| TORONTO
There is nothing very complex for me to write about like
Uganda's debt because I am both earning a living in a nation
supposed to give the relief yet I was born in Uganda. This
puts me in a very complicated position. As the G8 nations have
been studying ways of giving Africa debt relief, one must
wonder whether it is a good idea, and I am going to use both
Canada and Uganda as examples to illustrate my
point.
When the Conservatives came to power, the debt
of Canada went through the roof. Spending went totally out of
control. As Canadians we knew that the debt on Canada was
going to be paid by someone - namely our children, when we are
old or dead. The population got worried and decided to vote
the Conservatives out of power. The Brian Mulroney days ended
by voting the party out of office.
The Liberals came
to power under the banner of paying the debt and restraining
expenditure. Very painful decisions were made. Embassies were
closed, government staff recruitment was frozen, military
spending was curtailed.
Embassies like Nairobi
decreased staff to the extent that today they have one Doctor
who checks all intending immigrants or visitors to Canada from
Kenya and all surrounding nations including Uganda. All this
was done because we as a society felt the responsibility of
the huge debt; we knew it should be on us and not on our
children.
The Liberals have enjoyed a great time, so
much that even when hit with a corruption scandal that is
going on in Ottawa as we speak, Canadians fear to re elect any
Conservative government because we just do not want a debt on
this nation. The Canadian debt is falling and fast, in fact
provinces like Alberta have zero debt as you read this
posting.
I wonder whether Ugandans really care about
the national debt. Does the Uganda government want a debt
relief because it wants to borrow more or because it is
worried about the future generations? Can Uganda show us what
they have done with all the monies they have borrowed before?
Hard times
In the twenty years that the
Movement has been in power, can we see the steps that have
been taken to improve Uganda's economy so that it can become
self-sustaining tomorrow? These are some of the very many
questions we must ask ourselves as we contemplate to ask for
debt relief.
Let me speak as a Canadian at this point.
I wake up in the morning at minus 40 degrees, when it has
snowed to my knees, so that I can go and make an income. It is
this income that the Federal government taxes to the bone and
then use it to lend money to Uganda.
As you are reading
this, we have a very high humidity that if it continues this
way for another week, lives will be in danger. On the other
side Ugandans are enjoying good weather twenty four hours;
they have time on their hands and lots of it. Many just do not
work. And a good number of them just do not care. Why should
we as Canadians give Uganda debt relief?
When Uganda
borrows money, decisions are made on how to spend it. If a
government decides to build a war machine, if a government
decides to spend its entire life time fighting endless wars,
if a government fights almost all its neighbours when they
cannot finance those wars except by borrowing to the tooth,
why should it be our responsibility to suffer the actions of
such a nation?
Priorities must always be set. If
Uganda needs to borrow money for schools, hospitals and road
construction, that is totally understandable, and again if
those are built, whoever borrows must always pay back. I need
a justification of why nations like Canada which have a
population that works to death in very unbearable weather
conditions, should be responsible for Uganda's
debt.
Special circumstances can push a nation to a
debt. Famine is one but Uganda has rain almost all year
around. Unlike Canada, most of Uganda's land is fertile and
arable. If used properly, its land can feed the nation
sufficiently. There is no natural disaster that has hit this
nation. I need just one reason why Uganda has to
borrow.
Frustrated
But this is what
is frustrating me most as a Ugandan in Canada: Because of
financial restraint and discipline, Canada closed most of her
embassies worldwide; those running are on skeleton staff. In
the whole of Europe we left only UK embassy to hold the Visa
section of Europe. So if you are in Denmark or Sweden and want
to get a Visa to Canada you have to fly to UK to apply for it.
Uganda in the meanwhile has embassies in almost all European
nations.
The Canadian Federal Government has cut down
on ministries, and expanding some to absorb the work of some
integrated ministries, for it becomes cheaper.
Uganda on
the other hand has one of the largest governments in Africa -
to the extent that they have even a minister of general
duties. Someone should tell us exactly what that ministry
does.
So, why should my Member of Parliament in Ottawa vote
for legislation giving Uganda debt
relief?
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