Humanist

Like many, on hearing news that President of the United States (POTUS) Donald Trump had frozen USAID, I was quick to place the blame for people in Uganda not accessing medical care to him. Specifically, as regards to ARVs for managing HIV and AIDS.

I have since jumped off that bandwagon.  I realized I had used pure emotions to jump onto it, without actually examining the core logic as to the reason why the discontinuation of USAID in its current form.

When I did a self-check, it dawned on me that the responsibility to access healthcare services to Ugandans is not the primary responsibility of POTUS. It is the responsibility of the Parliament of Uganda, that approves budget allocations and with the mandate and responsibility to check the Executive.

That Uganda is overly dependent on USAID for management of HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis is no fault of POTUS. It is 100 percent the fault of our Parliament and in the way it rationalizes and allocates the national budget, including to self.

Yes, I think Uganda is the only country in the world in which members of parliament self-determine their emoluments. An exercise they have taken to a level beyond comprehension! Seriously, what value for money are we getting from our Parliament?

I answer with a sample performance scorecard for Hon. Otukol Sam, Member of Parliament (MP), representing Pallisa County, my ancestral home.

Using “The Ten (10) National Ethical Values,” as they were launched by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on 8th October 2013, as published in “The National Ethical Values Policy” for Uganda, the explanation for my scoring is:

• Ethical Value 1: Respect for Humanity and Environment – Pallisa Hospital, constructed in 1969, is the only major government hospital in Pallisa. It is located in Pallisa County; has a 60 percent staffing gap – is “sickened by a doctor patient ratio of 1:25,000”; and is allocated Shs 400M per budget cycle, less than the annual salary of an MP (Source Daily Monitor story: “Locals urged to utilize lower grade facilities in a bid to decongest Pallisa Hospital.” What has our Hon. MP, Otukol, said about this absurdity on the floor of Parliament, specifically when budget allocations are being debated? Nothing, as far as I know.

• Ethical Value 2: Honesty; uphold and defend the truth at all times – Check out the New Vision story “Pallisa MP-elect charged with Shs 524.8M theft before the Anti-Corruption Court.” His company, “Zedkol Financial Services Ltd” was accused by the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, alongside government officials for “causing financial loss, abuse of office, conspiracy to defraud.”

• Ethical Value 3: Justice and fairness in dealing with others – Google “Josephine Agadi” the young woman exported to Saudi Arabia as a maid and who upon successfully fighting for her return home, committed suicide two days after she landed with nothing to show for her labour. She was of Pallisa County. Her MP, Hon. Otukol, said nothing on the floor of Parliament.

• Ethical Value 4: Hard work for self-reliance – Hon. Otukol is certainly hardworking for his own self-reliance. He owns companies including a labour export company, perhaps the reason he stayed mute on the matter of his constituent, late Josephine Agadi.

• Ethical Value 5: Integrity; moral uprightness and sound character – My “Open letter to Pallisa County Member of Parliament Sam Otukol” published on my blog, The Humanist View, here on my website, is revealing of his conduct, as far as I have come to know. In addition to the other sources prior mention in this post.

• Ethical Value 6: Creativity and innovativeness – Hon. Otukol, certainly is, for his own gain. The exploitative businesses he engages in – labour export and usury speak of his creativity to gain by taking the proverbial “pound of flesh.”

• Ethical Value 7: Social responsibility – There was a time I was at a funeral and he promised to dole out iron sheets to disadvantaged youth in his constituency. I know one of the youths promised to receive, but to date, years later, he has received nothing. It was an empty promise from Hon. Otukol, which also speaks to his integrity and honesty deficiency.

• Ethical Value 8: Social harmony – Well, the manner in which Hon. Otukol has overtly allied with a criminal, defending the criminal, as the criminal violates Court Orders (Suit N0. 18 of 2022, at High Court in Mbale), on the matter of malicious damage of my orchard in Pallisa County, speaks for itself.

• Ethical Value 9: National Unity and 10: National Consciousness and Patriotism -I don’t really know. He is among those MPs who are mute in the house – never saying anything on the floor of Parliament to present and represent the views of the 15K constituents who voted for him.

I would love to be corrected. So, I invite you to engage and share with me alternative views on the performance of Hon. Otukol. And better still, please take your time and also reflect on the performance of your member of parliament and share your scorecard of his or her performance.