A Letter to My Friend in Bukomansimbi

Bukomansimbi was recently ranked as one of the worst performing districts as  far as service delivery is concerned. The above is Gongwe Church of Uganda Primary School in Bigasa Sub County. PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KISEKKA 

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Dear Lex,

How are my old friend Lex? How is the land of coffee which gave birth to Benedicto Kiwanuka, the great grandfather of these Togikwatako Activists? 

I have found it significant to pen down my Sunday experience which has left a lot of questions in my head about our district so as we share and forge a way forward.

  

After church today, I passed by town to get a copy of Sunday Monitor which is my best publication in Uganda. (Quote me well Sunday Monitor not Daily Monitor) I like this publication than any other because of its analytical and depth reporting.

On reaching home I got a chair sat at TheBalcony and relaxed. Bit by bit I started reading the Newspaper which had a catchy headline trying to ask where those who removed the term limit are.

Damn!! I wish these who are spear heading the presidential age limit amendment read this story and see how the thing can change with in a flash or a brink of the eye!

That notwithstanding,  I landed on an advert from the Ministry Of Finance, Planning and Economic Development indicating the Quarter Two Releases for FY 2017/18 for Local Government Votes.

I rushed to trace vote 600 - our own Bukomansimbi District which is ranked as one of the worst performing districts as far as service delivery is concerned.

In the Agriculture sector where most of the locals take part, government released Shs 95,987,682 of which Shs 84,573,241, closely 88.1 percent, is meant for wages.  Works and transport not provided for (in the advert).

Bukomansimbi Education system which is limping with over Shs 9billion non funded priorities allocated Shs 1,456 739,563. However Shs 1,415,698,623 is also meant for wages.

A Total of Shs 260,473,244 released for health with 228,969,531 allocated on wages. It will be tiresome to look into other sectors.

The Grand Total of the quarter release is Shs 2,525,935,387 but keep in mind that wages take Shs 2,008,374,455, Pension Shs 24,623,159, Gratuity 32,618,101, Pension and gratuity arrears Shs 95, 439,834, Non-wage Shs 173,417,079 and development taking Shs 191,462,759.

Any day from now I will send you an analysis of how much Bukomansimbi used to get from Masaka District Local Government.

The people of Bukomansimbi cried for a district saying that they wanted better service delivery and further reasoned that Masaka was too big to handle their aggrieves.

It was added that the district will come with employment opportunities in the area. Am still calculating how many born of Bukomansimbi are employed in this district and how much they earn.

Besides politicians, who else is benefiting from this so called district? Creation of new districts is a political patronage a friend told me so years ago as we engaged ourselves in fighting for the creation of this district.

I opposed him since I had crammed what I used to teach to my students before retiring from the teaching profession. However much I liked to stick to what I thought was right slowly am being move to think otherwise.

A man who earns 1000 and has two wives of six children each cannot best look after them by renting another house to separate the wives and their children!  By doing this he make all of them surfer the more.