Humanist

Me, Ajakait, I know that many Ugandans do not have access to computers. It is feasible that maximum only 30% of Ugandans or less have access to computers.

A significant majority of Ugandans are generally excluded from accessing vital information about us; and which informs policies that have direct impact on our lives.

For example, Ija, as I was telling you the other day, the National Unity Platform (NUP) Party Manifesto, which was a well kept secrete, is now available online. I have been able to access it…

Eeeeh, Ajakait, this time you are not even bothering to greet me, I ask. She goes:

Ija, I don’t mean to disrespect you my senior citizen, but I am trying to catch up with the campaign trails. The candidates are now in day four. Ija, are you following, she asks.

Not really, please enlighten me, I respond and she goes on:

Ija, the battlefield is in Busoga for the two leading opposition parties, the two which have the larger number of members of parliament (MPs) in the current, 11th Parliament and which have fielded presidential candidates – NUP and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) original.

It is in Busoga where NUP launched its Manifesto I was telling you about. Ija, I tell you, I accessed it online and had a cursory read. After you bypass pages of the covered with singular photos of the presidential candidate, you get to the preamble.

Ija, I thought I would quickly discover from the preamble, what the NUP “New Uganda Now!” proposition is. Well, the one-page preamble consists of nine paragraphs, ten if you count the end slogan “people power …”

Eight of the nine paragraphs start with “WHEREAS.” Yes and in capital letters. It is like the author is a newly graduated lawyer who is excited to put his legal drafting skills into practice.

Nothing in the “WHEREAS” paragraphs of the preamble to describe the ‘NUP New Uganda’. The ninth paragraph of the preamble starts “NOW THEREOF” and it also does not specify the ‘NUP New Uganda’.

Ija, I was determined to stick to fact-based discourse, so I went on to do a quick perusal of the executive summary. It is a a total of three pages. Down through 1.5 pages of it, I found no clear definition of the ‘NUP New Uganda’.

I am not making it up, Ija. I detect from the tone of your voice disbelief, konye!

So, what was in the executive summary, I ask and she goes:

It was dominated with a regurgitation of problems, we Ugandans already know and are familiar with, through our lived experiences. Even in the proposed solutions towards the end of the executive summary, there was nothing specifically about how the solutions will be executed and achieved.

From my reading of the preamble and executive summary of NUP’s Manifesto it is not SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound).

Ija, I am running out of time, I have to rush somewhere, but I will call again soon and explain the SMART analytical framework for scoring manifestos.

In the meantime, Ija, I surmise that in rhetoric the FDC’s “Fixing the Economy; Money in our Pockets,” is smarter and the more believable.

By the way, the FDC presidential candidate is also campaigning in Busoga right now, at the same time as the NUP presidential candidate is, but in different districts.

Sincerely, except for Namayingo District, where only 29.6% of households are food secure, for the rest of Busoga, where on average about 50% of households are food secure, it is 50:50 on which proposition and messaging will capture the hearts of the Basoga – the “New Uganda Now!” or “Money in Our Pockets.”

Otherwise, Ija, if me, Ajakait, were a resident of Namayingo, where nearly 70% of households are food insecure, and the decision on who to vote for was issues based, the “Money in Our Pockets” proposition would be more attractive to me.

But where are you getting that information, I ask?

I am not like the majority of Ugandans, I have access to computers and fast speed internet. And I am so depended on computers that I really cannot fathom a life without them in my life.

Having access to computers allows me the privilege to access important documents, such as the the most recent 2024 Uganda National Population and Household Survey Report, which, for me, I am using as the baseline for the 2026 campaigns and elections.

Please read more in “State of food security in Busoga”

More later Ija, bye for now!