NEW VISION’S MAN OF THE YEAR SHOCKED BUT DID NOT SURPRISE ME

In the Best and Worst of 2011, the New Vision had one challenge; to show that President Museveni was still relevant. Like in the 2011 Presidential Race, strategy was needed. At the end of the day, the exercise brought out what makes it the biggest joke. Of all the years President Museveni has been in that Hot seat, there is no single year that has impacted negatively on the whole country as 2011, in which case if the poll was to be taken seriously, it is a change in that slot that would make it worthy taking serious. It is because of that wish to protect the already damaged reputation of President Museveni that other slots are relatively reflecting objective thinking. This is what will finally kill Uganda.
I wanted the Saturday Vision because I knew there was much in summary of what the year 2011 had been, only to be greeted by the bad news of Museveni being the man of the year. If there was as independent referenda on this, New Vision would be ashamed of the outcome. Out there, apart from the fear of insecurity, the fact is people are feed up with Museveni’s administration, take it or leave it. It is promising a lot of hopelessness, emptiness and surely, those voting him are may be the few currently benefitting from the hopelessness of the status quo.
The Best and Worst came out after I had just finished working on a two year in one calendar for the Old Boys of St. Mary’s College Kisubi. The calendar ended up a two year in one as I had so many old boys to include, to bring out who have lived to the norm of St. Mary’s College Kisubi manufacturing leaders in Uganda and worldwide. I left out figures with a lot of question marks but are prominent, however, may be if I had access to photos, there are many more old boys I left out simply because they are Internet shy. I believe that in our age and time, it should be possible to access a few details about an individual from the net, but it is not the case with some figures and that was reason I left them out, and may be saved my having made a three year in one calendar for the old boys. Actually, it is after I had finished sending out the calendar electronically that I remembered that I had not included the Youthful MP, the only Gerald Karuhanga. In 2006, when I was working on St. Mary’s College Kisubi History for the School’s Centenary Magazine, I remember communicating to the Old Boys and requesting them to support Karuhanga for Guild President at Makerere University, by some luck, the boy made it. Hopefully, he will remain a shining star.
As we start the year 2012, it is important to be object, we are suffering and because we are blinded either by being favoured in jobs, we forget the injustice our people are going through. In my SMACK OBs’ 2012 – 2013 Calendar a number of old boys feature who have outstanding qualifications but are employed where the returns to work make sense. This is a challenge to the NRM Government, it does not make any sense to pretend that things are okay when out there people are being exploited and the little they would subsist on is also meaningless as the currency keeps depreciating by the day. I bought the copy of Saturday Vision in a Super Market, however, the prices of essentials is a big shock. Government would not sit back and leave things going the way they are. If a teacher gets shs 200,000, think about what this money can do and then get to the drawing board to see it improved. One strategy is to reduce expenditure of politics related non productive entities like the useless Presidential advisers and a number of other strategies can bail the country out in the short run and thereafter in the long run, but not Government sitting back. Recently, a certain man got work to cut grass for a big compound using a motorized machine. This work he does for 2 days and gets shs 150,000 as pay. Assuming he uses fuel of up to shs 50,000, the shs 100,000 makes sense. Such work which is unskilled is pulling skilled people, and then you imagine what will happen with time to areas that require skill but Government has paid lip service to see work conditions worth.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka