Joachim Buwembo
I prefer to discuss issues from a very basic point for I am an old man.
Suppose QU is resurrected after this many years, suppose for some unknown
reason it starts to fly, can an old man like myself out of the Western
hemisphere log on my computer and book a trip to Uganda with the African sector
booked on QU? Can I seriously be that dumn and put my trust in an organization
ran by The Ugandans of The Movement to fly me from anywhere to home and from
home to that anywhere? It is funny for I used to do such risks when I was a
young man but these days every second of my life is of value so I will not be
that silly. And I guarantee you 2 months when that air craft gets arrested with
a ton of weed in some international airport. Let us remember that the last air
craft we lost was loaded with weapons by none other but our prospective next
leader Dr Kiiza Besigye to Yugoslavia and it never came back. The next one is
going to be loaded by Norbert Mao for all we know.
Uganda is a total waste.
EM
On the 49th
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ocen Nekyon
Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2013 12:51 AM
To: Ugandans At Heart At Heart
Subject: {UAH} Uganda Cabinet reviving national carrier is a plan that won’t
fly - Comment - www.theeastafrican.co.ke
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/OpEd/comment/Uganda-Cabinet-reviving-national-carrier/-/434750/2001540/-/tdh0g4/-/index.html
Uganda Cabinet reviving national carrier is a plan that won’t fly - Comment
Because of their past actions, our leaders have taught us to become suspicious
whenever big sums of money are mentioned. And so it was that when stories of
plans to revive Uganda Airlines at a cost of some two billion dollars started
to leak out, then were confirmed by a couple of ministers to the media, the
most natural reaction for any Ugandan was to ask how much of it would be
pocketed by the high and mighty.
Many Ugandans yearn for the revival of QU — the code for the defunct national
carrier — even if just for reasons of prestige. And many also believe that a
poor landlocked country needs to develop a strong aviation industry.
In Addis Ababa, for instance, Ethiopian engineers long ago developed the
capacity to overhaul the largest jet engines that come onto the market. So you
would expect us to be jumping with excitement over the planned QU revival,
right? Wrong.
It is said that if you offer a bull to a community say, during campaigns, you
don’t give it to the village leper to slaughter and serve. There may be nobody
turning up for the feast.
So, much as we would love to have an airline rivalling Kenya’s and Ethiopia’s,
we need to be spared the farce of its being planned by politicians. And what is
worse, they are doing it behind closed doors, citing Cabinet confidentiality.
Last time we heard of the Cabinet deliberating on a billion dollar project was
over Karuma Dam. We heard that some yet-to-be-arrested criminals in Cabinet
stole some papers from the president’s confidential file and sold them to some
Chinese bidders. And since there has not been any reshuffle since, it is
presumably the same Cabinet now discussing a venture that involves sinking two
billion dollars.
No wonder they are said to be deeply divided, with some ministers reportedly
saying the government has no business getting into a business it failed at
miserably a while back — to the extent that whatever was left of QU could not
interest any buyer.
Some ministers are said to be proposing taking two (obviously borrowed) billion
dollars to buy shares in other peoples’ airline companies. Others believe that
since there is an annual million-plus passengers market at Entebbe, others
should be left to take the risk of investing in an airline while the government
collects taxes as the carriers compete.
Whatever the best way forward, it should not be determined in the secrecy of
our Cabinet. Governments that should go into big business ventures are those
with a track record of discipline and accountability, words that are not very
accurate descriptions of the Uganda government.
The matter should be put to aviation consultants. But the last aviation
consultant we gave a visa to came from London with five million dollars which
he gave to a Kampala prostitute who went ahead to blow it with her local gigolo.
We should call him back and pay him another five million to re-establish Uganda
Airlines so he can recoup what our girl stole from him.
If Uganda Airlines is to be revived, it should be with venture capital from
investors, not through a debt incurred on behalf of the unborn, the majority of
whom will die without ever flying even once.
Joachim Buwembo is a Knight International fellow for development journalism.
E-mail: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
Uganda Cabinet reviving national carrier is a plan that won’t fly - Comment -
<http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke> www.theeastafrican.co.ke
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/OpEd/comment/Uganda-Cabinet-reviving-national-carrier/-/434750/2001540/-/tdh0g4/-/index.html
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