USA manufacturing companies have moved either to India or China. I used to buy a party dress for my 3 year old daughter for £19 in the ‘’NEXT’’ when it was still made here. Now I pay £8 for the same dress made overseas from this high street shop called ‘’PRIMARK’’. Actually, even in your USA, Examples are all around you. All you need do is look at the products to see where they are made. Walmart has lots of people buying the stuff because it can sell for less.
China is now a ‘friend’ of almost all African countries. Sudan supplies 3% of China’s oil needs and as a result, China has invested more than $3b in the country. Chinese are friends of Zimbabwe and Congo such that they are exploiting almost all minerals in those countries as Africans are looking on. In Uganda, for instance, the Chinese have built a lot of buildings for the state-e.g. Nambole stadium, Presidential State House, Presidential offices under construction behind the National parliament, ministry of foreign affairs building, e.t.c
Chinese Population
The problem with China is its population which is likely to put pressure on all of us. Food supply is critical, as for any nation with a huge population. We only see starvation now when the place has degenerated into the most obscene levels of civil war and civil chaos, but people should stop having lots of kids. This is something the President Museveni should also look into in his next 5 years if he wants to be remembered as ‘somebody’.
Because of Chinese and India huge population, both countries are now leading pioneers in land grabbing in all developing nations. They buy land in small nations and gazette it for food production. Already some Ugandans living in Busoga region are feeling the pressure on their land from Indians who have started up a sugar-making factory in the area. The huge populations of China and India, and elsewhere, will also demand a Western standard-of-living as their countries develop more, putting more pressure on “growth”.
Chinese and Indian populations are a problem to all of us. Because of their populations, the demand for basics such as food, oil, water, transport, ….. is exceeding the supply. China, for instance, are now 1.3 billion (1320 million people) and they consume more oil and drive more cars than anybody else on earth apart from USA. The more China develops, the more their population will demand to have a standardized-USA lifestyle, which will mean more demand for cars and oil. Let’s us remember that USA is only about 300 million people compared to China’s 1320 millions. China and India’s massive consumption of resources is already having a huge impact upon the environment and food production, and all these are population-induced.
Yes, and there was a whale oil shortage last century which threatened America’s energy needs. This promoted USA to go into cooperation with any country in the world regardless of the autocratic nature in these countries. Actually, it made the west realize that oil is one item that mainly controls the world economy such that it is in their unwritten policy to do anything necessary to get it, using all means at their disposal, a reason I believe Gadaffi will not survive whatever he is doing now.
China itself knows that their big population is a real problem such that they have come up with measures to control it, and these include: mandatory abortion and sterilization, female infanticide, and incarceration of uncooperative parents. I think they have also started taxing parents that have more than 1 child in urban centers.
Yes, a big population has its advantages but the disadvantages outweigh them. One of the advantages is the near-limitless supply of slave labour. All western companies are moving their manufacturing base to India and China because they pay peanuts to the workers there compared to the people in their own countries. One could argue that this creates jobs for the people in those countries but at the same time, these countries where manufacturing is done are affected environment-wise and also become dumping grounds for toxics.
Ironically again, China’s not being a democracy gives it advantages over the U.S and western nations. It is not hobbled by laws which govern human rights or environmental degradation.
Overall, we need to control our populations because the disadvantages they come with outweigh the advantages. Food production in Uganda does not match the population increase in the country. We are now 31 millions and this is likely to double in the 20 years if it is not checked, but how many of us have bought land in the villages to start serious farming? Just think about it. If any disaster strikes Uganda at the moment, we may find ourselves begging the Kenyans for food because there is less food in the country
The Law of Diminishing Returns is starting to operate in many areas of human activity, so take heed of, eg., extreme and erratic weather, as one indicator that all is not well. The recent earthquake in Japan has so far sadly reduced the world population by more than 20,000 people. It is always sad to lose human life but things like wars, conflicts in Africa(e.g,Libya,Egypt,Yemen,Kony, Darfur), man killing man daily, ……… may be happening for a reason. May be God is telling us something we don’t know.
Anyway, USA is doing everything possible to stop China from overtaking them, but will they be successful? Nobody knows for sure but we should never underestimate the Americans. They have always got something up their sleeves. Well, all great powers and leaders thrash around at the end; the trouble is they never see it coming, like an old boxer.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
HOW BUGANDA KATIKIRO IS GOING TO PROMOTE COFFE GROWTH
06 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in 2010-2011 elections, Agriculture, Buganda, Economics
Dear readers,
I would like to know how the growth of coffee in Buganda is going to be boosted by the Katikilo of Buganda. Uganda particularly Buganda and Bugishu used to be strong coffee growers and I remember my grandfather paying school fees for most of us because of coffee. New records show that Uganda’s Coffee exports jumped by 24% in 2007. According to the Uganda’s Coffee Development Authority, statistics point to a 24% year-on-year (y/y) increase in the volume of coffee exported in 2007 and a further 36% increase in revenues. According to the statement, reported by Reuters, total export volume increased from 2.17 million bags in 2006 to 2.7 million bags, with total earnings increasing from US$21.6 million to US$29.5 million.
A market in Uganda
Uganda’s coffee exports have performed strongly through 2007 on the back of better disease control, stronger prices, and an initiative to double production by 2015. High global coffee prices have helped to drive growth in export earnings for the sector, but poor productivity, a constrained supply of inputs, and infrastructure bottlenecks continue to hamper growth.
Coffee remains Uganda’s main export and its revival is indeed good news for an ailing current-account deficit. The documented, continued rise in production and value through the season marks a strong comeback for the crop and will also, if sustained, benefit the rural population, which relies heavily on this sector. This proves that the government made a mistake of asking people to cut their coffee trees to promote non-traditional crops in the 1990s.
Indeed coffee has been one of the external conditions that have supported Uganda’s strong currency. The continued strength of the shilling is supported by projected stronger export growth, remittances, and a near-60% expected rise in transfers to non-governmental organizations. With strong increases in these foreign-exchange earners and drivers, total foreign-exchange earnings increased by 22% in 2007. Implicit in the finance minister’s budget is strong expected growth in export earnings. Indeed, total exports are expected to rise 21% from US$1.4 billion to US$1.7 billion supported by a 34% increase in coffee export revenues and a 31% increase in non-coffee exports such as cotton, tobacco, tea, soap, fish, and horticultural products. However, the Ugandan shilling experienced some pressure and depreciated through the end of December 2007, but remained fairly level through January 2008.
Kenya is one area that has hampered with regional trade and stability. Kenya’s stock market and exchange rate took a significant, with all financial markets closing early on 3 January 2008, and the postponement of the tea and coffee auctions. The World Bank estimates that around 25% of Uganda and Rwanda’s GDP relies on the trade running through the corridor to the port of Mombasa, with Burundi’s reliance climbing to 33% of GDP. However, if aid flows continue to increase Uganda will expect to receive sizable support, given its favourable position with the international donor community.
It is my hope therefore that the new Katikiro of Buganda strongly supports Coffee growth in his newly availed development program.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom
Learning from Banyankore solidarity
05 Dec 2009 1 Comment
in Agriculture, cultures, Politics
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A worker supervises his herd of cattle at a ranch in Mbarara district, May 18, 2008. Over the last 20 years, Ankole has become the food and livestock basket of Uganda.
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I think its high time we also start thinking of various ways of developing our own regions without [President] Museveni and his government.
There is a lot of fertile land in Buganda and northern Uganda and its high time we revived our own agriculture and make it a little bit modern and forget about Museveni for a moment. The president just needs to help us to find a way to stop his “Balalo” buddies and UPDF officers from encroaching on other people’s land.If the current land bill can stop them, then we should move on and concentrate on other important issues affecting us. Again, I’m saying this with due respect to my king, Ssabasajja Muwenda Mutebi, who was one of the opponents of the recently passed land bill. Museveni has used his political muscle to overpower us on the issue.So we need to find a way forward without shelving other issues that are very important. Yes, Mr. Museveni set himself an agenda since the 1960s to develop his Ankole region and find a way to get rid of pastoralism. I think he mentions this in Indeed, Museveni continued with this mission of developing his region when he became the President of Uganda such that most of the farming currently in the country is now done in western Uganda compared to Buganda and other regions. Mbarara district has the highest number of cattle in Uganda, an estimated one million head. In 1994 the total number of cattle in Uganda was estimated at 5.1 million head. Surely, one just needs to sell two Friesian cattle to take his daughter or son to Makerere University without wasting time on MTN booths on Kampala streets as some Baganda youths [are now doing]. Mbarara District Veterinary Office is probably the most facilitated office in the whole country because it has direct access to State House. It should also be noted that the passing of the 2007 Land Bill that is intended to Under the Ankole-Masaka Ranching Scheme (AMRS), land was then subdivided into smaller land parcels and reallocated to individual owners by the state appointed Ranch Restructuring Board (RRB) in the late 1980s. The owners were encouraged, and in some cases assisted, to fence off the allocated land. The primary goal of this privatization scheme was to mitigate overgrazing. Among the Bahima, pastureland was traditionally jointly grazed (‘owned’) by the tribe. Nyabushozi is Museveni’s home area and about 90 percent of the people in this area are members of the Bahima [sub] tribe. The Bahima alone account for 20 percent of Uganda’s cattle population. Milk is the main product of this area, and the number of cattle is deliberately kept high to ensure a consistent supply of milk. At the moment, they are one of the biggest suppliers of milk in Buganda and other neigbouring areas. Minister [Wilberforce] Kisamba-Mugerwa at one time said that milk is the main product of the households in Nyabushozi. On the other hand,the few Baganda (like Muwonge in Kyabazala) who used to own big farms are either dead or too old to do anything about it. The Baganda youths who would have taken over have given up on farming and just waste their time on Kampala streets doing nothing.This is where Ssabasajja and his team need to help to encourage Baganda youths to go back in the rural areas and utilise their land. The Bahima have an informal insurance plan, through which they insure each other against the risk of total loss of cattle. If a Muhima loses a significant number of cattle, usually to disease, he would be almost guaranteed of at least a partial Therefore, although these people have a special love for their cattle, they will give some of their own heifers to friends or relatives who have lost cattle, knowing that should it happen that they suffer such losses, those who had been helped will reciprocate. On the other hand, the Baganda never support their own on developmental issues. You make loses, you have to find your own way out of it. There is little solidarity among the Baganda. It is only the “Banamasaka” in Kampala who have got something that resembles solidarity among the Baganda.The rest we just want to pull each other down most of the time instead of uniting. Surely, this is a weakness we should look into instead of putting the whole blame on Museveni. My point here is that , yes, President Museveni has favoured his region at the expense of others but this should not be a reason for us not to develop our own regions. Some of these people in Mbarara are not in public service and are genuinely earning a lot of money from farming (obviously after presidential assistance), but we should do the same regardless of state support. We should only teach Museveni a lesson and deny him our votes in 2011 for being the ‘president’ of just one region yet he is supposed to be for everybody. END Source:http://www.ugandarecord.co.ug/index.php?issue=36&article=464
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