The Quest for Federo, and the sins of the Aristocracy

By Hopes N. Kikonyogo

The year 2004 ended on a bad note with a clear absurdity of opportunism and greed in a simple Ugandan life galloping alarmingly at a fast rate into the aristocracy and middle classes. The year 2004 witnessed alot of lows in Uganda's history, but perhaps the utmost disregard of the significance of the union to Uganda's political safety and sovereignity stood high above.

The opportunism blinded most of the main stream media even to the evident unfolding dangers to which our nation would be exposed to, should we find it fitting to permit the dissolution of the union. The mentality behind all this theatrics seemed to be the ill conceived concept of "nfuniramu wa?" to the detriment of serious concerns scarcely discussed! The question here is how insufficient has the present union been to cause agitation for its disintergration, even when we are reminded that no political system is devoid of material imperfections.

There is evidence that even Mengo, is not ready for a sudden transformation of the political landscape. What, for instance, will be Buganda's future if her thirst for federo is quenched? Do we as Baganda then have to shelve nationalism to backroom counters to be seen as fully embracing the monarchy?

There is scarcely anything that can wound the pride of a soveregn nation and its inhabitants on international stage than agitation for self determination within that nation. This, on several occasions, has led to disintergration of profound sovereignities! Its interesting then to imagine Buganda's predicament on signs of aggression from 'neighbouring sovereignities' if the above scenario occured. Probably she will incurr foreign debts in such times of imminent peril for the preservation of her existence.

There is this 'cancer' of the lost territories. What happens to Singo, Bugangaizi, Bugerere etc valuable territories in Buganda's possession which by express stipulations, ought long since to have been surrendered? Equally important, are all other Ugandans entitled by nature to a free participation of resource exploitation in areas encompassed by the monarchy, and a free navigation of water bases like the Nile, L. Victoria etc? The list of concerns goes on and agonizingly on!

The notion of "like it was, it will ever be" in these increasingly changing times forms the basis of the aggressive attittude towards democratising of Mengo by Federo proponents. This is probably the first sign of aristocracy/middle class conspiracy to turn the clock backwards to the culture of class exploitation that usurp basic freedoms supposedly guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human rights adopted by the UN General Assembly. Land owners/Lords, Bataka, all the priviledged etc are chanting federo rhymes, not because they appreciate federalism as a system of governance that can be given a chance, but because as typical capitalists they foresee increase in capital wealth accumulation at the expense of the bakopi.

It is laughable to even imagine a singular instance of the capriciousness of the human mind, that after all the troubles we have gone through, there should still be found reputable men and women who object to the white paper's good intentions of punitive measures annexed to depature from the supreme law of the land by the aristocracy. The concept that all men are equal before the law seems to be challenged by these selfish opportunists.

If no man is above the law, then why should we not embrace a sanction attended to the law of the land for disobedience, for they are laws of the land and not just recommendations.

It is manifested that the Kingdoms/monarchys will comply with all Uganda's constitutional requisitions and that their respective self interests are indeed common interests that will preside over sanity between themselves and the central govenment. However, out of experience we have learnt that the true springs by which human conduct is actuated towards the inducement of civil power is always turned around in self destruction.

Buganda's ultimate survival depends on both Ugandans and the subjects of the monarch. Poor strategic planning and stinky diplomacy on behalf of the Federo proponents is culminating into the disintergration of the mornachy (as witnessed by the coronation of the Sabaruli) even before they see that elusive light at the end of the tunnel.

Dr. Apollo Milton Obote; The misunderstood Leader?

Former Ugandan leader;
Late Dr. Apollo Milton Obote


By Hopes N. Kikonyogo

The past few days following Uganda's first executive Prime Minister's death, we all witnessed an unprecedented reaction of jubilation from several
sections of Uganda most vocal of whom being from Buganda.

Unprecedented because in our kiganda tradition it is taboo to celebrate a demise. It still beats my mind why some Baganda would go to the extent of even carrying out mock last funeral rites of Obote with a stray dog as his successor? Was this reaction a natural human way of being symbolic considering the mayhem Buganda endured in Obote's perceived reign of divisiveness or just vile retribution? To answer this question one needs to revisit the history of Uganda that helped spell doom for Obote, Uganda and her people.

http://www.federo.com/Pages/The_1966_Crisis.htm

The fall out with the Baganda may have commenced in 1967, when Obote abrogated the 1962 constitution replacing it with one that loaded the executive with absolute power. The new constitution abolished monarchies and the position of the executive Premier, which was a coup against the president of the country at the time who was the Kabaka of Buganda. It was un-imaginable to a muganda to see their lion in defeat running to exile for his dear life, more so since the Kabaka was highly regarded as next to divine. This never settled well with the Baganda who held Obote in vain even in death.

I do recall with utter clarity, the disdain accorded to Obote by the Baganda whilst growing up, that I am certain so much of the "character assassination" may have been made up for the next generation's consumption. You know when a word of mouth gets distorted every time it got into a recepient's ear and through his mouth to another recepient's ear? For example, it is widely said, though not supported by any documention, that he once said “a good muganda is a dead one” whilst addressing his cronies. But if such is true that he hated Baganda with a passion, why marry a muganda? Why would he desire to have in laws from a tribe he dislikes or even bare children who will share that tribe's blood? Opportunism? I do not think so.

History has never been kind to Obote though. We the Baganda have not been able to understand the complexities of Obote's decisions and running of a govenment. However, the most complexity of all is the supposed incentives for these decisions he took that supposedly changed our mindsets. I am willing to agree with the obote-ists that these constitutional maneuvers were done in the interest of the nation. Obote presided over the most difficult dilemma of either subscribing to the cause of Buganda (which would have led to the disintegration of Uganda as we know it) or standing in Buganda's way to solidify Uganda's position and her national interests. He chose the right path of nationalism to the total dismay of mornachists, who wouldn't in such circumstances.

The moment King Muteesa II refrained from signing the lost counties Referendum Act, 1964; and to sign the Act setting out the boundaries of both Buganda and Bunyoro, 1965; and failure to perform the official opening of the session of parliament on 15th November, 1965. He presented to Obote justifications for abrogating the constitution and thus ceasing the tenure of monarchs. Section 67 of the 1962 constitution stated that if the president declines to perform an act as required by the constitution, the Prime Minister (who happened to be Obote) may himself perform that act.

It is also important to note here that, King Muteesa II and the Lukiiko of Buganda had set a plan to expel the central government from Buganda's land. Mengo had earlier passed a decree to secede from Uganda, which was a threat to the sovereignty of the nation. As an executive Prime Minister, Obote seems to have had no other option other than military action against the kiganda rebellion.

His reputation with the Baganda was to haunt him in his second term, when Museveni used him and his 1966 antics to wage a successful rebellion in the early 80s and later for re-election. Obote's second term as President saw gross political and economic mismanagement that soiled our dear nation even further. But did he have a chance to rebuild the economy and indeed the nation after Idi Amin? Didn't he take over a dying economy only to be taken to task by Museveni's rebellion? Did he really have a chance to make the wrongs right? It seems the best one can do is to let by gones be by gones, reconcile and learn from our rich history for the sake of our country. To that I say Rest in peace, Dr. A.M Obote.

Sacrificing our freedoms for Kisanja?

By Hopes N. Kikonyogo


The movement against the third term/kisanja prompted by the proposed constitutional amendment, in form of the white paper presented to the paliament late last year, suggesting limiting a president to three terms other than two is gaining momentum.

This momentum is a result of the main stream media in Uganda which has relentlessly given us this impression that public opinion against the extension has reached goliathan heights. Sooth Sayers and many of their cousins have successfully in planted in us possibilities of till death do us apart rhetoric generating a fear of statutory hereditary monarchy among urban Ugandans. Even John Nagenda, Kaguta's Senior Presidential Advisor on the media and perhaps his chief propagandist jumped onto the band wagon with seemingly no hesitation, if his articles are anything to go by. The times of politics as a career seem to be over (or are they?).

The opponents of the kisanja argue that democratic governance requires responsible and accountable elected president and that accountability will be severely hurt when the elected Museveni becomes even entrenched. They all seem to sound like John Adams' students, when they profess that the two term limits envelop the incurmbent with virtues of humility, patience and moderation "...Without which every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey."

That the third term is so long it will corrupt the incurmbent, entrench a hereditary monarchy that will be hard to dethrone. Perhaps somebody did not remind the opponents they may have come a little bit too late, for Kaguta had consolidated his grip on state power firmly, relegating meaningful political competition to the gutters and building himself a system that is providing him and his movement electoral advantage over his lackadaisical challengers who seem to crumble like play cards each day that passes.

If you thought political careerism is over, think again for the political gods are not smiling. Its becoming evident that the opponents are themselves not interested in extending term limits to their portfolios and offices. I wonder why they would agitate for definite eligibility to the presidency and then turn around to exempt themselves as MPs, LCs and heads of political parties. Hypocrisy perhaps, opportunism maybe.

This is where I beg to defer from all term limit sympathizers. It does not seem to bother all of you that by imposing limits you violate the Ugandan's fundamental right to choose and to a preference as guaranteed by the UN Charter of rights (Universal Declaration of human rights).

I have always had an inner conviction that term limits are fertile grounds for corruption, also an undeniable base for political, social and economic instability. The incurmbent with a limited allocation will always be tempted to make the most of the short terms allotted to him. As Gouverneur Morris once suggested that the writing will be on the wall for him "...Make hay while the sun shines."

The state of affairs in USA paints a better picture of my argument here, a new govenment hastily endeavoring to leave a legacy by reversing the previous govenment's policies to suit themselves, lobbyists, their party and the corporate world at the expense of national interest. How would you then fault the notion that indefinite eligibility insures domestic tranquility.

The people are sovereign and the govenment is their servant. If that is so, then by chaining the will of sovereign Ugandans to legalities and limitations you are collectively defranchising their vote and therefore violating their basic right to choose/preference. Why shouldn't the incurmbents avail themselves for service if the electorate choose to give them their confidence?

Citizens of Uganda have a constitutional right to stand for any political office within their perceived competence, we should not be seen as detering them. What other incentive will a politician have to perform and please the electorate than limitless terms, for the greatest restraint on him is the realization that he has to face the voters for re-election and be judged on his perfomance in office.

Both two and third term salesmen are the same wine in different bottles bent at violating even the basic free will of the people of Uganda to exercise their right to a franchised ballot. I want no limits, favoring unending eligibility for political office, for I categorically believe that this rhetoric of term limits is inconsistent with the freedoms we are presumed to be generally enjoying.

All Eyes on the White Paper and Dual Citizenship

Faith by the Farmers' Market stairs in Hamilton, Ontario.


Faith fantasizes about the land of her ancestors so far away, she dreams of a day when she and her younger sister Primrose will embark on that journey of self discovery, constantly ponders about her grand parents and cousins. That time will certainly come, but will the land of her ancestors and the people that inhabit it welcome her as their OWN? Will her quest of feeling of community and her vision of the African paradise be fulfilled? Thats the predicament of Uganda and her wandering people today! The issue of dual citizenship has been relegated to the gutters of the white paper by her own people. A nation born outside Uganda's boundaries is a nation destined to contribute to our country too!
Give a serious thought about bringing back dual citizenship to the debating tables, that way Faith would not feel or be seen as a stranger whilst on that dream journey of re-inventing her inner self visiting with the land of her ancestors.

Is Hajji Nadduli's call to give birth and fill the world un patriotic?

Ugandan women in traditional
attire. It is generally agreed that
emphasizing on the education of
girls will greatly decrease fertility
rates in Uganda.


By Hopes N. Kikonyogo

If you thought Uganda's population is high today at 25 million, wait until you hear this. The United Nations released its population growth figures a couple of weeks ago, with a more than telling story. Uganda's annual growth rate has been statistically put at 3.4% by the UN report, making it one of the highest in the world. It is projected that by 2050 our population will be busting at 75 million!

Hajji Nadduli Kibaale, the LC5 Chairman Luweero district must be pleased with these figures. Not long ago, Nadduli called on to all Ugandans to have as many children as they can, arguing that a free and high population growth stimulates economic growth. To him, a high population equates to high production and a high consumption(market) and therefore economic prosperity.

Nadduli's examples to support his argument, takes us to billion population nations like India and China. It is believed that both countries are using their ernomous human resource to strategically position themselves into global political-economic elites. The industrial and developed world is targeting both the cheap production and market in these countries that human rights abuses in China, for instance, have become secondary.

But, in the case of Uganda, does Nadduli's optimism hold water? We know as a fact that both fertility and mortality rates decrease with economic development. It is also true that in both China and India, despite their economic success, their standard of living are still deplorable.

Equally important, Uganda's resources can not sustain such a rapid population growth when they are strained already. Even before i left Uganda 5 years ago, it was evident annual food production was falling further behind the population growth. Areas like Masaka (known for their banana platation farming) could not then sustain the matooke market in Kampala alone. This is probably so because the average family in Masaka numbers 6-7 dependants!

The HIV epidemic has hit hard in Uganda, but despite the toll births still far exceed deaths annually. It was also reported that the high proportion of Uganda's population, infact 51%, is of the young and the energetic youth most of whom are dying of AIDS. This means that the 51% of the population is of dependants and yet the average working force earns $1.00 a day or less, which is holding back economic growth. It should be noted here that at 24 years of age a Ugandan youth is still regarded a dependant student a strain on the house hold savings and propensity to invest.

Nadduli needs to be reminded that poverty has a direct link to numbers. Larger families are more often below poverty line as their expenditure costs increase. Lower wage rates for large pools of unskilled labourers reduces national savings and also hurts national tax base, land holdings divided among more inheritors, classes too crowded for education improvements, and the list goes on. In otherwords, all you Nadduli sympathisers, high fertility rates means that the poor have less capacity to take full advantage of opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty. Thats what economists call the viscious circle of poverty, which later translate to national under-development.

Uganda has tried to curb the ills of irresponsible population growth by investing in universal education, taking steps to the eradication of gender in-equality and empowering women to participate in wider society. What the Ugandan govenment needs to do, among others, is to firmly invest more in a universal health care system and promotion of protected sex and anti pregnant pills, abolishing laws that ban abortion, and encouraging rural parents to educate their daughters.

With more girls going to school, the rate of dependants will decrease in the long run. Girls will be in class more reducing on fertility rates and even when they grow up their propensity to be dependant on society decreases.

Haji Nadduli's rhetoric may seem reasonable but in an capital-less agro based economy lacking technological advancement and unskilled human resource, its hard to see economic growth even in Nadduli's eyes. The truth needs to be told now, population growth is a disaster for Uganda, we stll need fully a capacitated population with abundant resources to meet our needs.







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The politics of the Nile and the boiling dispute for her waters

By Hopes Kikonyogo


The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has never attended any African Union (AU) summit since 1995 when he escaped an assassination attempt on his life at the Organization of African Unity in Addis. Next week Mr. Mubarak will be sidelining his fears to attend such a summit in Abuja, Nigeria to thwart the threat of encroachers on the Nile. Mr. Mubarak believes his country has more indisputable rights to the Nile than these encroachers, the down stream sub-saharan African nations enjoying the banks of the world longest river, and that the protection of Egypt's right to the Nile is in Egypt's national interest and thus his obligation to act.

The Nile has always been the artery of life for the huge population living on her banks. Under the 1929 treaty, when most of these encroachers were under British rule, Egypt was given sole right of veto to any development on the Nile that threatened the river's flow. The Nile provides more than 95% of Egypt's water needs. Infact Egypt's economic ties and prowess is closely tied to the Nile and is regarded a strategic resource that must be protected at all costs. The 1959 treaty meant to rectify the shortcomings of the 1929 Agreement was bilateral, between Egypt and The Sudan, other Nile beneficiaries were not included or even consulted and no water allotted for future usage by any of these beneficiaries including my Uganda. This serious omission, buried in closets spelt doom to the treaties and is feared to be an opening for armed conflict bigger than that seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The increase in population growth and as more of the southern countries develop their economies the demand for water has increased and yet the supply of this water remained constant, which is a certain recipe for armed conflict. Poverty and internal conflicts in The Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya has more than anything else helped postpone conflict over the Nile. But for how long?

Mubarak's predicament is the growth of discontent and strong pressure to revise these treaties, while some countries have begun to simply ignore the treaties. For instance, Tanzania and Ethiopia have begun major irrigation projects using Lake Victoria's waters and at the source of the Blue Nile respectively without consulting with Egypt. Both Uganda and Kenya intend to do the same.

Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania want these treaties scrapped and a new one negotiated. These five countries already have a free-trade agreement and are in the process of finalizing closer political association that will be a clout against Egypt. They have on different occasions called for the abrogation of the 1929/1959 treaties which gave Egypt a right to use 55 billion cubic meters of water from the Nile per annum and The Sudan 18 billion cubic meters, living the rest, including Eritrea and DRC with just 10 billion cubic meters. To such calls for abrogation, Egypt that looks for increments on her allotment has threatened back with military intervention.

Although war has not yet broken out between the nations involved, growing demand may eventually lead to armed conflict. Signs of this trend are already surfacing like numerous skirmishes between The Sudan and Egypt and the political statements being made. Other nations like Uganda and Tanzania now classify access to the waters of the nile as a vital national interest over which they are willing to go to war, thus the consolidation of the East African Community to strengthen their stance.

It is high time Mubarak and his sympathizers danced to the tunes of reality. All the nations involved have equal historical rights to the Nile. He should agree to the harmonization of the use of the Nile by having traditional rights counter-balanced by obligations towards each other. The 1929 and 1959 agreements between Egypt and Sudan are not binding onto the other nations as they were not party to these agreements. They must therefore be revised to include the interests of other countries sharing the Nile. This summit should give the African Union a rare chance to set up a clearly defined water authority designated as the facilitator, mediator or adjudicator. It should also Institute an efficient water use that promotes and rewards conservation of water with a well defined storage structure evening out-flows and guaranteeing supply meets demand. African Union's hands are full, but this is a catastrophy waiting to happen, thus the need for urgency in resolving this conflict ..."embulire tefa yonna"

Ugandan Nationalist? please stand up and get counted

By Hopes N. Kikonyogo

Ignatius Musaazi widely accepted as the father of Ugandan nationalism may be turning in his grave at how his creation has done more than good to his vision of Uganda. It has become rocket science to identify undeniable nationalists to be proud of, no wonder Musaazi finds himself and Yusuf Kironde Lule as the only occupants of the Kololo heroes cementary. Nationalism in Uganda has been used to respond to popular sentiment of the time at the detriment of minority interests. My Webster's dictionary defines it as devotion to one's nation, patriotism or desire for national advancement. Idi Amin, Dr. Appolo Obote, Yoweri Museveni etc all tried there level best to make Uganda a force to reckon with in Africa, building a nation they imagined would be envied. Amin for instance tried to strengthen the country to resist new or continued indirect control or neo-colonialism, and engineer uniformity of a national vision which was heroic in one way but inhumane to divergent visionaries.

You will be wrong if you eliminated Amin from your list of nationalists, because patriotism in general has always been heroic and inhumanly cruel as well (like the expulsion of asians, and redistribution of capital assets to the black Ugandan). Equally important, Museveni's challenge of having to do with the treatment of ethnic and cultural differences within democratic polity saw him taking cruel steps like banning political pluralism, dissolving talk of a national language (in this case Luganda) and reconstituting cultural monarchs. With that in mind how would we be able to divorce the two, Amin and Museveni from Ugandan nationalism, most especially when their sincere efforts were in national interest.

One thing is for sure though, that our nationalism has managed to divide us than unite us. Both Amin and Museveni tried to create a Uganda for Ugandans in their capacities, however the 'feeling of community' has made us think of other people as fundamentally different from us. Obote's bigger picture of universal comformity by eradicating hereditary monarchs, Amin's iron hand in abid to create a one Uganda and Museveni's efforts to consolidate the former's achievements could not deter Bugandaism for instance. In modern times, the notion that nationalities ought to be able to preserve their cultures and govern themselves according to their own customs has become widely accepted and in a post colonial world, it strengthens countries to resist renewed outside occupation. The effects of this has been fragmention into tribal identities under the disguise of cultural preservation and then sky rocketing defence budgets. Equally important, the concept of popular sovereignity is replacing the outdated concept of the divinely, hereditary and historical appointments. Should this therefore qualify Museveni for recognizing that political power legitmately resided with the people and thus his insistence on a democratically elected Lukiiko in Buganda?

With the problems facing Uganda today, both within and without, would it be safe to conclude that the principle of nationalism and its authority no longer correspond to the objective requirements of universal common good? Do we all agree with the current state of affairs in the great lake region that Ugandan nationalism easily led to insularity and a feeling of superiority over our neighbouring nations like Rwanda and DRC? Because of that sense of pride and national awakening, we as a nation have become xenophobic, suspicious of any undertaking or development in say Nairobi or Kigali, and committing crimes perpetrated in the name of nationalism. I say we the people at the grassroots are the unsung heroes, we are the nationalists to be counted, and we are the ones to make a change. Think about it, if such a conviction was annihilated, wouldn't it be fair for all humanity to share this globe and its resources equally as 'human nationalists'?

Riddle of Baganda and leadership of Uganda

By Dominic Odipo

Kabaka Mutesa did not know how to co-exist with Obote and was subsequently thrown out.

Are there certain communities which cannot lead, especially at the national level? Are there certain tribes that perhaps because of their cultural heritage or gene infrastructure, cannot lead others? These are curious but not idle questions. But before we return to them we need to pose a slightly simpler question. Are there certain communities, tribes or nationalities, which can drive cars or lorries more efficiently than others?

In a seemingly frivolous report carried in the local Press last week, a number of Kenyan drivers who work in Uganda were complaining about how they routinely get a raw deal from their Ugandan counterparts and the Ugandan security organs.They claimed there was some sort of high-level conspiracy to drive them out of Uganda and presumably have their jobs inherited by the Ugandan drivers themselves.They said they were being fired mysteriously and that their plight needed to be addressed at a higher level.Was this a little storm brewing in a tea cup? We wish it were. Unfortunately, it was not.

During a recent visit to Kampala, a senior member of the Museveni government admitted to me that the government was having trouble with this issue of Kenyan drivers."You see, most international organisations operating in Kampala prefer to employ Kenyan drivers. When we ask them why, they reply that Kenyan drivers are simply more careful and efficient than Uganda drivers."And they seem to have a point. Accident statistics tend to bear them out. Now the Ugandan drivers want us to restrict the work permits issued to Kenyan drivers. We don’t know how to proceed especially as we are all trying to forge an integrated and open East Africa market.

"Why would Kenyan drivers be inherently better than their Uganda counterparts? Perhaps someone more familiar with both countries could enlighten us here. Apparently, driving is not just a matter of the mechanics, theory, driving tests and road conditions.

My old friend then moved on to loftier political matters.Without batting an eyelid, he stated: "This business of who should rule Uganda is very complicated. We know, for example that the Baganda simply cannot lead at the national level. They don’t seem to have the capability to lead.We have tried many of them but they were all found unworthy and incapable."Why, I inquired, would a whole tribe be found incapable of leading? "We don’t know the real reason, but we believe that their political, economic and cultural heritage has something to do with it."You see, the Baganda, Uganda’s largest tribe, have lived under a very tight traditional monarchy for probably a thousand years. They were brought up to wait for instructions from the Kabaka, their king, or his cohorts at the palace."They did not, therefore, develop a healthy tradition of making important leadership decisions for themselves. That is why they tend to get lost when they get to the top.""And so we have this strange contradiction. Because the Baganda are the most numerous, richest and most coherent Ugandan community, they tend to believe that Ugandan leadership is theirs by rights. Yet they cannot lead".

My friend then went on to cite concrete examples to reinforce his case."The first president, Kabaka Mutesa, didn’t know how to co-exist with Dr Milton Obote, so he was thrown out. After Idi Amin. Lule, a Muganda professor, survived at the top for only three months."Then we tried Godfrey Binaisa, another Muganda. A year or so later, he had to be pushed aside by Paulo Muwanga, another Muganda who, only a few months later invited Obote, a northerner, to return and lead the country. They knew they couldn’t lead."Fascinating stuff this, I thought. A whole tribe of more than 8 million people cannot lead! Could there be something like this in the Kenyan tribal set-up? Could there be some tribes, say like the Meru, Kisii or Pokomo who simply cannot lead? I reflected that there might be a lot of fertile ground for enlightened research!

Concluding, my friend, who comes from Western Uganda, casually dropped the bombshell."This is why we take this business of Museveni being forced to retire very seriously. We have tried the northerners, Obote and Okello Lutwa, and they progressively messed up the country."We know the Baganda and Basoga, sharing a common heritage, simply cannot lead.That leaves only the Easterners, now personified by Aggrey Awori. So, if Museveni must go, don’t be surprised if we push in a Kenyan to lead us."

A few hours later, over a beer with my cousin who runs an Internet service-providing facility in Kampala, I inquired further about this Baganda factor, whereupon she immediately shot back."It is impossible for we Kenyans to understand the Baganda mentality. The closer one is to the palace, the harder it is for any other Muganda in authority to discipline or fire him. How will you relate at the palace if you fire or discipline him? And so indiscipline and apathy thrive".

So when we hear that some communities cannot drive efficiently, we should take note. Driving may just be the tip of the iceberg. There could be much more underneath!

KAMPALA CENTRAL
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Uganda's State Taken Over by a Small Elite, Says UDN

Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni;
Is he power hungry despot or a freedom
loving democrat?


By Bamutaki Musinguzi

THE UGANDA Debt Network (UDN) has asked parliament and the government to refrain from amending the constitution, terming the act a manifestation of political corruption.

UDN, an umbrella body at the forefront of fighting corruption, along with other non-government organisations under the umbrella of the civil Society, says that article 74 (2) of the Constitution should be maintained to restrain parliament from amending the presidential term.

It says that the political roadmap should expand opportunities and increase choices for selecting persons with integrity and high morals.
"Corruption should be put high on the national agenda and comprehensive measures should be taken to restore the image of this country in the international community," says a statement by members of civil society attending a workshop on transparency and accountability.

The 16-page report titled, "A Call for a Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Corruption in Uganda" says that Uganda's politics have been characterised by violence, nepotism, patronage and misuse of power. Consequently and by default, some people have become politically powerful and are influencing the course of events in the country, and are seen as role models to be emulated, thus undermining the moral fabric of society and national integrity.

"Over time, a small elite group of people related to each other through marriage, ethnicity, religion and education, who monopolise the political spheres, has been created, thereby undermining the values of democracy and democratic governance," the report says.

For instance, ministers censured by Parliament are reappointed and promoted while those involved in various corruption scandals at national and local levels are neither reprimanded, sacked nor made to resign their positions, it said.

"Because leaders use bribes and coercion to perpetuate themselves in power,
this has tended to undermine the integrity of the state institutions including the army, the courts of law, the police, the judiciary and the legislature among others. "Corruption fuels internecine conflict leading to massive loss of life, displacement, human rights violations, repression, and deprivation. Corrupt leaders in turn use this conflict as a pretext to perpetuate themselves in power," the report warns.

Transparency International has ranked Uganda among the eight most corrupt countries in the world in its latest report. The effects of corruption are diverse and have a far-reaching impact on the society.

According the 2001 Auditor General's report, over Ush200billion ($114.2 million) is lost through embezzlement, diversion and lack of accountability, misappropriation, fraud and outright theft.

Some of the money is meant for provision of social services such as construction of classrooms for the universal primary education programme to cater for over 6 million children in primary schools, health and maternity centres and others.

Although investigations and commissions of inquiry have unearthed massive corruption, with the exception of the Commission of Inquiry into the Police Force, the rest have not been acted upon, hence no action has been taken to bring the culprits to book. Some of the people allegedly involved are senior public officers and highly placed politicians.

For example, the commission of inquiry into the junk helicopters scam discovered that the government lost over $7 million in the deal.
Civil society has therefore recommended that the government make public the findings of all commissions of inquiry into corruption, prosecute and punish all the culprits implicated in the various commissions of inquiry, and functionalise mechanisms to recover monies lost in corruption among other things.

The legal, institutional and policy framework for combating corruption, abuse of office and wastage of public property exists. "However, in spite of the presence of these institutions, corruption continues unabated, partly because the institutions do not have adequate human and financial resources to execute their mandate and partly because the powerful individuals in pursuit of their political and economic interests undermine them," UDN notes.

It is the duty of the government to provide human and financial resources that enable the various anti-corruption institutions to perform their role, the report argues. For instance the office of the Inspector General of Government employs close to 400 officers to investigate cases of corruption countrywide, but this number is still too low to cope with the workload.

The policy of decentralisation is meant to enhance people's participation and democratic control in decision making, to ensure full realisation of good governance at the local level and ensure improved service delivery to the people.

"However, and to a large extent, people's participation is still poor and due to high levels of corruption in local governments, the quality of such services remains very low," the report says.

Local government officials and councillors have been accused of engaging in corrupt acts such as interfering with the tendering process, thereby violating procurement regulations, manipulating the recruitment process and interfering with the work of the district service commissions, diversion and misuse of public property.

"Decentralisation has also become a tool to be used to reward cronies and supporters of the political establishment regardless of their integrity, academic standards and competence.

"Some of these have abdicated their duties and responsibilities. Instead, they use their positions to suppress the public interests and have become a hindrance to the democratisation processes," the report says.

This has resulted in, "Poor and low quality of services; shoddy construction work especially for UPE classrooms; wastage of public resources; and high levels of incompetence among local government employees."
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The Need for an International HIV/AIDS Volunteer Services Corps for Africa

By Sidi Jammeh, Chinua Akukwe, and George Haley

Africa is facing a formidable foe in HIV/AIDS. According to the latest report by the United Nations agency coordinating the global fight against the pandemic (Unaids), although Africa represents only 10 percent of the global population, it accounts for nearly 64 percent of HIV/AIDS worldwide — 25.4 million infected individuals, and counting. Africa is home to almost 76 percent of women living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. The southern region of Africa, which represents only 2 percent of the global population, is home to nearly 30 percent of the total number of persons living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Unaids estimates that 2.3 million adults and children in Africa died of AIDS in 2004. Unlike the situation in North America, Europe, South America, and some countries in the Caribbean, where most people who need antiretroviral therapy receive the drugs, nine of every ten infected individuals in Africa that can benefit from these lifesaving drugs cannot access them.

Although remarkable successes have been recorded in the last few years in marshalling resources to fight the epidemic in Africa, a missing link has been the lack of a trained health and development workforce to successfully scale-up a multisectoral response in the continent. We discuss the need for an international volunteer HIV/AIDS service corps that will tackle health and logistics challenges that impede a timely and effective response against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Our proposal does not envisage another global bureaucracy but will match skill sets with identified needs in various parts of Africa, and complement available services in at-risk areas in Africa.

Why an AIDS Volunteer Service Corps?

There are multiple reasons for a volunteer AIDS service corps in Africa. First, HIV/AIDS, although a health condition, has almost single-handedly reversed past development gains in Africa. According to Unaids, life expectancy in Africa today is 49 years instead of 62 years without HIV/AIDS. Nine countries in Africa currently have life expectancy rates of less than 40 years.

Second, 95 percent of Unaids offices in Africa, in a 2004 review, identified lack of health personnel as a major hindrance in the fight against AIDS. Unaids estimates that between 19 percent and 53 percent of all deaths among government health employees in Africa are directly attributable to AIDS. This situation is compounded by some of the lowest physician-to-population ratios in the world. According to the World Bank, there is one physician to every 35,000 persons in Ethiopia, with near similar ratios in many African nations. Healthy workers are laboring to cope with an unprecedented surge in the number of AIDS patients. In some hospitals in Africa, AIDS patients occupy more than 60 percent of all available beds. Furthermore, thousands of health workers have left Africa for more lucrative careers in the West. Although South Africa has the largest number of individuals living with HIV/AIDS, at least 5,000 doctors left South Africa in recent years, according to Unaids.

Third, the non-health workforce in Africa is also reeling from the effects of HIV/AIDS. The International Labor Organization, in a recent report, indicated that HIV/AIDS by 2000 accounted for nearly 12 percent of total labor losses in Zimbabwe and more than 10 percent in Zambia. Agriculture, the mainstay of Africa’s economy (24 percent of the continent’s G.D.P. and 40 percent of its foreign exchange earnings) is under strain from HIV/AIDS. By 2020, AIDS may kill one fifth of all agricultural workers in Africa. AIDS is causing a shortage of teachers in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Businesses in the southern region of Africa sometimes hire two or more persons for the same job because of justified fears of losing a highly trained worker to AIDS.

Fourth, the healthcare infrastructure in Africa is reeling from years of inadequate funding and mismanagement. Community-based clinics need to be revamped, hospitals re-equipped, and training programs jumpstarted. Fifth, funding constraints remain a major obstacle in AIDS remedial efforts in Africa. According to Unaids estimates, the total expenditure on AIDS worldwide in 2004 was about US$6.1 billion. By 2007, at least US$20 billion a year will be needed for an effective fight against the pandemic. Nearly 43 percent of the US$20 billion will be needed in Africa. A recent World Bank guide on widening access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS medicines in developing countries concluded that it would require considerable resources to close the gap between the need to treat millions of people living with HIV/AIDS and the low national healthcare budget of poor countries around the world.

Sixth, prevention programs, despite more than two decades of effort, have not been very effective.Prevention programs encompass information, education, and communication campaigns against selected health conditions, targeted at specific audiences and populations at risk. A recent survey by Unicef indicates that up to 50 percent of young women in some countries with a high rate of HIV transmission are unaware of basic facts about the disease. Another survey of 73 low and middle income countries (most of them in Africa), which account for more than 90 percent of the pandemic, indicates that less than one percent of adults have access to voluntary counseling and testing services and only about one of every ten pregnant women have the opportunity to benefit from intervention programs that can prevent maternal transmission of HIV.

Seventh, we are not aware of any ongoing effort to meet the shortage of health and development workers in Africa through a feasible, immediate deployment of employed and motivated professionals in the West. The widely praised recent initiative by the World Health Organization to provide lifesaving medicines to 3 million people in developing countries by 2005 relies heavily on training or hiring new health workers in Africa.

Finally, the logistic challenge of providing lifesaving medicines to more than 4 million Africans that the Unaids and the World Health Organization deem qualified for urgent care should not be underestimated. These logistic challenges include training the local workforce, providing basic infrastructure such as portable water and basic sanitation, assuring constant electricity supply and telecommunication utilities to enhance coordination of services, developing verifiable management and clinical accountability systems, and improving epidemiological surveillance and reporting techniques.

What Are We Proposing?

We are proposing an International Volunteer HIV/AIDS Service Corps for Africa that will rely on a motivated volunteer in the West who is likely to continue receiving regular salary and other remunerations while on assignment. This volunteer will be linked through an employer or professional association to an agency or organization on the ground in Africa that is providing specific services in a specific target community, country, or region. We believe that if the opportunity exists to link a motivated paid volunteer in the West with an effective organization on the ground, many individuals quietly watching the unfolding tragic saga of AIDS in Africa will come forward and volunteer to serve to the best of their abilities.

What next, after graduation?

My cousin sisters' 1997 graduation in
Kampala, Uganda. Catherine Mirembe
Nabasirye (graduant in the middle, who
is the current Financial Controller Eastern
branch, of an Agro based NGO) lived
with me at the time. I am standing at
the left hand side of the pic dressed up
in a light green blazer and Senga Mere
Lugolobi of the Lungujja fame standing
next to me.

At the time the three princesses had no
clue on how gruesome pounding the streets
for jobs was in an ill structured economy of
Uganda.

The trials of survival in this increasingly
competitive and cruel world of business
"Okukula kulaba..."
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Teaching baby Primrose how to sit "ku lugyuliro" without matooke

Faith and her baby sister Primrose. The destruction crew
taking a well deserved time out from their 'domestic duties'



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Uganda on my mind

by Winfred Mwebe


"The Ugandan public is convinced an individual’s blood is checked to find the ‘virus’ in the body -‘ moving up and down’ - the insect or the bug as they term it in local dialects."

Last month I was in Uganda for 4 weeks. I was very happy to see my family after ten years without seeing them. I had fun and felt the warmth of a big family. But after a few days of good food and warm welcome I had to face reality.

I saw how people have lost hope, how people neglect their own lives. Everyone has ‘AIDS’ in Uganda. The poor say: "What can we do?… the virus is killing us!" The poor are not expected to live; the rich are expected to live as they are thought to be sent to America and Europe to remove their blood every other month. On the other hand, while the poor widows have no hope, the rich ones get on with their lives and find new partners as soon as their husbands or partners die. These rich widows are not dying and everyone knows that rich widows do not die. It has reached the extent of identifying ‘AIDS’ with certain parts of the country. Once certain places are mentioned then people say that such an area is an ‘AIDS’ zone, and in most cases these places are slums.

What I saw in Uganda with my own eyes was a loss of hope. People roam the streets looking for something to do but nothing is there for them. I saw people on the streets looking very hungry and unable even to afford to drink at least two glasses of water a day. Malnutrition is rampant and this is not taken seriously as the few who understand how it can be fatal, are protecting themselves well And do not care much. Those who care are powerless to make a change and are never listened to when they try.

By the time I left the UK, the government here was complaining Of the overuse and dangers of antibiotics. Well, if anyone wants to Know what antibiotic overuse is about, then Uganda is the best place for this. Every corner shop has antibiotics and most of the Shopkeepers do not even know the brand names of the medicines They are selling. They just sell them as ‘double colour’ because the capsules normally have two colours. They are very cheap and by Ugandans most of them are thought to be fake.

Antibiotic overuse in Uganda has been going on for a long time and it gets worse and worse, year after year. To my surprise antibiotics are causing more harm than good as anyone can get them freely on self-diagnosis. The inability of Ugandans to afford private doctors or hospitals has caused them to resort to desperate measures, especially medication. As there is no free or even cheap medication, people have no choice but to use a cocktail of capsules hoping to get better without considering the dangers or side-effects these antibiotics can bring to the health and immune system.

After prolonged use of antibiotics, people develop persistent coughs, malaria and several other tropical illnesses that have been known for centuries. The difference is that now on the eve of the millennium, these illnesses are called ‘HIV’-related!

In Uganda ‘HIV’ and ‘AIDS’ interpretation is very different from how it is known here in the West. Ugandans kept asking me, "Are white people also dying as we are?" My response of course was "NO!" People could not believe me because they have no idea that they are being classed as a ‘high risk group’; neither do they know that malnutrition kills more people than so-called ‘AIDS’, nor do they have any knowledge on how stress-related illnesses are increasing because of rural-urban migration. Those who leave their villages for the city soon find that there is nothing to do or even eat. Ugandans take material things more importantly than their health and lives.

The big ‘AIDS’ industry in Uganda is busy telling the world how Ugandans are dying of ‘AIDS’ and money continues to be pumped into condom industries, raising ‘HIV/AIDS’ awareness programmes etc. However, no-one puts money into advising people on healthy eating/nutrition or hygiene - without forgetting poverty. We all know poverty kills. What about advising Ugandans of the dangers of antibiotics, or getting rid of them on the open market? Fake doctors in Uganda do business like fish and chips sellers because being a doctor has proved very commercially rewarding in the era of ‘AIDS’.

If you are not rich in Uganda, you are destined to die. There is no medication in hospitals and one wonders what has happened to our hospitals, our National Health Education and the state dispensaries. I feel sick because every time I hear about only one thing: ‘AIDS’ - yet we all know that there are more dangerous diseases in tropical countries such as Uganda. Only if those diseases can be properly treated would they evidently reduce the number of reported ‘AIDS’ cases.

We should not disguise the failure of Uganda’s Health Education, the lack of medications in hospitals, and above all corruption within the Health Ministry that wants to insist on ‘AIDS’ programmes because they are commercially beneficial especially from the Western World’s perspective. It is pathetic! My hope is that once these problems are looked into, many lives can be saved, so the ‘Pearl of Africa’ as Churchill once named this beautiful country, can flourish.

In a country like Uganda, ‘AIDS’ is not a genuine issue. What is more important is who has power. Genuine doctors are fighting each other instead of fighting to save lives. Take the example of Ugandan Professor Ssali in Kampala who has an interest in ‘HIV/AIDS’ and a specialist clinic. Instead of being helped by the government, he is being threatened by the Ugandan Medical Board not to ‘interfere’. Is this really working for the interest of Ugandan people, or for political interests. ‘AIDS’ becomes not a health debate but rather a political and financial one.

No-one is going to solve Uganda’s medical blunders better than Ugandans themselves. Instead of making money from the ‘AIDS’ industry, people’s lives should come first. Pharmaceutical companies, like Glaxo-Wellcome, are interested only in making money from the Ugandan government and some concerned organizations like WHO, Red Cross, etc.

Condom ‘awareness’ is considered a priority in Uganda. The condoms can even be distributed by companies freely in communities. Nowadays in Uganda people talk about condoms as some sort of fashion for the 90s. The hypocrisy is that no-one can get even free chroloquine tablets once they are down with malaria. Malaria kills in hours or days but ‘AIDS’ can take even ‘30 years’ to kill. In a country like Uganda, where 80% of the population lives under the poverty line without the basic necessities of life, expect to be save by a condom? These people do not have food to eat - what quality of life would a condom add? The Health Authorities talk about condoms to impress the public.

How come sex in Uganda is taboo while in the Western World sex is fun and people still enjoy it as ‘normally’ as they have always done? The West has judged that only the Sub-Saharan, the Gay community, IV drug users, haemophiliacs and those who have just visited Africa are the high-risk groups.
To my surprise most Ugandans are not aware of these risk group classifications of ‘HIV/AIDS’ strategy induced by the Western politics of policy makers. Ugandans still think that anyone can ‘catch it’ as shown in misleading advertisements against the ‘killer virus’. The way the ‘HIV’ test works is not explained to people. The public is convinced an individual’s blood is checked to find the ‘virus’ in the body - ‘moving up and down’ (the insect or the bug as they term it in local dialects). They have no clue that the ‘HIV’ test is an antibody test, and non-specific.

To my knowledge antibodies are usually a sign of health and functioning defence in the body. Antibodies show that the body can respond to infections. What makes ‘HIV’ antibodies different from other antibodies? Well, no one seems to know the answer to this. I was stunned to hear a Ugandan doctor explain to a patient that the test for antibodies is done only in African countries. He continued to explain that in the West, Europe and America, where technology is highly advanced, there are machines that see the ‘virus’ itself ‘doing the job’. At this point I interfered saying it was not true and antibody testing is used also in the West although this so-called ‘virus’ has never been purified and isolated .

The ‘AIDS’ acronym - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome –can be describe many things like malnutrition, malaria, stress, TB, post-war related illness. The issue however remains in ‘high-risk’ categories that are ‘destined’ to die of ‘AIDS’ by all means whether by ‘acquiring it’ or being defined as having it. Research carried out in 1994 by King College Hospital here in London found that losing a spouse undermines the immune system and leaves a person prone to illnesses. But, in Sub-Saharan Africa, this cannot be the case and cannot be looked into because it is always politically correct to blame those who cannot defend themselves. In the Ugandan context losing a partner can be so cruel, and no-one can escape the stigma, unless of course you are rich and by finding a new partner can reduce the stress imposed on you by the community in general.

The most worrying question every Ugandan person asks is about people dying in couples. They cannot possibly relate it to stress so it is assumed to be ‘AIDS’. The next is that the children die too. This time it is not because of ‘AIDS’ but because of loneliness and the inability to cope alone with the pressures of life without guidance. All these people wait for their turns, and so they start dying early. People die mentally first, then their physical health also detoriates. Fear, isolation, loneliness, and above all lack of survival income leads to death. The usual conclusion is ‘death by AIDS’ - certainly no-one in these conditions dies with a healthy looking body.

Ugandans living in the UK who are aware of the nasty side effects and the toxicity of the ‘AIDS’ drugs that are still on trial here, do not use them themselves - they get them from their doctors and send them to Uganda for commercial interests. It is very sad to see that such a practice going on. How can one know of something so bad for them and then go on to make money out of it - especially when it can be fatal? While I was in Uganda so many people came to me asking for new ‘wonder drugs’ stating that in Europe and America there is ‘a cure’ already. I tried to explain that there is no such thing as a cure for ‘AIDS’. I told them that the combination therapies have been on trial for ages and that Ugandans are still used as guinea pigs. The only people who are doing well with the ‘HIV’ diagnosis are those who have decided to take control of their lives and not to listen to the myth that HIV=AIDS=DEATH. They get normal treatment for any symptoms they get, look after themselves sensibly, eat a balanced diet, opt for alternative treatment if need be and in most cases go back to the natural healing process that will not damage their bodies. These people have left their immune systems to return to normal with a positive mind.

While some ‘HIV/AIDS’ wards are scaling down in the UK the same type of centres are opening up in Uganda - and are becoming a booming business exploiting rich upper class families. instead of using a new hospital for humane purposes, the hospital is being built ‘apparently to offer subsidised prices’ for ‘AIDS’ treatment. No one needs to be a professor of medicine to realise that there is more to the marketing of ‘AIDS’ than just the hypothesis itself. Well, ladies and gentlemen, get up and join in the fight! Do not let capitalists extend their money-making schemes at the cost of human life.

Organising against Capitalism

Over the last few years I have taken part in many forums which have discussed the collapse of the left, the changes in capitalism and the need for a new opposition. Not all of these have been exclusively anarchist, I attended the 'Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism' organised by the Zapatistas in Chiapas in the summer of 1996 for instance, but most have been held by anarchists in Britain or Ireland. A common feature of these events is a recognition that everything has changed in the last decade, that many of yesterday's answers are discredited today and that there is a need for the construction of a new movement. Such discussions cannot remain on the theoretical level, we must start to put these ideas into practice in building a new anti-capitalist movement.

Seven years ago the Berlin wall came down, bringing to a definitive end the period of history begun by the Russian revolution in 1917. Since the 1950's this was known as the Cold War. To supporters of the Western status quo the end of this period was a signal that history had ended. Not in the sense that nothing interesting would ever happen again but rather that the most perfect model of society had been found and tested in the form of the 'western democracies'. Now it was only a question of allowing time for the rest of the world to catch up. The future was rosy since the 'peace dividend' along with the new markets and productive capacity of eastern Europe would usher in a new era of prosperity.

Five years ago the peace dividend collapsed with the 'war' against Iraq. A war that was no more than a high tech light show for western viewers, but which led to the loss of up to 200,000 [1] relatives and friends for those in Iraq. Parallel to this, civil war was brewing in Yugoslavia, and the economies of eastern Europe were collapsing, resulting in widespread poverty, civil war and - particularly for the old - a dramatically reduced life expectancy. The 'New World Order' that was coming into being, we were assured, would indeed introduce global prosperity but first some belt tightening and the removal of 'new Hitlers' was required. This of course required the maintenance of a strong military!

Three years ago this 'New World Order' received its first real resistance when rebellion [2] broke out in one of its show pieces of improvement and modernisation. Mexico was a 'model' of how developing countries which started to move from a state led to a free market economy could also reach the 'end of history' and join the first world. The Zapatista rising blew away this smoke screen to reveal an end of history that excluded most of Mexico's population. The period since has been scattered with examples of capitalism not only failing to provide for people's needs but, more importantly, people recognising this and organising on a mass scale against it. This resistance has spread to the very western countries which were supposed to have moved beyond the need for the population to take to the streets to oppose the state. History, we have learnt, is not over yet.

Dead and buried

State socialism has died as an attractive alternative to anyone, that much is a welcome truth. The need for an alternative to capitalism continues to be strong. Supporters of state socialism have become dwindling cadres of various Leninist groups, 'New' social democrats indistinguishable from conservatives and the occasional dinosaur whose brain has yet to recognise that there is a difference between sloganeering about 'socialism from below' and actually organising in such a manner. The end of these organisations - which mostly served as barriers to workers organising themselves - is welcome, but there is a price to pay. The weakness of libertarian ideas in Britain and Ireland means the possibility of an alternative to capitalism died with these fake 'alternatives' in the minds of many activists. This is not terminal but the message that alternatives to capitalism, other than the state run (non-) alternatives that were on offer, exist will have to be widely spread.

Another legacy of the domination of the authoritarian left is that we are left with a tradition of working class struggle being almost immediately tied to a particular political organisation. Workplace struggles, for instance, take place through the organisational structures of the trade unions but the left, rather than encourage self-activity in economic struggle and the extension of this self-activity to the political arena, have instead sought to tie the unions to the Labour party. This is of course just a reflection of the left's strategy on the economic level which, instead of encouraging workers to take direct control of their struggles, have instead directed the attention of militants towards electing left wing bureaucrats to run the union on 'their' behalf.

This pattern extends outside the workplace as well, in Britain in recent years we have seen an often obscene struggle between different left groups as to who can control working class militancy against fascism and racism. Campaign after campaign arises that pretends to be independent but on examination is obviously controlled by one organisation alone. Even where joint work occurs, large amounts of energy may be squandered in attempts to control the decision making structures of campaigns. Many activists have become demoralised and then exhausted by these bureaucratic squabbles.

The party and the class

This pattern of organisation occurred because the key thing for the authoritarian left was the relative strength of their organisation and not the level of self-activity of the class or even the strength of the class. Historical and current defeats of the working class were analysed as being due to the absence of a strong enough vanguard that was equipped with the right slogans, rather than due to a weakness of self-organisation and a reliance on minority leadership by the class. An excellent recent example of this logic was provided by Tony Cliff, the leader of one of the surviving Leninist groups, the British Socialist Workers Party. In 1993 mass demonstrations took place all over Britain aimed at preventing the Tories closing the remaining coal mines. These demonstrations however remained firmly under the control of union bureaucrats and Labour MPs with workers playing the role of a stage army to be marched up and down hills under their control.

To the SWP though, the weakness of this movement was that they did not have enough members to control it. As its leader, Tony Cliff, said at the time
"If we had 15,000 members in the SWP and 30,000 supporters the 21 October miners' demonstration could have been different. Instead of marching round Hyde

- Andrew Flood