Prime
The necessity of an office
Fufa President Lawrence Mulindwa addressing journalists from the federations headquarters at Mengo.
Photo by Ismail Kezaala
It was reported in the media last week that out of the fifty three (53) sports governing associations in this country only fifteen (15) that is less than thirty percent (30%) have offices. Apparently the other thirty eight (38) operate out of ‘briefcases’ a term often used not only to signify a company without a physical address, but also one that lacks structure.
Various sports federation have since been on the defensive saying that an office is the aggregate of the various actions of the people who occupy it and not the four walls that surround them or the desks and chairs on which they sit. This defense in fact sounds quite logical; especially if you consider that the few associations that have offices are not shining examples of action-driven performance.
So yes it could be that an office doesn’t underwrite good governance but neither does the lack of one offer us any securities. In fact the dangers of a lack of office should concern us more than the abuse of office because the while the latter is a by-product, the former is a perfect breeding ground for chaos-the kind of chaos that means all association matters will be handled within an individual’s, personal capacity.
This normally means the Chairman’s goodwill, personal car, telephone and on many occasions his bank accounts become the operational centers of the association. It also means that nothing goes on without his say so or domineering presence.
It turns ‘well meaning’ persons into know-it-all and do-it-all people infected with the big-man syndrome and who exist at the centre of everything. And we all know that centre stage corrupts men, makes them vain and eventually makes them believe they are above censure - a recipe for chaos!
And this is why I think this discussion should really be about the value of institutions as opposed to that of individuals. We need to discuss our dislike for structure and fondness for chaos. Why for instance are our ‘briefcase’ associations still unable to make offices even if space exists at Namboole? Have we become a people more comfortable with lack of structure and the abundance of opportunities that the ensuing chaos offers us to do our ‘thing’ expediently? Are these ‘briefcase’ associations all 38 of them not in fact a method in the chaos? Are they not the means by which he run our sports as opposed to the reason why virtually our sports disciplines are stagnant or in decline?
I believe the answers to all these questions will be arrived at if we start to favor the long term nature of institutions at opposed to the short term disposition of individuals. Right now our sports and just about everything in our society is dominated by individuals and all their vulnerabilities and that just aren’t getting us anywhere so far.
All our 53 associations therefore ought to view a physical address through the simple lenses of orderly existence rather than the healthy balance-sheet logic in an admittedly under-funded market. An office must be seen and built as a confluence of people, their ideas plans and actions, the kind that must out-live any individual. Those with this kind of configuration may abuse it, but that doesn’t take away its institutional necessity.
