Causes
of the Ills affecting Buganda
Existing
Development Initiatives in Buganda
The
concept and process of development in Buganda dates back over 700 years
ago. The king (the Kabaka) as its supreme ruler and his Parliament (the
Lukiiko) were the key institutions playing a crucial role in the development
of the kingdom and its people. The history of Buganda’s development over
the past years can be summarized in three phases.
The
first phase (pre-1900) was the pre-colonial, during which courageous Kings
expanded and consolidated the kingdom’s territory, supported ancestral
economies and inventions, and fostered civilisation. Most values cherished
in contemporary Buganda anchors in this period. Through centuries of its
existence, Buganda was a region of plenty in resources, rapid growth, blossoming
prosperity and culture of dignity.
This
condition was attributed primarily to four factors:
(i)An
excellent climate and arable soils, which ensured sufficient production
of food and cash crops, and a wide range of vegetables and fruits;
(ii)A
well organized and respected monarchy, which was the foundation and fountain
of development and civilization;
(iii)A
society with virtues of hard work and achievement-orientedness; and
(iv)Social
cohesion along the family and clan ties, which served as a basis for voluntary
communal work, entrepreneurship development, and ethical conduct.
Unfortunately,
most of these virtues gradually faded during the subsequent periods.
The
second phase (1900-1962) was the colonial period, with the colonial agents
placing administration policy above development. This period, in many cases,
thwarted the indigenous innovations previously achieved.
The
third phase, which is the post-colonial period, particularly between 1966-1986,
saw not only the dethronement of the king and his monarchy, but also disruption
of the social and economic order and activities, at the regional and national
levels. The twenty years of political turmoil threw Buganda into wilderness.
The abolition of the monarchy and the inability of existing central governments
to harness regional diversity as a basis for sustainable development resulted
into the collapse of the cultural and traditional institutions that erstwhile
conditioned work ethics. The ultimate effect was, among others, collapse
of the formal economy, decline in agricultural production and quality of
living conditions, and the environmental degradation.
The
fourth phase, the period after 1993 witnessed the restoration of the monarchy,
continued implementation of prudent macro-economic policy reforms by the
government, which enabled the country to start registering economic and
social progress.
Over
the thirteen years from 1986-1999, Uganda has attained an impressive economic
growth. This is mainly due to the economic reforms intended to correct
macro-economic imbalances, structural adjustment policies for addressing
distortions in the market operation. (Uganda Poverty Assessment Report,
1999).
Uganda’s
Gross Domestic Product has grown at the average rate of 6.0 percent per
annum over the last thirteen years, and the inflation rate maintained below
10%. The Gross Domestic (GDP) per capita has grown at a rate of 3.4% per
annum, and the per capita income currently is estimated at US$ 300.
Nevertheless,
Uganda remains one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and within
the camp of the Third World countries. According to the Uganda Poverty
Assessment Report, (1999), while the proportion of Ugandans affected by
absolute poverty had declined, by 1997 44 percent of the population were
unable to meet their basic requirements. The regional disparity of poverty
depicted the central as having registered a drastic decline in poverty
compared to the rest of Uganda. Nevertheless, the poverty line may not
capture the important indicators of human development, namely education
levels, health conditions, civic participation in local and national decision
making process.
Uganda
as a country still scores low regarding the Human Development Indicators.
(i)The
overall life expectance in Uganda has declined from 52 years in 1985 to
42 years in 1997, mainly due to the effects of AIDS.
(ii)Regarding
accessibility to health facilities, only 49 percent f the population lives
within five kilometre of the health services country wide, and 42% parishes
have any type of health facility, (Health Sector Strategic Plan 2000).
(iii)The
percentage of stunted children below 4 years was 38 percent in 1995.
(iv)The
rural population with access to safe water was only 45 percent in 1995.
(v)The
adult literacy rate was 65 percent in 1995, (Uganda Poverty Assessment
Report, 1999).
(i)Lack
of a decent accommodation,
(ii)Inability
to meet basic necessities of life, low levels of agricultural production,
(iii)Low
prices for the produce,
(iv)High
level of moral degradation,
(v)Undesirable
rural to urban migration,
(vi)High
level of dejectedness especially among the impoverished,
(vii)High
levels of unemployment, especially in the urban areas,
(viii)High
incidence of preventable diseases and infirmity, malnutrition among infants
and adults alike,
(ix)Unsafe
water and poor sanitation conditions,
(x)Poor
community road conditions,
(xi)Relatively
high level illiteracy and lack of functional skills,
(xii)Inequitable
access to sources of livelihood by the women, children, youth, disabled,
(xiii)High
prevalence of orphanage problem,
(xiv)Dishonest
and poor work ethics, and
(xv)Environmental
degradation.
The
communities that are severely affected by these problems are those found
in the rural and isolated and marginal areas of Buganda region; and the
vulnerable groups, for instance; the youth, women, disabled, the children,
unemployed, orphans, the old and sick, street children, fishermen and the
urban unemployed.
(i)Absence
of effective coercive developmental mobilization and guidance effort
(ii)Lack
of training in modern farming methods and techniques,
(iii)Limited
access to farm inputs and High Yielding Varieties,
(iv)Limited
access to investment capital,
(v)Lack
of co-operation at the family and community level in the area of production,
marketing, saving, entrepreneurial development,
(vi)Undeveloped
off-farm income earning opportunities,
(vii)Limited
access to entrepreneurial skills,
(viii)Uneven
distribution of health and education services,
(ix)Limited
access to knowledge and tools for sustainable natural resources management
(land and energy inclusive),
(x)Diminished
cultural values as instruments for developing and maintaining community
roads, water and sanitation, education and community facilities,
(xi)People’s
inability to use the family, community, clan as institutions for cultural
and economic development,
(xii)Lack
of an effective strategy for mobilizing and sensitizing the general public
on their rights and obligations in social, economic and political processes,
(xiii)Lack
of community exemplar ole-models,
(xiv)De-emphasis
of religious education in schools
(xv)Broken
family units
(xvi)Withdrawal
syndrome and defeatism
(xvii)Inadequate
and/or improper socialization process at family, peer group and education
levels, and
(xviii)Laziness
and present-time orientedness.
The
strategic choice has been to complement the government effort in poverty
reduction process. These development initiatives have been undertaken through
the existing Buganda Kingdom Ministries, and these are the Ministries of:
(i)Planning
and Economic Development
(ii)Finance
(iii)Agriculture,
Animal Industry, Fisheries and Environment
(iv)Industry,
Commerce, Tourism and Heritage
(v)Education
and Sports
(vi)Health
(vii)Rehabilitation
(viii)Water
and Energy
(ix)Works,
Women Affairs and Community Development
(x)Cabinet
and Youth Affairs
In
addition, the kingdom has managed to set up administrative structures at
the County, Sub-county, Parish and village levels, intended to mobilize
the communities for cultural and development programmes.
At
the economic front, the Kingdom established BUCADEF as a non-governmental
agency for service delivery, and also put in place Buganda Investment and
Commercial Undertaking Ltd (BICUL), a holding company charged with setting
up commercial ventures, with the intent of reducing poverty through employment
opportunities. The Central Broadcasting Services Ltd is a brainchild of
BICUL.
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