It has been said by someone famous, but whose name escapes me, that every problem is an opportunity.
So it is with the land question. The Bakiga (Banyakigezi) are not fleeing their homeland because of wars or other calamity. Rather they are on the move because they have over-populated their natural land, i.e. they have produced more people than their homeland can support.
Simply moving people from point A to point B will not work. It seems to me that the longterm solution to this problem involves a profound change in our population policy (assuming that such a creature exists somewhere in the bowels of the government).
The government need to urgently undertake a massive family planning program in Kigezi to ensure that women of child-bearing age (& to some extent also men) know:
(1) the consequencies of large families (having many children, fertility, etc)
(2) how to space children so as to be able to care for them with available resources
(3) modern birth control methods (the government could and should provide some of these free of charge to these ladies)
(4) effect of age at first reproduction.
(5) And at least some elementary biology of the reproductive cycle (you'd be amazed at the extent of ignorance of some basic facts on this, even amongst university graduates!!!).
The government should also undertake to improve access to healthcare, especially infant & maternal.
Rural electification could pay major dividends here, as it would make TV accessible to them, although high capital investments are required. In the last century, with the advent of the Aswan Dam in Egypt, and the ensuing electrification, fertility rates plummeted in the affected rural areas. (UN) experts of every stripe were dispatched to the areas to investigate what the cause was. Many million dollars later, they turned up in Cairo to present their findings. The availability of TV programming in the areas had changed the sex habits of childbearing adults. They stayed up later at night to watch TV and less time in the baby-making business. Besides, educational programs on TV in local languages, e.g. Rukiga; could make life better.
It is rather unfortunate that our fearless ruler thinks that Africa's population is 'sub-optimal'! There is more to a population than just sheer numbers. Anyone who looks at our populations will not fail to see that, typically, 50% is under age 15 (cf ca. 30% or so for the developed world). In other words, the problem is already here: those folks will be wanting places (land) of their owns, jobs, schools for their children, etc, etc real soon.
Anyhow, such things cost money. But if we can afford a US $40Million presidential jet to ferry grandkids and helicopters to take local celebrities to the fearless one, we certainly can afford to provide the above mentioned services.
Do we just lack the will or are we waiting for 'ethnic-clensing' civil wars to erupt to jolt us into taking such commonsense action?
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--- Begin Message --->From: "Kiwuka Mawano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [FedsNet] Matters Arising: The Generalismo�s Land Grab >Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 17:55:49 +0000 > > >FedsNetters: > >Like I said before, it's not going to be a pretty sight. > >Kiwuka > > > > >From: "Kiwuka Mawano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Fri May 30, 2003 4:59 pm >Subject: Landless Bakiga - It'll be uglier in Acholiland > >Waneti: > >It's a pity that the land control wrangles in Bunyoro are resulting in >deaths, insecurity & wanton destruction of property. While I hope that >sense & civility prevail, I'm afraid it's only going to get worse -- >especially once the drilling for hydrocarbons starts in a few years. > >Although so much has been said against Buganda's simple demand that property >rights be enshrined in the constitution, I worry that land ownership & >control issues will explode in other parts of the country. >For instance, I don't imagine that it'll be a pretty sight once Uganda wakes >up from the present nightmare in Acholiland and the wannachi find that the >biggest landowners there are from the S.West! > >I know Acholis whose families broke their backs working hard to establish >homes & shambas in Gulu, only to watch them be expropriated or "bought out" >by officers of the current regime. With robber barons reigning supreme, how >can we realistically hope to have lasting national security when so many >groups of people are on the receiving end of premeditated, state-sponsored, >systematic economic violence? > >How can these ghosts not come back to haunt the country? I'm afraid that >there's a lot of stuff being done in the spirit of what the Baganda call >"ekinyi" (maliciously) that will boomerang sooner or later. > >While I'm so passionate about wealth creation (as opposed to poverty >alleviation) being the best vehicle to empower Africans, I confess to having >difficulty understanding how a soldier/public official with no discernable >track record in business ends up being the largest landowner in Acholiland >in less than 2 decades. Even the Mehtas, Madvhanis, Mitchell Cotts weren't >able to do so!!! To put it bluntly, isn't this the same sh** white >people(Cecil Rhodes etc...) did to Africans, grabbing their lands, depriving >them of a means of livelihood & ultimately forcing them to sell their labor >to the mining industry? Haven't we learnt anything after all these years & >wars of liberation? > >Lastly, as a muganda whose maama omuto (aunt) is from Kigezi, I wonder if >the crisis over land control in Bunyoro presents Uganda with what Americans >would call a "teachable moment." Perhaps we can tell the Omukama's people >about the benefits of supporting "obusenze" (migration) since there is >irrefutable evidence that societies that are welcoming of immigrants have >tended to do better all over the world for the past 200 - 300 years. Just as >European agriculture was transformed by the sophisticated farming methods >(esp. irrigation techniques) of the African Moors, I posit that Bunyoro >could benefit from an infusion of the renowned farming methods & ethic of >Abakiga! > > >Crying for the beloved country, >Keeping hope alive, >Dreaming of an African renaissance, >God bless, > >Kiwuka Mawano > >P.s: What do waneti make of Numbers 36: 7-13? > >_________________________________________________________________ >Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* >http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail >Mr. Kiwuka-Mawano:
You hit the nail on the head. The land question in Uganda is a ticking time bomb. Sooner rather than latter it will explode and as you point out, it will not be pretty.
The national govermnent has messed up the land issue as has been with everything else. The best hope lies in joint management between the federal/national and state governments.
The land problem is probably more sensitive in Bunyoro at the moment. The Banyoro have finally said enough is enough and will stand up for their rights. Recently, Bunyoro named captain Ibrahim Nyangabyaki Akiiki ( a former Governor under Amin) their minister of defence.
Unfortunately the Banyoro because they do not have sons and daughters in the media have been portrayed as the wrong guys. No one has spared a thought for the poor banyoro and what they have gone through.
The Bakiiga are insensitive and outright arrogant towards the Banyoro for obvious reasons. But before netters jump over me, just imagine if the reverse was true: Banyoro moving in large numbers on forest land in Kigezi. How would the Bakiiga feel? If the Bakiiga continue to be insensitive, as they say in Buganda "bagenda kifuwa nga bakiza munda" (sp) very soon.
The Banyoro get portrayed as if they are unwelcoming when they are in fact very welcoming. They have welcomed many people from Acholi, Buganda, West Nile, Busoga without any problems. So why do they seem to have a problem only with the Bakiiga? That is the question, but all that will be mitigated through federalism.
I applaud the people of Kitgum for saying enough is enough too and for standing up to land grabbers in Uganda. Netters may not be aware, but YKM is arguably the largest single land owner in Uganda!
WBK
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