Prime
Among’s infrastructural gestures an eye-opener for politicians
Mr Immanuel Ben Misagga is a football investor and businessman.
What you need to know:
- ...whenever I remember how a Health minister died in a makeshift clinic in his home village, I fully support what Among is doing for Bukedea.
In Uganda, it is an open secret that riches flow where power and influence lie.
Right from LC-I leadership up to the presidency, political leaders tend to allocate resources home first, before spreading out the cake.
Granted, history shows there have been a few exceptional nationalists, but the dynamics of a politician pouring resources in their home area are very obvious and anyone who doesn’t see this is delusional.
Oftentimes, overtly doing such an obvious thing is watered down as corruption without even any proof.
That’s the dilemma that Speaker of Parliament Anita Among finds herself in after recently having her teaching hospital in Bukedea commissioned by President Museveni.
What many forget is that in today’s Uganda, politics is the biggest business but it how one decides to use the fortune attained from politics that matters.
So, the real question should be; how does one use power and influence to transform society?
When I move around most cities and towns across the country, the best hotels and commercial buildings are mostly owned by politicians. This is their way of giving back to the electorate, but such ventures rarely put an impact on their communities since they employ just a handful of people.
And besides, many of these high-end hotels don’t even target the locals.
Yet for Among, she gave back to her people through a teaching hospital.
As the biggest in the region, this hospital is going to lift the burden of people travelling to Kampala seeking medical help.
In doing so, this hospital will be a health gamechanger for Teso region providing both medical and educational services.
Lest we forget that Among also owns Bukedea Comprehensive School, perhaps the fastest-rising school in the country.
A simple online check will show you how the school has risen from being mediocre to rank among the top 10 performing schools in the country, both at A-level and O-level. The school is also turning into a sports powerhouse of repute.
To me, I don’t see any better way to give back to your people than providing the two most important aspects of life; health and education. It should be noted that education and health are the core determinants of the quality of human development resource in a society Among has demonstrated that she is a realist and doesn’t need to be sophisticated like some of her predecessors to have a positive impact on her people.
I know many moralists argue that it is not the job of the speaker to make such things for their communities but whenever I remember how a Health minister died in a makeshift clinic in his home village, I fully support what Among is doing for Bukedea.
So, whereas many people continue to castigate Among as crude, they would have done worse when entrusted with the speakership.
Mr Immanuel Ben Misagga is a businessman.
