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KAMPALA � As celebrations went on in
Kololo to mark the country�s 42nd Independence Day anniversary,
many Ugandans went on with normal business.
A
mini survey by The Monitor in Kampala�s business district showed
that most shops were open as usual. Most people said they were too
poor to celebrate the day.
Mr
Mesach Migadde, a secondhand shoe vendor in St. Balikuddembe
Market, said he did not have the luxury to celebrate independence
when he had nothing to eat.
�Let
those in government celebrate,� he said. Mr Andrew Kalule, a
businessman at Nakivubo Mews, said, �Independence in poverty is
useless. A nation without money is not independent.�
Mr
Abubaker Male, a 53-year-old butcher, said the day did not make
much difference because �we are still in the hands of the whites
in IMF and the World Bank�.
�So
what kind of independence are you talking about?� he asked. Mr
Patrick Ssevume, a boda-boda rider, said he did not take
Independence Day seriously because even the government does not.
�In the past, there used to be flags everywhere in the city on
Independence Day.
�Look
around now, what is there in the city to show that today is
Independence Day?� he asked. Mr Lule Swaib, who sells agricultural
chemicals, said Ugandans could not be independent when they are
not yet economically independent. | 
