Mwenda, who benefits from Uganda’s impressive economic growth?

First published by The Razor on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 

I am amazed at the utter state neglect of institutions and abdication of responsibilities by leaders. I have often heard Andrew Mwenda praise President Museveni for having spurred impressive economic growth in Uganda which sadly doesn’t reflect in social welfare. Mwenda has often argued that Museveni’s problem is not as a result of his failures but his achievements, an argument I find misleading.
For instance, Mwenda has often stated that 300,000 people graduate from our tertiary institutions annually: This aims at duping the gullible into believing that too many people have been educated during Museveni’s regime. In 2009, 96,741 sat ‘A’ level exams. Only 60,370 qualified to join tertiary institutions. In 2010, 101,495 sat ‘A’ level exams. Out of this number 61,820 qualified for places in tertiary institutions.
Out of the people who pass, a big number only manage to get one principal pass and one subsidiary pass which doesn’t qualify them to join the university. Inevitably, after this level, there are many who drop out because they cannot afford fees for tertiary education. That means people who join university cannot be more than 30,000 a year. And many inevitably drop out before they finish their courses.
By the time I graduated from Makerere in 2005, the chairman of the convocation said that Makerere Alumni had shot to 56,000 Ugandans and non-Ugandans alike; dead and alive. Six years later, I don’t know how many have graduated from Makerere but the number is less. We have to note that, despite numerous universities in Uganda, Makerere University enrolment is slightly bigger than all other universities combined or the number almost the same.
We also must note that we have more non-Ugandans studying from here than the Ugandans studying outside Uganda because Uganda is still considered an education hub. This leaves this country with very few graduates. I believe that genuine Uganda university graduates are fewer than 200,000, for all other universities apart from Makerere started after the 1990s and have few products.
This brings me to what has always been my concern: Why are our graduates not getting jobs? The truth is, we have “Nasser Road graduates” who get jobs meant for university graduates because no measures are taken to curb this practice. Instead of spending 1.7trillion shillings to buy fighter jets to fight imaginary enemies, why not use that money to fight the real enemy which is graduate unemployment? If that money was to be given as a soft loan to 100,000 unemployed graduates, each one would get 17 million and create their own jobs. We have argued before that the less educated are happily employed as boda boda cyclists, barbers, shoeshiners, wheelbarrow pushers; fruit vendors and so forth.
Alternatively, if that money were to be invested in university education, the government would sponsor 10,000 students for more than 10 years. I am shocked by what I read in the papers daily. Human life has become too cheap because of politicians neglecting their responsibilities. How can human beings die like flies and we continue heaping insincere praise on the political leaders?
Whoever studied elementary economics knows well that economic growth doesn’t necessarily translate into economic development. Economic growth which doesn’t translate into social welfare is useless, to say the least. What we need is not economic growth but economic development. It is treachery for our intellectuals to incessantly tout economic growth figures when they don’t reflect on the lives of the majority of Ugandans. We have too much wealth in too few hands; our health care system has almost collapsed; our institutions have been fused with the regime and all they do is serve the interest of an individual, and that is what people who call themselves altruistic flaunt.
I have heard Mwenda say President Museveni is driven by altruism and not so much by self-interest. I find it rather shocking that Mwenda can label President Museveni an altruist. President Museveni also has countless times stated that his government has increased revenue generation ever since he captured power. But who benefits from the ever increasing revenue?
The walk-to-work campaign is a golden opportunity for Ugandans to demand accountability from the leaders. We need to ask the leadership the relevance of our taxes if state institutions have been run down. This campaign should lead to a national dialogue wherein crucial national issues should be debated. I would expect an altruistic leader to listen to dissenting voices and act. Surely, Ugandans have been made to believe that it is only the opposition that is concerned about their plight.

Mr Nuwagaba is a human rights defender
vnuwagaba@gmail.com