The road to the East African Political Federation..........

The move to the political federation of East Africa has taken a big twist in the last 5 years making some of the biggest achievements since its revival in Arusha on 29 April 1997 where the process of upgrading the Agreement establishing the Permanent Tripartite Commission for East African Co-operation into a Treaty started.

With many analysts making predictions of what the future holds for the region. unfortunately for some  who have chosen to take the pessimistic approach based on a shallow review of it history,  I choose to differ and assert that the future of the East African Community is headed for brighter days if  the custodians; in this case the heads of State of member countries are willing to pay the price.

1. Political will. For any federation to stand the test of time, there must be political will from those we uphold in the driving sit. Recent revelations have proved to give hope to this principle with the revival of the East African Court of Justice, the East Ffrican Legislative assembly and the like. But political will has to go just beyond creating organs or systems. it goes as far as how well these organs are run, their influence on the region and their sustainability. This brings in the question of how best the custodians of this big dream will afford to but personal and state interests aside and front a regional agenda. Without sustainable organs, the futurre of the region could be at a heavy risk of collapse.

2. Harmonisation. Harmonisation of both political, social and economic policies of member states. It makes no sense having two fathers as good friends while the children of both are neck to neck, well one may argue that at least the fathers are friends, but that's not enough. The future of the region cannot be built on the shoulders of individuals. It must be built on the harmonisation of the the citizens of the member states. A person from Tanzania for example should not just be comfortable crossing the Ugandan boarder without a passport but also feel he is a welcome guest with a common interest in Ugandan as other Ugandans. The dogma of nationality must cease to surface and we embrace a regional spirit, so instead of saying am a Ugandan, Kenyan or Tanzanian, you will have to be comfortable enough to call yourself an East African.This bring in the question of public reception of the big idea, if they know about it anyway. More than just TV appearances and News Paper feeds must be done to help the ordinary man and woman know, understand and appreciate the idea. With out this our leaders could as well be "urinating in the lake in hopes to make it overflow."If its for the people the federation is for the why keep them in the background?.

3. Developed internal systems. Development of internal systems which when merged can harmonise is key in the final federation.  The East African region is arguably a developing part of the world, developing I mean almost everything is still on the move. It is still in the laboratory stage without any real proven (efficient, effective and up to the standard) system. The education system, transport system, political system, judicial system, fiscal system and the sort are all well underdeveloped to match the world standards. What this means is that, for the East African region to benefit from the federation then these systems must be well developed at least more than they are now so as to make a meaningful union. Ask yourself what would happen if mix water, blood and oil?

The East African Federation is Our future, unifying is the only proven way in the modern age of survival and if you are still second guessing ask yourself why Ukraine is Torn between European Union and Russia if it can alternatively stay alone! We share the same heritage, a similar history and no doubt our destiny should be shared.

Onesmus Mwesigwa Fat Lizard
Perusing Bachelors in LLB
Political analyst 
Believer in the laws of the universe

Ugandan President says studying Humanities is useless: Seriously?

The Future of Uganda and Africa at large at large is inextricably within the ambit of its leaders.

Over time I have heard people complain about the leadership in Uganda and the continent at large. well, that's a  shallow argument that we both agree is quite obvious, maybe for the ordinary man its not because his well being is highly Dependant on what the government or the state has to offer. yes the government.

On many occasions I have interacted with colleagues of mine who subscribe to the belief that every man determines his own destiny and there fore its stupid to blame the government for  one's poor state of living.

Well on the surface yes but an in-depth analysis will invalidate this belief to a total sham. Why? Every one is where he is and is doing what he is doing because he got there through a process not a miracle;  either through learning (education) or by experience and accepted it to be truth or at least compatible to his or her lifestyle. In other words he has had a viable opportunity, explored the opportunity and hence evaluated his potential and ability.

 You are properly a lawyer  because you went to a good school where you were encouraged to be one, had a parent or relative in the profession, got exposed to platforms like debate that gave you a feel of what a lawyer might be like and with time developed the love for the profession which love manifested into the will and then with the passion attached to this whole thing the possibility of you becoming a lawyer became more and more clear.

However we shall all agree that a good education is the basic foundation of such a vision, yes. because without a good foundation  the rest becomes mere wishes.

So how about the poor old man in some village in some district in some corner of this country whose only hope for his son's or daughter's bright future is in the hands of the so called U.P.E and U.S.E. I called it "the so called" because its being called Universal sounds to be an abstract name that seems only to appears good put in practice has no real life to the effect, one may ask; whats universal about it? is it the curriculum?, the teachers?, the subjects? or its "confusion"?
The mere fact that all Ugandans can access this type of education in my opinion doesn't make it Universal. In fact it makes it domestic vehicle to canvas for popular support among the elecorate by the NRM government.

Secondly it should never appear to be an offer by the government which in our case seems like it is and hence the government feels that its not obligated to offer quality after all it was a free gift! The government is wrong and if you were thinking the same then you to are wrong. Education is your right and a constitutional obligation of the government to provide it.

But what does this education provide? Uganda as of today has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world standing at 62% among the youth as of 2013. But amazingly recently the Head of State blamed the Humanities (courses at University) for causing the unemployment but one wondres if its not under his governance that licences are offered to Universities? So why should our head of State whine like his citizens instead of initiating policy to change the status quo? Is it rocket science? Is it asking too much? My argument in this regard is poor government policy towards education that is the core to the unemployment problem.

So with such a poor education though free but poor how can a nation or state expect its citizens to miraculously develop knowledge, expertise and will to develop themselves given that this is a fast changing competitive world and economy not forgetting that today most graduates are unemployed and the few employed are in the informal sector and those in the formal sector are either doing a job way below their qualifications or the pay way below their educational level .

 So would I be wrong to say that the government is to be held accountable? I don't think so. And if you still disagree, ask your self this; why do we need the govt anyway if it can't provide for its citizens basic requirements of life  quality basic education even after taxes have been paid? Not forgeting that a working adult pays 30% PAYE on his salary monthly and remember am not demanding for a spaceship research institution or a rocket engineering institution, just basic quality education.

There fore the best gift that the Ugandan and African Leaders can give its people and the continent is equality education which can only be acquired if there is political will to that effect. The private sector can help boost the education system but its role should be secondary not primary. 

"Without the political will in respect to education, Uganda and the continent at large is headed for a dark intellectual age." 

ONESMUS MWESIGWA 
LLB Student at  Uganda Christian University-
Political Analyst
Uganda- East Africa