OUR MORALS REVEAL A BIG NATIONAL PROBLEM

UGANDA deserves a social audit for the year 2008. For the first time in
her history, the ugly side of human behaviour reared its ugly face on the
conscience of Ugandans as never before. Attempts to dress this ugly face
in popular catch phrases such as human rights and freedom were made by
advocates of immorality with some degree of success.

Promoters of homosexuality, pornography and witchcraft, etc. were on the
offensive seeking to market their philosophies contrary to tenets of
Uganda's laws as well as nature. The venom of embezzlement, poor time
management and drug abuse, too, had their toll on public service.

In the case of homosexuality, some nations went into an overdrive. They
drafted a resolution for presentation to the United Nations which would
'compel' other nations to legalise, in effect, anal sex, in the case of
men, as an alternative to heterosexual sex. This is an unprecedented
classic case of abuse by these nations which are seeking to use their
weight and advantage to impose their tastes and preferences upon the rest
of the world. One wonders what divine right they have to do that!

Practitioners in witchcraft continued to wreck havoc on many Ugandans. As
a result, many of them are living in round the clock fear for their lives.
Those who chose to live in fear were 'pleased' their gods by selling or
offering their possessions. Witchdoctors whose pastime is to fleece
unsuspecting Ugandans of their money and possessions were responsible for
some of the rampant poverty in the country.

In other cases, individuals masquerading as traditional healers or
herbalists but in reality they are witchdoctors and criminals contributed
to the high spate of murders and child sacrificing in the country.

Theft or embezzlement continued to wreck public finances. This was a major
challenge because there was organized 'understanding' and collaboration
among some public officials which made detection difficult. Individuals
behind this racket chose to put their interests before those of Uganda.

In this regard, they threatened to wreck Government's chances of lifting
many Ugandans out of abject poverty. Such individuals are a real threat to
Government's Prosperity For All program and other related programs whose
main objective is to prosper Ugandans as well as put Uganda on a pedestal
of sustained development.

During the year, time Management was a greatly abused subject. Poor
management of the precious resource of time was one of the greatest
threats against Government's quest to transform lives of Ugandans.

Failure to keep and manage time marked every activity or transaction of
most Ugandans. If the time lost during the year were to be valued in
monetary terms, the cost would dwarf the money which is lost through theft
that are associated with abuse of office.

Time mismanagement had another face whose costly ramifications have not
been understood by Ugandans. Each time there is a wedding, on average ten
hours are spent per person in one day.

Hundreds of people come to attend. The man hours spent, the many people
who attend, the fact that in a weekend there may be over fifty weddings in
Kampala alone and the funds spent on drinks and food add to colossal sums
of money that if they were channeled to productive work would transform
Uganda. How long shall we, as a country, go on managing time in this way?

Drug abuse was a growing problem. So called artistes were in the lead of
popularising possession and taking of drugs. They elevated drug taking to
a bizarre level which is harmful to our young generation. Such drugs
include -marijuana, cannabis, cocaine and opium. Rather than being
entertainers, they such artists have become a social problem.

The overall effect of vices is devastating for Uganda's development. The
country will not experience a breakthrough to attain desired levels of
development if Ugandans do not support Government in its endeavors. What
has gone wrong in our country? Uganda's moral capital is considerably
limited.

A country is made great not necessarily by the resources (human, physical)
it has but the abundance in the population of values such as honesty,
respect, integrity, patriotism, care, thrift, industry and personal
responsibility.

The total sum of these and other values is what constitutes moral capital.
To this end, the morality of a nation is defined by the levels and
abundance of these values in its population. When they are absent or
limited in a population, that nation is consigned to an underdeveloped
status.

Even if a country has all the resources but not the moral capital, the
resources in question will be squandered and not benefit the population.

Uganda's moral capital is so low that our efforts to graduate to the club
of more developed nations will remain a challenge. Government's programs
such as Prosperity For All will continue to be threatened by insufficiency
of moral capital in the population and more crucially the public service.

The Government will renew its efforts against law breakers. It recognizes
that enforcement of laws on witchcraft, embezzlement or theft of public
funds, drug abuse, homosexuality and pornography has been weak.

To address the issue of inadequate laws, new legislation will be required.
Regarding witchcraft, discussions are underway in Government to
distinguish between witchdoctors and genuine herbalists.

The Government is appealing to the public to report all criminal
individuals cum witchdoctors in their communities. In 2009, Government
will seek to collaborate more with religious leaders and more emphasis on
moral education will be made.

The move to universalise immorality in the name of human rights or freedom
will not convince Ugandans to abandon what is right in preference of what
is wrong.

Uganda will neither legalise nor recognise homosexuality as a human rights
issue. Government has completed a nation-wide exercise on Uganda's values.