Hi George,
Thank you very much for bringing yet another perspective to the discussion. You
have made me think about the concept of time even more.
Regards.
Sam
________________________________
From: George Afi Obitre-Gama <gobi...@yahoo.com>
To: samuel andema <andema...@yahoo.co.uk>; A Virtual Network for friends of
West Nile <westnilenet@kym.net>
Sent: Wednesday, 9 April 2014, 9:15
Subject: Re: [WestNileNet] FW: [wougnet-l] 048/2014 Why Ugandans don't keep
time....
Richard & Sam,
Thanks for the insights regarding time keeping in the African context. Many a
time, we do not understand the concept of time or time management. The term
"Time Management" is a misnomer. You cannot simply manage time and I don't
think anyone can manage time - not even the best of the best. What we usually
do is manage the events in your life in relation to time. How you use that time
depends on skills learned through self analysis, planning, evaluation and
self-control. Now, that is where Sam correctly brings in the concept of time
being a commodity.
I hope I have not brought in another angle!! Let the debate continue!!
Regards,
--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 4/8/14, samuel andema <andema...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Subject: Re: [WestNileNet] FW: [wougnet-l] 048/2014 Why Ugandans don't keep
time....
To: "A Virtual Network for friends of West Nile" <westnilenet@kym.net>, "'St.
Joseph's College Ombaci OB's Mailing List'" <ombaci...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 5:35 PM
Dear
Richard,I wish to thank you for sharing with us
the writer's views on why Ugandans "don't keep
time". However, the problem with the article is that it
assumes that time is a universal concept which it is not.
Time is a socio-culturally specific concept whose alleged
management or rather mismanagement is dependent on the
material conditions. In the Western World where I
have spent the last seven or so years, time is
mainly viewed as a private property that people own
individually. It has a market value for which it can be
sold or bought. This makes time a scarce commodity which had
to be calibrated into hours, minutes and seconds to be put
on office walls in form of clocks and on people's
arms as watches. In
Africa, time is not necessarily a private property. Not at
all! On the contrary it is a communal resource which is best
shared with others through social interactions ranging from
family meetings, meal times, ordinary conversations,
greetings, funerals, drinking places, marriage ceremonies,
parties, to economic transactions. In Africa time is
not an abstract concept symbolized by clocks and watches
that exist independent of us. It is part and parcel of our
being. It is fluid and it flows with you from one
activity to another. Our time is marked by the end of an
activity in which one has been involved. Once the activity
has ended, it is time for the next activity. This makes the
African rather elastic contrary to the Western concept of
time.
So, before one rashes to blame Africans for not
keeping time, it would be advisable to first reflect on the
assumed universality of time on the basis of which one
would more
meaningful arguments. Next time when someone blames you of
not keeping time ask him or her which time or rather whose
time and give them some food for thought.
Thanks.
Sam Andema
From: Okuti Richard
<ok...@asili.co.ug>
To: 'St.
Joseph's College Ombaci OB's Mailing List'
<ombaci...@googlegroups.com>; 'A Virtual Network
for friends of West Nile' <westnilenet@kym.net>
Sent: Monday,
7 April 2014, 20:40
Subject:
[WestNileNet] FW: [wougnet-l] 048/2014 Why Ugandans
don't keep time....
I found this interesting to
read…=====================“Why Ugandans don’t keep
time….For those of us who studied in
Church-founded schools, the question of time management was
none you could
dare compromise on. Reporting late to class or to church or
to the assembly by a single minute carried a hefty
punishment. From St. Joseph’s Vocational School, I joined
the School of journalism at the Uganda Christian University,
and in the first lesson, the professor emphasized the
importance of time management in the communications
industry. The media particularly works in a chain and if any
member fails to adhere to their allotted schedule, the
entire chain process is delayed.Fast-forward into the real
Ugandan world, and time management is terribly a huge
problem. Not only do people come late for meetings, but
there’s not even a culture of
sending [timely] apologies
and some neither confirm nor show up at all. At the higher
levels, it’s quite a norm for the senior officials to show
up an hour or so
late, and some believe it’s fashionable since they are
busy people! And not only do high people come late, but they
even leave early! And this abuse of schedules stretches to
many other sections of society, in what has come to be known
as “Ugandan time”.I
have witnessed situations where some NGOs organize meetings
and the organizers themselves arrive late! In other
instances, participants trickle into meetings leisurely
throughout the entire meeting duration. Various
organizations are also battling with late-coming at work by
their staff, and some require everyone to clock into a
register on time.I
have been keenly observant lately in trying to understand
just why Ugandans do not keep time. The practice is usually
to
hound blame on the persons not keeping time, without
analyzing the factors that facilitate this situation in the
first place. Among other reasons why Ugandans in
particular do not keep time includes: Disinterest-
One sees no significant difference in keeping time or not as
either or doesn’t make any significant
changeLack of
motivation- That keeping time is
actually such a waste of time! Priority-
Competing priorities also encourage people not to keep time.
Someone wants to attend a meeting, but having her hair well
done is equally importantShort notice-
It’s common in Uganda to arrange meetings at a very short
notice. This presumes that the invited parties are free and
therefore flexible, yet it’s not always the
caseProtest-Some people come late
deliberately to frustrate progress especially on matters
they do not quite believe inNo value
attached: That a minute reported
earlier or later, is insignificant. Being present, late or
absent =1.Resignation-
That the last three times I was the first to report but the
meeting started an hour later, so why
bother?Priority
staking-That my own stuff matters
more than what I have been invited forPoor planning-
Failure to properly allocate the available time e.g. you
have a meeting at 10.00am and you decide to engage yourself
up to 9.30am, only to be entangled in traffic
jamAh, but wait a moment: Many
Ugandans actually keep time when it matters, including those
well-known not to keep time. Here are a few instances where
Ugandans keep time:Travel abroad-The last time I checked,
there are very few flights if any, that delay take off
because a certain passenger
is late. Ugandan travelers know the rule of the game, and
even if they try to evade the mandatory 2-hour check-in,
they are on time for boarding Football-
Some Ugandans are so passionate about their Football teams
especially when it comes to the famous Premier League and
Champions League matches. Fans can’t afford to miss a
single minute of the funfair. People tend to be religious to
those things that most appeal to their inner man/womanFood-It’s become evident
that participants attending meetings starting with lunch or
breakfast report far earlier than those without. Also
dinners and cocktails are quite well attended on time.
That’s why some people even spend so much on fundraising
meetings before even getting any pledges!Cake-Akin to the above, many
Ugandans quite like cake so much. So nowadays on some
weddings, the first item is cutting the cake!Money-Any event with tangible
monetary value assured, participants will surely
come on time. It’s not unusual nowadays therefore for
event organizers to provide transport refund even when the
participant is the end beneficiaryJob interviews-time management here is
internationally observed, if that should serve an added
advantageFunerals-Yes, everyone wants to be on
time to say goodbye to their loved one. As it stands therefore, it’s
not true that Ugandans are naturally born time unconscious.
They simply do not give a damn as long as keeping time has
no proven additional value.Some organizations have
introduced penalties for late-coming, but still this has not
worked. They forget that unless the factors holding back
individuals from observing time have been addressed, laws
cannot be the solution. They care less when their staff
leave office so late past normal working hours, but expect
them to report to work on schedule the next day; and for
events that are of no direct benefit to an individual, it
would be expecting too much of anyone to enthusiastically be
on time. So, it’s imperative that Ugandans
graduate from looking at time merely on the Clock and attach
a human face to it. Even the clock itself can only continue
ticking when the cell in it is functioning. This cell could
be related to the enabling factors aforementioned. An
English adage says, “Time is money”. If keeping time
gives one money, they will keep it; but equally so, if not
keeping time gives one money, they will not keep it- where
money is merely figurative. It could be anything else of
value to an individual. I believe with the right motivation,
even the Kampala Jam may not be reason enough for anyone not
to keep time.By: Tumusiime K.
DeoInternational
Communications Consultant--
Tumusiime K. Deo is an
International Communications Consultant”
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