World Veterinary Day 2018

BETTER ANIMAL WELFARE INCREASES INCOME AND PRIDE TO THE NATION

“The greatness of a nation - and its moral progress - can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. This statement was made by Mahatma Gandhi in relation to the welfare of animals. Animal welfare, the state of fitness and happiness of an animal, is a very central factor in its enhanced production, optimal performance and subsequently, satisfaction of the animal owner. It is therefore important that humans, who benefit from animals variously do conscientiously address matters of their welfare. Animals benefit humans as source of food; source of income; source of ornaments and trophies; draft power; source of recreation and entertainment; provision of security; symbols of social capital; subjects for drug development research; fulfilling cultural obligations; ecosystem balance, among others. Despite all these benefits humans liberally harness from animals, some of them are still cruel to animals. This necessitated the creation of animal welfare-related laws by all countries to guide and enforce good animal welfare practices. In Uganda, it is “The Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act” Cap 39 of 1957! It is quite an old one whose penalties are non-deterrent. This probably contributes to fueling the cruelty currently meted on animals in Uganda.

There are numerous examples of practices that are regarded as being cruel to animals in Uganda. Examples include, the manner of transportation and handling of animals in transit; overworked and sometimes tortured draft animals such as oxen and donkeys; beating of animals; unnecessary and inappropriate confinement and/or isolation; delayed diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases; animals deprived of sufficient well-balanced nutrition; roadside sale of animals; roaming animals poisoned, beaten or run over by vehicles; inhumane slaughter of animals. While some of these bad practices happen in the public domain, it is suspected that lots of acts of cruelty, including untold heinous and shameful acts happen behind doors and behind wall fences. Not too long ago, on two occasions, innocent piglets were painted and dumped in the packing area of the Parliament of Uganda. As if the manner in which they were tied, transported and flung on a hard surface were not bad enough to their welfare, the piglets further suffered in the hands of security officers. The latter who were supposed to save the piglets from suffering, instead added more by dragging them on the tarmac and administering militant kicks on them! These and other kinds of cruel acts, wherever they occur, affect the animal’s performance and the ultimate loser is the owner of the animal and the nation (economy).

Going by Gandhi’s words, what kind of nation are we? The Bible (Proverbs 12:10) adds, “Good people take care of their animals, but wicked people are cruel to theirs”. So, judging by the way we treat our animals, do we choose to be a nation whose greatness is questioned and moreover populated by wicked people? Could we, Ugandans, please rise and fight the practices that steal the animal’s happiness and fitness; erodes the farmers’ and subsequently the country’s wealth – through reduced production and poor quality animal products? Fortunately, this loss is preventable. Veterinary professionals are full-time key partners in the efforts to enhance animal performance and the consequent income thereof. There should be no wonder therefore that animal welfare is a key element in the veterinary profession Hippocratic Oath in all countries. They cannot do it alone though.

So as we celebrate the World Veterinary Day 2018, let us use it to remind ourselves of the significant role animals – in a good state of welfare - play in our livelihoods and in the national economy. In this respect, we also ought to recognize the central role and position of veterinary professionals in the patriotic efforts of generating and protecting national wealth. Let’s make Uganda a great nation. Happy celebrations.

For God and my country.

Youth development programmes in Uganda should be balanced not biased

The current demographics put Ugandans under 30 at a handsome 78% of the national population. Accordingly therefore and rightfully so, there is lots of talk and some action supposedly for the empowerment and transformation of the youth. Time will tell whether such actions in their current form will have significant impact on the performance of the national economy.

It is common in Uganda today for one to address themselves to the topic of harnessing the blessing of the high population of youth in the country amidst the problem of high unemployment. While the arguments are presented with admirable rhetoric to match the clout of the speakers, no convincing local data is provided to support the claims of being able to transform the economy through engaging youth in production and entrepreneurship. While I buy into the general principle of productive engagement, some proponents have taken it to unacceptable levels that border on empty deceptive words that could consequently plunge us into new depths.

In an attempt to strengthen their arguments, they unfortunately downplay the role of formal education. I find this unrealistic, unfair, selfish and unethical. Their presentations are derogatory to youth who have gone through or are pursuing formal education. The irony is that some of these personalities enjoy the comfort and privileges of offices and private businesses deservedly earned, albeit using credentials and competences largely built on the foundation of their formal education. And they are making great contributions to the development of this country. Why then do they condemn the foundational and enabling role of formal education in the empowerment or transformation of the youth they purport to argue for? It will not be surprising if it is found that such people are supporting their close relatives to pursue formal education in prestigious training institutions. They instead continue to peddle arguments to the effect that the currently struggling youth in the countryside – for reasons not of their making - should be supported and relegated exclusively to agricultural production enterprises moreover with little capital, rudimentary implements and on borrowed land. Some are encouraged to start micro enterprises in the countryside but these cannot earn them much to write home about especially with reference to living above the poverty line or better still creating and accumulating wealth that can in turn support their spouses and offspring to live decent lives. We are told that even in the cities where the market is broader, majority of such minute enterprises do not see their first birthday! Now pity the village youth!

While the youth development programmes are a good idea, they must be balanced with providing the youth the opportunity for quality formal education. The majority of today’s youth are capable of pursuing education to the highest level if given opportunity and this cannot make them less productive in the economy, neither can it be argued that this will necessarily take them away from engaging in agricultural production or other profitable entrepreneurial engagements. No rocket science is required to decipher the fact that nurturing a majority of poorly, if at all, educated population in this era is itself a recipe for disaster. Furthermore, it is erroneous to believe and persistently argue that every youth who goes through formal education ends up only as an unskilled job seeker who cannot create any employment opportunity. Moreover, those who do not create jobs or self-employment are still needed by the existing tax-compliant enterprises as productive employees.

I write this article not to downplay any youth development programmes but rather to highlight the need for proper balancing of the argument and action for the good of our country. I think the solution lies in supporting the youth to undertake quality formal education while mentoring them in productive, entrepreneurial ventures. None should be exclusive of the other and any model promoting such dichotomy and castigating formal education in the process will most likely not help Uganda. The youth development programmes and formal education system therefore need to be re-examined candidly with a view to making them synergistic.

For God and my Country.

Professionals are often a forgotten and neglected constituency in a national electoral campaigns

As Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Council campaigns get heated in Uganda, the nature of campaign promises progressively exposes the little attention given to issues concerning the reliable and faithful professional workforce. Candidates do not seem to remember that these professionals who run most of government (local and central) and private sector technical programmes also have unique professional needs that ought to be attended to. They have votes too; and they can influence a few more. They need an enabling environment; appropriate and sufficient resources to work with and easy access to reliable ICT support facilities. These would empower them to “do their thing” as the leaders harness credit and political mileage for the guaranteed resultant positive achievements.

The required environment should be composed of, among others, good regulatory frameworks and associated enforcement strategies. Professions world over are regulated. A person should go through a given form of initial training and subsequent periodic re-training (continuous professional development) to acquire and maintain specific knowledge and skills sets, and must practice within specified ethical bounds in order to qualify to be categorized as a member of a profession. The mandate and guidelines for regulation of professional practice, including composition of the body of regulators, is usually defined in an Act of Parliament. Such laws must be kept up to date to match needs of the era and for global compliance. Membership to professional regulatory bodies should therefore be appropriately constituted and must be given independence to do their work within defined professional and legal bounds without unnecessary interference. Such interference happens either directly through refusal to appoint; meddling with and into the affairs of the regulatory bodies or indirectly through appointing incompetent people into the regulatory authority. Furthermore, deliberate unnecessary delays in the processes of reviewing and updating the related (parent) law passes for negative interference.

Professional regulatory authorities are intended to and will usually protect the consumers of professional services and associated goods from being duped to settle for less or fake services from dishonest professionals and masqueraders (quacks). This way, they would avoid suffering great losses through paying for services that would not meet their demands and moreover could result in horrible consequences! Failure of government to provide an appropriate and supportive environment or empowerment of these regulatory bodies and the professionals to excel is, subtle though it is, very harmful to medium and long term national development agenda. As part of the regulatory legal framework, all other laws governing and guiding practice in the trade of a given profession also ought to be updated regularly and effectively enforced.

The professional, whether in public or private sector, should be appropriately supported, protected and facilitated to carryout their technical functions. These could be provided through, among others, commensurate remuneration; reliable, easy to access ICT services; appropriate technical equipment; adequate staffing; respect of professional opinion and support for continuous professional development. Professionals are extremely useful in guiding policy direction, budgetary prioritisation and implementation strategies of government and private sector plans if appropriately involved. It is therefore my considered opinion that every professional regulatory body should be supported to create a think tank arm that will periodically provide evidence-based, professionally-crafted guidance to government and the public on local, regional and global matters related to their profession. Such a team could also propose and/or vet special national awards to professionals thus eliminating politically influenced, non-professional and undeserved praises.

A national leadership that will work to promote the professionals and support them to be high global performers will surely experience a high quality service delivery and a positive trade balance, as direct contributions by the professionals. Such leaders would most likely cover good grounds towards delivering the promises made in their campaign manifestos.

This piece was published in the opinion column of the New Vision Newspaper of Wednesday 3 February 2016 under the title, “Professionals are a forgotten and neglected constituency”. Ugandans will go to the polls on 18 February 2016 to elect a President and Members of Parliament. On 24 February 2016 they will elect the local council leaders.

The GMO debate Part I

It finally came to pass on Thursday 18h July 2013 at the Makerere University Main Hall in Kampala, Uganda. The build up to this debate was eventful - the Makerere University academic staff mailing list was littered with lots of posts arguing for or against GMOs. There were more silent listeners though! I attended the debate and came back with a confirmation of what I wanted to hear: biotechnology is good and should be applied to improve humankind and the environment but should be done responsibly as there seems to be some undesirable sides to it that should preferably not be swept under the carpet. It was also clear that the current draft law (the so-called biotech bill) is inadequate in some (many?) significant areas. I captured a few issues from the speakers and I, unfortunately, present them here from my perspective - paraphrasing influenced by my own perception of the issues that came up. This is not in anyway an exhaustive representation of what was discussed by the scientists, legislators and the public.

1. God is central in science.
2. Biotechnology is important for improving quality of life of humans, animals and the environment. There are several examples of ways in which biotechnology has been used to achieve this especially in developing crop varieties with special/desirable characteristics.
3. GMO crops are not a panacea to food problems in Uganda.
4. There is need for a regulatory framework for the application of biotechnology in Uganda which GMOs are part of. Unfortunately, the current Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill (dubbed the GMO Bill) has several loop holes as compared to the one passed in Tanzania for example.
5. Broad stakeholder involvement is very important in the process of making the law to regulate GMOs.
6. In Uganda, regulatory functions are quite weakly implemented and poses a great concern especially with GMOs.
7. There is not much evidence of exhaustive safety studies done on many foods of GMO origin hence a bold statement about their safety cannot be made yet.
8. The conventional methods of crop production still hold their rightful place and make a significant contribution to agricultural production systems and food security in Uganda.
9. There is need to put more energy in developing indigenous genetic materials as opposed to depending on foreign supplies in order to avoid foreign 'manipulations'.
10. The application of biotechnology to enhance crop performance should be managed on a case by case basis as plants behave differently in their propagation mechanisms, e.g. maize should be handled more cautiously.

The one thing that I have to challenge the proponents and the opposers of GMOs is that they have spent too much time defending their side of the argument without placing much efforts in objectively demonstrating what I think might help the Members of Parliament and indeed members of the public to come to a final informed decision on how to proceed with this matter.

It is a known fact that everything has a risk and that because of this knowledge, we should not either fear to do anything because we are in fear of risk or simply plunge into something recklessly ignoring all the possible risks. What will usually inform our decision to adopt or not adopt something will be our assessment of the risk. I am yet to see a clearly developed objective risk matrix that informs our decision. The discussion, or should I call it argument, has been going on by and between scientists but they forget the major question of demonstrating the risk level in a way that a lay person can easily perceive.

I believe the lay man, just like the legislators who are debating the "GMO Bill", wants to hear answers to the following, seemingly trivial, questions so as to form an informed opinion on GMOs:

1. Would we die or suffer significant negative effects (which and what degree) if we do not adopt GMOs?
2. Why would we not die or suffer significant negative effects if we do not adopt GMOs?
3. Would we die or suffer significant negative effects if we adopted GMOs?
4. Why would we not die or suffer significant negative effects if we adopted GMOs?
5. Would we die or suffer significant negative effects if we do not adopt/perfect alternatives to GMOs?
6. Would we die or suffer significant negative effects if we adopted/perfected alternatives to GMOs?
7. Why would we not die or suffer significant negative effects if we adopted alternatives to GMOs?
8. Why would we not die or suffer significant negative effects if we do not adopt alternatives to GMOs?
9. What would the picture look like if we considered a combination of both in each case?
10. What would happen to the country's trade balance if we adopted/refused to adopt GMOs?
11. What should we do so as not to die from either adopting GMOs or not?

I am pursuaded that coming up with answers to these seemingly simplistic and trivial questions (that can potentially earn me a few insults here and there) would require us to develop and deeply analyse the risk matrices associated with each of the scenarios (perform an objective risk assessment): adopting GMOs, not adopting GMOs, adopting/perfecting alternatives or not. It would require that we identify key issues in each of the scenarios (in various crops and broadening it beyond just food crops) and consider their likelihood of happening and the consequence(s) that we would suffer if they happened. Borrowing from the common risk matrix used, I suggest that we add another (higher) level for both consequences and likelihood of happening/occurrence - the level is 'unknown'. In this case the score associated with 'unknown' on any of the axes should be considered high enough to cause rejection of the technology.

By the way, what are our practical and realistic targets for agriculture in Uganda - some kind of "agriculture agenda" for the nation and where we hope to take agriculture (crop and animal)? Wouldn't it be realistic to define the direction, set the milestones and then define what means we will use to get there? Considering GMO as possibly one of the means, with or without GMO, how far can we go along that journey; how safe during and after the journey; what happens to our trail; etc? This will help some of us regular waninchi ("laymen") see the point for or against GMOs or for a cautious (read objective) middle position.

What do you think?

CONSADOLE SAPPORO AT SAPPORO DOME

It happened on 10 November 2013 on the hanging soccer stage at the all weather sports arena, the Sapporo Dome. The hanging soccer stage is home turf of Sapporo's number one football team, Consadole Sapporo. The home team beat their visitors, Vissel Kobe 1-0 courtesy of a first half goal (penalty). This win gives them hope to qualify for play-offs so that they qualify for promotion to the top league. Two games remain - one away (17 Nov 2013) and the final one at home on 24 Nov 2013. If they maintain this performance they will qualify to tussle with three other clubs for the single promotion position that will be up for grabs.

Welcome back "the special happy one", Jose Mourinho

It is a delightful time for the Chelsea FC fans and the English media as Mr. Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge as Manager. When he first arrived at Stamford Bridge about 9 years ago he called himself "the special one" but now he believes he is "the happy one".

Kudos Chelsea FC

Congratulations Chelsea FC for making yet another history - being the first to win Europa League Cup while holding the UEFA Champions League trophy. The players deserved it as they played too many games this season, sometimes three games within 10 days! God is good. Read more here

Ethics

Quite a common word it is on lips of many but the practice of it is very rare. As if to put emphasis to this statement, a prominent businessman in Uganda, Dr. William Kalema, while presenting a paper in honor of Dr. Martin Okech Aliker, lamented the lack of ethics in today's Ugandan graduates especially of a university I wouldn't name here. He challenged the trainers to do something to improve this bad name.

While I agree with him that university teachers probably have something to do with it, I do not take it wholesome. There is lots that shapes somebody's morality that may also have some impact on their ethical conduct. This post lists some examples of possibilities:

• Peer influence.
• Family upbringing.
• Influence from the media.
• Idiosyncratic tendencies unique to some individuals.
• Primary and secondary school discipline and practices.
• Community influence - perceived role models in the community.

If the above be some possible contributing factors to the development of habits that are characterised as unethical conduct, then I pity the university teacher who will be expected to, besides guiding the 'raw' young person to acquire specialised knowledge and skills and critical thinking (primary role of the teacher at that level), fully transform their students' ethical behaviour. Never mind that the behaviour was 'formed' over a period of time (outside/before the university) and that factors that contributed to the young person developing unethical behaviour could still exist and are possibly unknown to the teacher (leave alone being able to change them)! May God help us.

Two terms of service to the Veterinary Fraternity

I thank them heartily. They being the larger portion of the veterinary fraternity in Uganda, members of the veterinary profession's umbrella body in Uganda - Uganda Veterinary Association (UVA). It was on Friday 5th December 2008 that they first put trust in me and my team to lead them. They renewed the mandate on Friday 10th December 2010 for two years. That made it two terms for me in office as President Uganda Veterinary Association.

After a period of four straight years of faithful and dedicated service as some of my colleagues called it, last week I handed over the mantle of UVA leadership to one of my colleagues, Dr. Dominic Venture Lali Mundrugo-ogo. To work with him is a team that I know all too well so I rest assured that progress is all that will happen for the UVA; a process I prefer to refer to as "moving from glory to glory". What this means is that my team and I were able to move this organisation through positive strides and with the new team, the organisation should be able to take several other strides in the right direction.

The four years I did this voluntary work have been years of unlimited exposure, networking, servant leadership, great sacrifice, juggling strategy & operations, mentoring & empowering, innovations, venturing into unknowns, fighting oppression, team building & management, managing criticism, arbitration & conflict resolution, initiating & refining strategies, perfecting boardroom etiquette, productive negotiation, etc. All these could be summed up as a period of tremendous learning. I am definitely much wiser. I should be able to share the key areas of learning either in a series on this blog or maybe in a book. May God help me and may He bless Uganda Veterinary Association, its entire membership and the global vet fraternity.

Some 10 points for the professionals to consider about the East African Community Common Market Protocol

One of the milestones on the road to the East African Community (EAC) federation is the Common Market Protocol (CMP) which came into force in July 2010. Its spirit, I believe is to make trade operations for both goods and services easier, faster and better across members' borders.

Based on my ('little') understanding of the CMP, I deduce from it some implications for a professional service provider. I will not delve into details of the CMP and will also steer clear of its components that deal with free movement of goods and instead concentrate on free movement of professionals (persons who deliver professional services).

1. Professionals should take it upon themselves to clearly define who a professional is and which organisations qualify to be referred to as professional bodies (association or regulatory) with reference to their respective professions. This does not only contribute towards limiting and subsequently eliminating quacks thereby protecting the consumer and profession but also helps other players correctly identify which bodies to work with in regard to a given profession.

   In simple terms, a professional should be one who has acquired and demonstrates applied skills, knowledge, attributes and behaviours (competence and competency) obtained through formal professional training to the benefit of his/her clients and holds certification to this effect from an accredited recognised training institution. In a few instances they even take an oath - Hippocratic oath in the medical/veterinary field - but in all cases must be registered by the profession's regulatory authority, a legal and professional requirement to practice in a given jurisdiction. At the earliest possible opportunity professionals should candidly and without fear emphasize the fact that business bodies/associations are not necessarily professional bodies/associations.

2. Quality assurance will be a vital area of concern in movement of professionals (services). The professional service provider must be qualified to offer the demanded service and must offer the optimal or the best service and must do it within the law of the country where the service is offered. This therefore calls for professional regulatory authorities and their associated enforcement units to ensure that no consumer is lured into consuming 'fake' or inferior services ('imported' from a member state). I love to provocatively refer to 'fake service' as 'counterfeit' to the amusement of many who are used to the current common definition of 'counterfeit' being restricted to goods. The alternative and more common word in services is "quack" but this may not immediately sound as catchy and terrifying as the word 'counterfeit' hence the perceived misuse of the word. A person who labels themselves a professional when they are not and yet tricks consumers into requesting for and consuming his fake services (carefully disguised as the true service) is, to me, offering a 'counterfeit service'. Spare me the debate on semantics and instead follow the drift.

   A loud warning must be sounded as well to some misguided professionals who seem to have put greed for money ahead of professionalism thereby not religiously observing professional ethics as defined by professional practice guidelines. Thanks to competition; these acts will hopefully soon be exposed and the consumers will get enlightened and liberated from this "hostility".

3. Every professional should participate actively through their professional associations and regulatory bodies in the negotiation of and implementation of the Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) that should define guidelines that facilitate and enable registration of professionals and professional practices across borders of the five member countries. The MRAs should especially define bounds but ensuring that it does not cause unnecessary encumbrances. The interest here is to make it easier and yet within professional and legal bounds for an EAC national/citizen to freely move and practice in a member state. Professionals should not delegate the role of designing and negotiating MRAs to parties that do not effectively represent their professional interests. In my opinion, this a shared role between professional associations and professional regulatory authorities. They should also take interest, in among others, immigration requirements associated with movement of persons so as to contribute towards designing processes that facilitate efficiency of the operations.

4. While professionals should appreciate their guidance, they should resist the temptation of being ‘crowded out’ in decision-making fora by Government officials, trade and business specialists (not of their professional leaning) who can derail professional focus on issues related to the CMP. Professionals should therefore not worry about holding minority opinion in such fora for as long as that represents the position and practice in their profession - preferring "professional correctness" over "political correctness" during such meetings. Be bold and loud even if you are a lone voice; stand for your profession without shame; nobody else cares about it except you.

5. Professionals should work together with their respective mother Government Ministries and the Ministries responsible for the East African Community affairs in their respective countries to provide a clear roadmap complete with realistic targets and demand that the ministries work towards it.

6. The free movement of professionals will bring with it competition which will largely be based on professional performance hence it calls for a high level of professionalism. This implies that if any professional does not keep themselves polished, they will soon be out of service/business because the consumers' "catchment area" and choices will expand. One example is that should any professional take Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes lightly, their progressive irrelevance and incompetence will soon be exposed to their detriment. The majority of professions in the member countries now renew registration based on credit points accumulated from CPDs over a defined period of time. A professional should therefore raise their bar. Are you acceptable in the neighboring country? Is it possible that a colleague from a neighboring country will be preferred to you in your own backyard?

7. A loud warning must be sounded as well to some misguided professionals who seem to have put greed for money ahead of professionalism thereby not religiously observing professional ethics. Thanks to competition; these acts will soon be exposed and the consumers will get enlightened and liberated from this "hostility".

8. It is important for professionals to take interest in understanding their respective profession's regulatory law(s) in the partner states not just to ensure they operate within the law but also for them to identify and propose areas of harmonization.

9. Furthermore, the professional should acquaint themselves with the prevailing trade laws (for both goods and services) in the various EAC member countries.

10. Professionals should consider establishing smart partnerships with their counterparts in the EAC member states to facilitate movement of service even without physical movement of the professional in some cases.

The CMP brings with it opportunities which can only be effectively harnessed by a prepared professional. Long live EAC, long live professionals, long live consumers of professional services.

Click here to download a pdf version of the EAC CMP.

This piece was sent to some media houses in the region but none has so far found it worth an inch of space in their pages. Thanks to personal blogs.

I am a digital immigrant who speaks the language of the natives

Mufuruki is a word used in Uganda, largely among the Bantu, to mean 'immigrant'. This word has become a household word largely due to its recent use by President Y.K. Museveni with reference to immigrants into Bunyoro land, mainly of Bakiga origin. I am told in Lango immigrants are referred to as “Obini” (‘Abini’ in singular).

If it were coined in Uganda today, the phrase "Digital Immigrants" would be "Digital Bafuruki" for Bantu and “Digital Obini” (for the Langi). I do qualify to be referred to as a 'digital Mufuruki' or “Digital Abini”- I am actually a typical one.

"Digital Bafuruki", according to some school of thought, are people who were born and bred in the pre-digital (non-digital) world and have since migrated to settle in the digital world. Unfortunately for these Bafuruki, their former country has been obliterated and however much they are tempted, they have no where to return to - they have to live in the current country, the digital world. The Bafuruki do definitely come with their language and with such a heavy accent that cannot be missed. For them to survive in this new country, they must learn and speak the language of the natives. This reminds me of a report in one of the Kampala Newspapers that President Museveni did advise the Bafuruki in Bunyoro to speak Lunyoro (and abandon their 'former' language?). I believe this advice is very good for the digital Bafuruki.

In any part of Uganda (and I believe other parts of the world) we know Bafuruki by their accent, among others. Likewise, digital Bafuruki are known by their typical accent. If you find the following examples of 'accent' familiar (either in your recent past life or actually current life) then you are probably a digital Mufuruki:

• Your secretary, son, daughter, grand child or younger colleague at work created for you your first e-mail address (and probably helped/helps you check your emails).
  
• You request for your e-mails to be printed (and you scribble your reply on paper for somebody to type or maybe you type it yourself once in a while).
  
• You are a university teacher and you insist on assignments, however small, submitted in hard copy rather than soft copy (even for a small class).
  
• You send an e-mail and follow it up with a phone call to confirm that it did arrive or you call to tell somebody you have received their e-mail and then go ahead to reply it.
  
• You get irritated by the amount of time your children 'waste' chatting on their phones. You cannot even pronounce iPod. "What is this craze about phones, facebook?" you wonder forgetting that these kids have never known the alternative - your country of origin. You are an immigrant to their digital world, just adapt and live there rather than attempt to change it to look like your former country. Sorry, even you yourself cannot go back to 'your country' - it does not exist anymore.
  
• You have never pressed Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+S, etc on your computer keyboard. What do they mean anyway? Never mind if you cannot see a button on your keyboard labeled 'Ctrl+V'. You are a Mufuruki. Yes, your accent tells it all.
  
• You and your neighbour wondered why your 21-year-old son in second year in university wants 75,000/= to buy a 'stick'! Moreover he is not disabled and you do not expect a university student to be reduced to a herdsman. You wonder, "in primary school of my days teachers asked us to take brooms to school, these days in university they take sticks! Things have really changed”. Probably not. You have just migrated to a different world.
  
• When the young talk about Second Life, you either think they meant to talk about ‘Second Chance’ or they visited church recently and are talking about life after death.

Now, fellow Bafuruki, I encourage you to heed President Museveni's advice. Simply learn the language of the natives. I could bet that there are many Bakiga immigrants in Bunyoro (Bafuruki) who speak Lunyoro as well or even better than Banyoro. These guys have adapted. Likewise, there are Digital Bafuruki who have adapted well in this 'new land' of the digital natives and do even speak the language fluently. I consider myself in this category.

Considering the demographic structure of our population and the global trends, we have no choice but to plan for a digital-dominated life (current and future). We are actually late as a nation. As a learning process facilitator, standards regulator and budding entrepreneur, operating in the digital world, it is very urgent for me to forget my nonexistent country of birth (and early life) and learn to live in this 'new country'. I must therefore endeavour to continuously follow the cycle of learning, unlearning and relearning to avoid illiteracy in this age that is greatly dominated by the need for “information literacy”. The challenge is heavy upon some of us who are teachers. Today’s students would have loved to be treated differently than what we subject them to (endure). What should we do to arrive at a balance? How can a teacher, born and bred in the land of chalk and blackboard, overhead transparencies, paper-based application forms, no talking in class, be effective and efficient in his/her work in this digital world of Smart Boards, LCD projectors, online application forms, class chat rooms, etc?

Fellow Bafuruki teachers, we simply must change and move with the times. Let us adopt education technologies and integrate them into our teaching to enhance learning (for the natives) in this era. Did you know that a student could now carry their class room (and you the teacher and some of his classmates) to their bed or to the bathroom?

Corporate managers also ought to be aware of the habits of the current generation and create working environments complete with technologies that enhance performance of the digital natives. About 5 years ago, I was amazed at how Fred, a friend of mine who lives and works in London, was managing the affairs of his office from Kampala with a small gadget in the palm of his hand. Phew! Such is the working environment for a digital native.

Bafuruki, I do implore you to endeavor to include words such as these in your vocabulary and practice: e-mail, chat room, blog, wiki, e-portfolio, trading online, search engines, folksonomy, emoticons, social network sites e.g. Facebook, etc.

About the constitutionality of 'ring-fencing' of some positions in the digital world (for the natives), I have no immediate comment. In the meantime, I encourage the Digital Bafuruki to simply adapt and swiftly develop capacity for harmonious and productive coexistence with the Digital Natives – speaking their language (with their accent) is one of the requirements.

Digital Bufuruki must speak the language of the Digital Natives

I TAKE IT HEAD-ON

I offered myself; I asked for it and on 5th December 2008, the members of the Uganda Veterinary Association meeting in Primrose Hall, Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala responded.

I offered to serve as President Uganda Veterinary Association 2008-2010. The members spoke loud and clear by giving me the majority of votes cast. The humble strategies I had shared with them are found in another blog.

I do take the challenge head-on and pledge maximum attention and efforts to the Veterinary profession causes. So help me God.

YES WE CAN

In his first speech to the public at Grand Park, Chicago, as the US President-elect, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, made an affirmation to the nation and I believe to the rest of the world that 'Yes We Can'. He had earlier used it on 8 January 2008 in his remarks in New Hampshire Democratic Party Primary Night. This has become a common phrase, at least in the mailing lists I subscribe to and the circles I socialise in. The question is, are we just borrowing words to spice up our e-mail messages or simply using the phrase in our speech to sound relevant to the talk of the moment or are we also taking heed of the deep advice in there?

It is so easy to quote from an eloquent speech but it is another thing taking time to reflect on what message the speech sent / intended to send to the rest of us, the listeners or readers.

What does 'Yes We Can' mean to you and I? I am aware that some of the readers of this blog might not have been in Chicago at the time, nor are they US citizen but wherever you were and whichever country you belong to, those words have a message for you.

In an attempt to understand it, one may look at the words individually (reductionist approach), then collectively each time doing that in some context. To Obama, there is a context; to me or you, there are possibly others. What therefore do the words singly or collectively mean to me, you, Obama and all of us?

'Yes' is an expression of agreement; word of affirmation; a positive response; etc. 'We' could mean collective responsibility as it refers to the speaker and one or more people or even refers to people in general. 'Can' may be used to imply that the necessary ability, knowledge, money or equipment to accomplish a task or do something exist.

What do these words mean collectively? They possibly suggest the need for an agreement by all of us that we collectively have the capacity to accomplish tasks to cause the change we can believe in. The phrase may also be seen as a call for responsibility with our sight on the hope for a better future.

The other question is, do you think we can derive some message from the 'Yes We Can' phrase that applies / is relevant to our context? My response is, 'Yes We Can'. You are most welcome to make comments highlighting how these words apply in your context.

THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL IN NSSF

A lot has been said in the Ugandan press about the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) lately especially focusing on the so-called 'Temangalo land deal' in which a cabinet Minister's family company sold land to the NSSF in a manner that is claimed not to have followed procurement guidelines. The press has placed so much focus on the 11 billion Uganda Shillings involved but very little on how to manage and invest the remaining trillions. The public discussion and press reports on the Temangalo deal do obscure the achievements so far made by NSSF. I find this very unfortunate. Also far remotely relegated and obscured is public debate on complementary methods of how to harness the opportunity presented by the millions of Dollars in NSSF’s coffers for hitherto unattempted national development-oriented ventures. I did send this article to two leading dailies in Uganda but I have fears that it may also not find favour in Newspaper Editors’ eyes. Thank God for personal blogs.

I do propose just one of several complementary methods of investing NSSF funds for the benefit of a wider range of Ugandans and subsequently national development.

We have lately seen a great demand (by Uganda and her citizen) for tertiary education even amidst the rising cost of tertiary education. The rise in demand is indicated by the number of applications for enrollment into universities and other institutions of higher learning including purely private tertiary institutions that are not directly subsidised by government. We have also heard the cry by many universities especially government-owned ones for the need to raise tuition to meet, at the very least, the cost of training requirements for the various courses they offer.

I also believe that it is government’s desire to train its citizen (especially at university level) and attain a critical mass of professionals. The demand for training is therefore very high, actually beyond what the existing institutions can meet. Sadly, some of the Ugandans do not get access to tertiary institutions not because of poor grades but because of their inability to afford tuition costs. This is especially true for children from the poverty-stricken and war-ravaged areas of the country.

As it is now, the NSSF situation could be described by two contrasting words at the same time: comedy and tragedy. One of the amazing comedies is that there are probably individuals who have some savings with NSSF and yet have failed or are struggling to support their biological children in university. The tragedy is that such a cycle will continue unbroken for many unless a deliberate supportive intervention is made.

While the above scenarios are playing out, there is some huge sum of money being accumulated and invested in various ways except in national human resource development. I am told that one of the factors that led to the rise of Singapore from the level of a third world country to a developed country status in 25 years is a deliberate strategic investment in human resource development. Uganda ought to learn from its ‘buddy’ of the 1960s and invest in the development of its human resource.

So on the one hand there exists the need to develop human resource and the motivation of Ugandans to acquire skills amidst inability to pay for the training, and on the other there is a growing pool of largely stable and possibly perennial fund in NSSF that ought to be partly profitably invested in national human resource development. This does not deny the fact that part of the funds is currently held in various profitable investment portfolios. Kudos to Mr. David Jamwa and his team.

Where therefore do the human resource development needs for the nation and its citizen and the presumably vast amounts of money available in NSSF and the latter’s need to invest the money meet?

I, deliberately and boldly, propose that the NSSF Management and Board considers the establishment of a well-controlled and targeted university (tertiary institution) education loan fund as one of the ways of profitably investing the NSSF fund. The benefits of such a scheme are several including, for example, human resource development for the nation (with a hopefully significant positive impact on the economy); profits for NSSF (higher interest to the fund owners – the workers); skills empowerment of a section of Ugandans who would otherwise have not accessed higher education training; a sense of responsibility inculcated in the beneficiaries of the scheme; an increased pool of job creators.

I am told that in many developed countries every willing citizen will not fail to go to university because of lack of funds. Their governments provide loans to support those who cannot afford to pay from their (family) savings. In Uganda, we may not have the capacity to do it as a government - so I think - but looking for synergies in the private sector is probably the way to go. NSSF is a potential candidate worth wooing into this noble cause.

With the little exposure I have had through my voluntary activities with a bursary scheme, with my few years of work experience in higher education and a few years’ experience with of a profitable Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) whose profits are mainly earned through loans, I am convinced that such a scheme can be manageable and will accrue enormous benefits for NSSF and the nation and her citizen.

There is no space for details of such a project to be discussed here. Besides, there are still several begging questions. However I guess that establishment of such a scheme might call for some legal and policy paper work involving a few Government Ministries / departments, NSSF, the universities and possibly other players in the private sector. I am confident though that if this is driven by the willing heart of government, these processes would not take ‘donkey’ years.

It would also call for appropriate human resource capacity adjustments in NSSF and implemented in a piece-meal phased-out approach. An affirmative action and quota system would be an important consideration in the initial 3 to 5 years. Not because I am from a war-ravaged area but because I know the extent of need (amidst tremendous potential) in the region, I would propose a gender-sensitive affirmative action in favour of the war-affected areas of West Nile, Northern, Eastern and some parts of Western Regions of Uganda.

For God and my country.

Degree from the Market place and not the University

On Saturday 2 February 2008 I was one of those who attended a seminar organised by Akamai Uganda on goal setting. There are several things I learned from that seminar that I could (should?) share on this blog. One that I must write about immediately is the concept of a "degree awarded by the market place".

This phrase was used by one of Uganda's Dollar multimillionaire. The short and long of it is that he runs several businesses including hotel, property (real estate), telecommunication services, energy, etc. He told the meeting that for each of the businesses he gets into, he makes sure he learns a lot about it through reading books related to that business and also the experience he gains in the process of running the business. For each of his several successful businesses, he has so much knowledge that he equates it to a degree in the respective fields. He therefore, because of the success bestowed upon him by the market place, considers that the market place has found him worthy of degree awards - he passed all the tests and examinations with distinction. He believes that he has up to 9 degrees now based on how much he knows about specific businesses.

Some questions:
1-How many degrees do you have? Who awarded them to you? How much do they help you to make money and how much money?

2-How can universities tap the wealth of experience and knowledge from practicing businessmen and integrate them in their teaching curricula?

3-I believe that if one sat at the feet of this businessman (with degrees from the market place), they would get sufficient knowledge to start them off in their journey to creating wealth. How many people would become wealthy if they sat at your feet to learn from the knowledge you have gained from your degree(s)?

The advise about reading is that each of us should put aside some time everyday to read about the businesses we are engaged in. That way, we could learn and excel in our businesses and possibly get degree awards from the market place. By the way, this is not a paper award we are used to but I think it is wealth created through the success of that business.

Ugandan Public Universities search for Professor instead of CEO

If press reports are anything to go by then Kyambogo University will wait for a little longer before they get a Vice-Chancellor (VC) and a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC). The press alleges that there has been a low response to the adverts. I know there could be several reasons for the low response but I also think that the criteria for choosing leaders in government universities have some weaknesses. The one I am interested in commenting about at this moment is the minimum requirements for one to qualify to express interest in being a VC or DVC vis-a-vis the functions of those offices.

I believe that the functions of a VC in a university are those of a CEO and therefore the search committees should be honest and openly embark on a search for a CEO. The basic requirements should be improved upon to reflect this. Currently, the first and foremost requirement is for one to be a University Professor of a certain advanced age. To me, besides being an inappropriate criterion, it unnecessarily narrows down the sample space - we have few Professors in that narrow age bracket. Besides, among the few Professors we have in this category, there are probably very few interested in such positions. This makes the sample space even much smaller! Furthermore, although the small sample space greatly reduces the competition among the applicants, it also has the undesirable effect of reducing the probability of landing on the much needed candidate with CEO capabilities. With all due respect, not just any Professor (in that age bracket) with ambitions can necessarily competently do a VC (CEO) job in this highly competitive and rapidly evolving information age / era.

Besides, the nature of students (and some employers) and their corresponding needs and 'language' have long changed from the 'old' pre-digital accent hence calling for extreme flexibility and quick adaptability of strategies.

I strongly believe that the public universities ought to rethink and start looking for CEOs instead of looking for professors - I do not care whether the CEO is a professor or not. I believe that there is nobody who can guarantee that just by being a Professor of a certain age, one already qualifies to get onto the shortlist for a university CEO (VC). Far from it as we know that to attain professorial title one must excel in research and training in his / her discipline. Very few humble ones pick a few corporate leadership skills along the way.

A university leader need not necessarily be (technically) smarter than the people they lead but should be smart enough to get all those very smart people under his/her leadership to work together as a productive team which is responsive to the clients' needs (students, the parents, the employers, etc) and market trends (local, regional and global).

I personally would settle with a competent CEO who is not necessarily a Professor. The public university search committees ought to reconsider their criteria and focus on organisational leadership abilities rather than prestigious titles earned from showcasing portfolios of largely non-managerial achievements in specialised disciplines. I am aware this piece will make me very unpopular in university corridors and I will probably be called names but that is my opinion - I am entitled to it. I apologize though for hurting some feelings, if any.

Welcome 2008

It is here, I believe with its unique challenges. I trust that God will help you and I through it successfully and with greater achievements than those of 2007.

I am personally happy with the lessons I learned and the achievements made in 2007. I am prepared to experience bigger achievements in 2008 in the areas of Family, Finances, Firm (career development), Friends, Fun, Faith and Fitness - the so-called 7Fs. I purpose to pursue the short and long term 'SMART' goals in my plans for each of these areas in my life.

Get inspired to do the same so that at the end of 2008 you may look back and see how much mileage you have covered with reference to your vision.

Happy New Year 2008.

Rev. Dr. Wes Hall shares some wisdom

It was at the opening ceremony of the 4th Pan Commonwealth Veterinary Conference in Barbados. Reverend Dr. Wes Hall was the featured speaker. What a good choice he was.

I will not promise to write about his oratory skills and style but believe me that he has a lot that we can learn from - his speech was captivating not only because of the content but also because of the style of presentation, moreover without the famous PowerPoint / LCD projector. I will just share about a few comments he made that I think will be useful to readers of this blog.

He confessed that when he was invited, he did not know what to share with veterinarians in such a big conference and from such diverse countries. He settled and decided to speak about Cricket in the West Indies - his past experiences and vision for the future. Although I am not a cricket fan (yet), and I have never played cricket, I learnt a lot from what Dr. Hall shared. He spoke with reference to Cricket but the principles apply to all aspects of life. He referred to Cricket as the legacy of the Commonwealth experience although he lamented that in the West Indies, the game had moved from amazing grace to disgrace.

As part of the team working towards reviving Cricket in the West Indies, he shared their strategy of harnessing talent from deep down in the communities and developing it through the so-called 'bottom up' approach. This way they would not have anybody joining the academy to learn basics. The basics would be acquired at an earlier stage such that when one gets to the academy they would be handled differently - polished to attain world-class status. Who said this strategy only applies in Cricket?

(In the picture below - L-R: Sam Okech - Uganda, Wes Hall - Barbados and Nick Gumede - Swaziland).

He also shared about how teamwork was vital in shaping his legacy as an outstanding Cricketer. He joked about how one time he did not openly acknowledge the contribution made by a teammate even though he knew it was the main factor in their success. The teammate withdrew his vital contribution with disastrous consequences! He had to repent of his 'sins' thereafter. Any lessons for you?

Motivation is one important thing in life, no wonder Dr. Daniel Goleman lists it as one of the elements of Emotional Intelligence. Rev. Hall shared three major things that a Cricket player (read everybody) should aim at achieving to be successful: knowledge, skill and desire. He shares these with the youngsters as a way of motivating them to strive for excellence in Cricket. He described desire as the starting point of all achievement.

Some short motivating quotes I picked out of the speech:
"Courage should overcome challenges"
"You do not go to the academy to learn basics"
"Dinosaurs did not adapt to changing conditions hence they went extinct"
"Success is sustained level of excellence"

Dr. Hall's choice of words and word combinations were remarkable. For example, in conclusion he said, "I am thankful for your hospitality that can only be surpassed by my gratitude and capacity to hold it."

Your two cents worth makes a difference - Mother Teresa

On this day when the late Mother Teresa was born, I took a bit of time off to review and give some of her quotes a deep thought. Could you please join me in committing these two to some thought?

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

You may want to read more of Mother Teresa's quotes here.

Some information (source):

Name: Mother Teresa
Variant Name: Agnes Gonxha
Birth Date: August 27, 1910
Death Date: September 5, 1997
Place of Birth: Skopje, Yugoslavia
Place of Death: Calcutta, India
Nationality: Albanian
Gender: Female
Occupations: nun

Risk

It has been said that all successful people, especially those in business, take big risks. It is also said that those who fear to take risks (risk-averse) may achieve quite little. The latter category of people have been accused of simply attempting to deny reality because every aspect of life is a risk or involves risk-taking.

Some businessman once advised that it is good to take a risk if the possible benefit of the venture taken is several times higher than the cost of the possible loss. That way, he commits himself knowing that if he lost, it would be something relatively little compared to if he won (if he won, he would 'win big'). He however points out that from every business deal he makes (those that work and those that do not), he learns lessons hence there is no absolute loss after all.

Bishop T.D. Jakes presents an aspect of risk-taking that is so often ignored. Jakes said, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't God and die to find out there is.”

So which risk would you rather take? To live as though God exists or to live as if He does not exist? Well, the choice is yours and yours alone.