By Mutabazi Sam Stewart
Some people have argued that democracy is not necessarily a prerequisite for society to achieve development. I am not one of those because I believe that development brought about by democracy is more rewarding and sustainable while that without is like smokescreen. Through a democratic election in 2006 people in Kampala overwhelmingly voted Al Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala as their Mayor for a period of five years. Although most of the elites including myself were supporting Sebaggala’s opponent, Peter Ssematimba, because we believed that he would make a better mayor because of his education and exposure, Sebaggala won because his supporters, the urban uneducated poor overwhelmingly gave him the votes. I was skeptical from the beginning about Sebaggala’s promises of making the city better but all the same I gave him my benefit of doubt.
In his last year serving as the mayor of this dusty, muddy city, Sebaggala has occupied that seat with nothing much to show in terms of achievements. The city has become more disorganized with less service delivery than he found it. In fact one can argue that, possibly, the city may have been better without him because he almost adds no value apart from drawing a salary, allowances and being driven in a state of the art vehicles with personalized number plates written on “MAYOR”.
When he recently froze KCC accounts, an action that led to a strike by KCC workers over unpaid salaries, hardly did any thing change in terms of service delivery to city residents. The garbage went uncollected like had been the case before and the state of roads remained in a sorry condition like when the accounts were active. Sebaggala has always complained about inadequate funds that KCC receives from the central government as the reason why he may not deliver the services. He says that government sends him only 15 Billion shilling for roads every year. Although it may be true that this money is not enough to fix the roads in the city as the mayor agues, it is not too little to fix most potholes on some of the major roads in the city. It is very annoying that KCC only fixes the road when it has completely become impassable.
Both Sebaggala and former President Idi Amin share many commonalities but the most outstanding are two - minimum formal education levels and untamable egos. Both have big dreams and luck is on their side most of the time as they tell blatant lies to the people they lead without any recourse. The difference between the two men is that Sebaggala was elected while Amin captured power by force. As one English commentator once said “One wonders how a buffoon like Idi Amin managed to rule Uganda for eight years superintending over some of the best brains in Africa”. The same question can be asked today about how people like Sebaggala with his level of understanding can be able to become mayor of Kampala for all this time with all capable persons around. He is not ashamed because he recently announced that he will be seeking another term in office as mayor!
Idi Amin, at one time thought that his army was too powerful to militarily defeat the armed forces of Israel and possibly capture and occupy the famous Golan Heights. In the same vein, Sebaggala recently made public an artist’s impression of the building he wants to put up in Kampala with fifty floors. The building, he says, shall become the tallest in East and Central Africa. This is not to talk about the three hundred buses he promised to bring to the city when he had just assumed the office of the mayor. One wonders whether the mayor has any sense of guilt. He does not have the word sorry in his vocabulary nor can he know when to shut up. I am sure ten years or so from now, Sebaggala shall be asked about the fifty floor tall building he promised to build this year, he shall have either forgotten or he shall have an excuse why the building shall have not been built. And I can confidently bet on this issue that just like he has reneged on most of his promises Sebaggala shall not put up this building.
The problems of Kampala may not necessarily be solved by the mayor alone, but as the current head of KCC, he solely takes the blame for making Kampala a living hell for us the residents and especially for the people that voted him into office. So did we get the best out of democracy by having Sebaggala as our mayor? One may ask; was the election of Sebaggala as the mayor a breach of democracy or the reverse is true? What will happen to the city when Sebaggala is elected mayor again for another five years? Is it about time for the people of Kampala to put democracy on hold especially for the election of Mayor for the good of the city? Kampala is bleeding the way Uganda was bleeding under Idi Amin and Sebaggala is not about to relent on his dream of occupying that sweet office, doing nothing. God Bless Kampala.
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