Urgently sort out mess in our missions

Uganda’s foreign missions have in the past weeks made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The optics—in which an ambassador was involved in a shouting contest with Ugandans in Canada and, remarkably, how gambling machines surreptitiously made their way into a consulate building in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are, in a word, bad.

The inquests that our Foreign Affairs ministry (MFA) has launched into the farcical episodes are, undoubtedly, a step in the right direction. The powers that be should, however, show an appetite for going the whole nine yards.

Indeed, Uganda’s missions abroad have stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb for quite a drawn-out period. Responsible authorities have seemed tone-deaf to the fact that problems assailing our foreign missions keep coming down in bucketloads. The issue of moribund infrastructure tops the bill, with the poor pay that ambassador picks are condemned to placing a close second.

Such are the terribly difficult circumstances under which most diplomats are operating that their power evaporates with each day they serve. This has engendered shenanigans that a great deal of foreign missions have reportedly embraced to make ends meet at a micro level. All of this gives Uganda a bad rap, deservedly so.

The mistake is in imagining that these pain points will be wished away. They will not. If anything, things could spiral out of control and adversely affect Uganda’s standing in the eyes of many. We risk becoming a laughing stock if urgent action is not undertaken to remedy the situation.

Any action intended to trigger a makeover should start with the acknowledgement of a flawed process that installs makeweights into ambassador posts. These political appointments, which come at the expense of career diplomats, are the handiwork of the patronage and clientelism that has flourished on President Museveni’s watch.

Sycophants beset by an evident lack of foreign policy experience have found themselves calling the shots in various ambassadorial roles. This has, unsurprisingly, left longtime career diplomats frustrated. The absence of appointments with long career resumes has started to show in the most brazen manner as recent schoolboy mistakes attest. There is a palpable fear that, if one of the most important qualifications remains sycophancy, things could get worse before they get better.

Missions abroad should not be treated lightly as appears to be the case. They play a crucial role in the external relations and foreign policies of our country. We, therefore, ought to put sober minds in the saddle. This can only happen if we pick a meritocratic approach over its political cousin.

It is quite clear that non-career diplomats do not have the necessary skill set that involves representing and protecting our interests abroad. If there is any nugget to be gleaned, it is that ambassadorships demand certain competences that we can ill afford to overlook. 

Our commitment to you

We pledge:

• To be accurate and fair in all we do.
• To be respectful to all in our pursuit of the truth.
• To refuse to accept any compensation beyond that provided by Monitor Publications Ltd. for what we do in our news gathering and decision-making.

Further, we ask that we be informed whenever you feel that we have fallen short in our attempt to keep these commitments.a