The national mood reads – we are for full re-opening of the economy – come what may! Wait – President Yoweri Museveni will on December 31 2021 give a speech which will determine whether we have a full or partial reopening. Therefore his end-of-year-speech is one of the most anticipated moments before we enter 2022.
Even then, there are millions of Ugandans who will not listen as the head of state delivers this critical address – for one reason or the other. For the more discerning countrymen, however, they will await the address to pick out guidelines on how to restart their lives after two most disruptive years to the economy since Museveni took power in 1986.
The lockdowns in the last two years have hit every sector with heavy blows – and the pessimist would say – Uganda as well as most of the world has to emerge from the “ICU” in bandages.
The oxygen which our economy and people need to breathe properly again goes more than just ‘free’ money. More than tax breaks. More than removing roadblocks. There is a need for a new mind-set – how we see, think about and do things.
And this boils down to leadership at all levels. Uganda is blessed to have too many leaders. Actually, it is said, for every 100 people, there are at least 10 leaders in their midst.
These leaders cannot just be complaining about rain and sunshine, air and water, fire and whatever. Every leader; political, cultural, religious, civic, name it – should focus on how to rebuild Uganda, starting from their village, choir, sports club, malwa group, etc – we should help our people to create an atmosphere where their faith in ourselves to solve today’s challenges runs through our veins. We should all focus on rebuilding what has been destroyed, starting from our mind sets. Belief systems. Social, economic and political organizations. We need faith in ourselves. Faith in Uganda. Faith in humanity. Faith in the universal powers that drive that there is.
We should create that fire in us to spark the confidence in the population that we can cross rivers, deserts and forests. That we can climb mountains and beat giants etc if we choose to, and stop looking at our shadows and name them ‘ghosts’ for fear’s sake.
Every leader of 10, should work towards building an atmosphere in their following to ignite new enthusiasm. Uganda can be Uganda again – what defines our people as a happy, go-lucky lot and big dreams.
It is this atmosphere of optimism, hard work, and solution finding that can give confidence to investors and their workers to build factories and businesses which have lost their spark.
The truth of the matter is – Covid-19 has not been all bad – there are positive things that we can associate with it. Uganda and Ugandans have once again proved their resilience even in the face of death. We can follow one direction when faced with big mountains and that is what we did when the president asked us to stay home, wear masks, wash hands and go for vaccinations.
And yes – now – we should focus on rebuilding and restoring hope in our work places.
This pandemic has helped the country build a more robust healthcare system. In Mukono where I live and a community leader for example, the General Hospital has built mechanisms to monitor, test, treat, or refer patients, which we didn’t have before. I hear this is happening across the country. This is a vital sign for our health care system which is going to deliver better medical services to our people.
Our health care system – its monitoring and patient in-take has improved. Our people have also diversified to keep their livelihoods – especially professions that were directly affected by the lockdown such as teaching and education support system.
In all this – Ugandans have learned to listen to experts when warned. Ugandans have also learned that in their society are vultures who don’t mind about the calamity facing them. We saw people stealing food meant to feed the poor. We saw people stealing money meant to buy ventilators to care for the sick.
It was good to see several services going digital which has improved service delivery.
The other vital sign has been about innovations – in medicine, agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, selling etc.
We should pick the best out of this pandemic. And not allow complacency to eat into our thinking. Having survived two or three waves, many Ugandans’ guard is down. This is dangerous because we don’t have enough evidence as to why the pandemic has not beaten us to the levels as anticipated. We could have God to thank for his interventions, yet, our response to the pandemic still mattered the most.
The country lost a number of people. Several people were hospitalized and spent money and time grounded. The illness, for families who lost loved ones, or, survived after ICU hospitalisation, left on them a heavy psychological burden.
Whereas Covid-19 medically affected a small percentage of the population, economically, socially and psychologically it has affected everyone.
As President Museveni addresses the country on December 31 2021, he is mindful of the challenges of a people emerging out of the ‘jail’ or ‘warzone’. Fatigued, disoriented, hopeless, low energy levels – but also, the promise of having survived a terrible life threat should be a motivating factor. That we can live again. And live with a bigger purpose.
Mike Ssegawa is a journalist, publisher of watchdoguganda.com and community organiser in Mukono Municipality
Email: kampalaplanet@gmail.com
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