Mr. Lugemwa,
When did this piece appear in the Monitor?
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From: Lugemwa FN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Subject: ugnet_: With multi-party talks on hold, let us do federo
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 06:48:20 -0800 (PST)
The Editor
The Monitor Publication
Kampala, Uganda
With multi-party talks on hold, let us do federo
by FN Lugemwa
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Working toward defining and establishing an "all-inclusive" federal system of governance is more pressing for Uganda at the moment than multi-party talks. Accordingly, a federo conference is urgently needed to discuss the future of our country.
The specific focus of such conference, I suggest, would be to devise modalities for the devolution of power to, and defining the duties and responsibilities of, regional leaders. In short, defining a genuine and durable federal governance system and identifying key projects and drawing up a time-table for successful transition to such a system.
Ugandans need to start serious discussions on genuine federalism whereby decentralized units would have autonomy and the attendant political and economic muscle in forms of powers and administrative tasks in such areas as raising revenue.
History – and it tends to repeats itself – should be our teacher. Uganda had parties under Obote. No parties under the late Idi Amin. None of these two leaders was willing to hand over power peacefully and leave town.
History could repeat itself in Uganda if there is truth to the talk around “third term project”, “three more years,” and “the third way”.
Obote and the late Idi Amin ruled Uganda under a unitary system with multi-parties and no parties, respectively. President Museveni has ruled it for almost 20 years under a one-party [movement] system. Ugandans must ask, why did Uganda get the same 'results' under Obote and the late Idi Amin and is about to get the similar 'results' under President Museveni, men with different backgrounds and education?
The least common factor among them seems to be a unitary governance system. It seems like the unitary system has failed Uganda. Parties need to realize that without changing the structure of government from unitary to federo – parties or no parties--Uganda is bound to remain the same – a country riddled with power struggle, capable of only re-cycling leaders, and moving several steps backwards instead of forward.
Federo is needed to deal with the complex power structure(s) in a multi-ethnic society. Once the question of federo has been settled, as per both the Odoki and Ssempebwa Commissions, Ugandans will decide which party is fit to be the first custodian of federo.
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