Jose Mourinho: the special one or the only one?

Jose Mourinho in the hot seat at CNN. Visit and listen to what he has to say HERE.

Saving for economic empowerment

Today, 28th July 2012 goes in the history books as the day the Veterinary Wealth Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (Vet Wealth SACCO) held its first Annual General Meeting and constituted its first Board and Supervisory Committee. The meeting was held at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity in Makerere University. It is a development for which I greatly thank God for letting me and several colleagues be part of from inception through registration to now full composition of the governing structures.

This SACCO is one step of demonstrating that veterinarians in Uganda have embraced the principle of harnessing synergies and are willing to use it to improve their economic position and capacity of offering services and support to the community.

Long live Vet Wealth SACCO.

Gone to the dogs. Why dogs?

In some cultures in the world, animals are praised, adored, almost regarded as human and in some (almost) worshiped. While this demonstrates the close ties and mutually beneficial relationship between man and animals, man also coined a saying that seems to suggest a demeaning of the animal - at least one specie which ironically, on the other hand, is also described as "man's best friend".

The saying "gone to the dogs" is used to describe something or a situation that has gone bad or lost all good things associated with it. The question is, why the dogs when it is known that in many cultures, dogs are very important members of the family and community for various reasons: company, hunting, security, recreation (sports), disaster prediction, etc?

Which culture coined this saying and why? Join me in searching for the answer. As we search, I think we (humans) should also stop 'messing up things' and quickly (as if to avoid responsibility) say they have 'gone to the dogs' instead of admitting that 'we have, in our normal minds, deliberately chosen to mess the things up so badly that they are not even useful to us anymore'. Why don't we 'take these things to the angels' instead? Let us strive to make things better.

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.

Happy birthday Petr Cech

Happy birthday to my goal keeping star, Mr. Petr Cech. How to celebrate a birthday! The saves you made won Chelsea FC their maiden UEFA Champions League trophy. Above all I thank God for He made all the miracles happen. Who would have believed it if you told them a few weeks ago that Chelsea would bag two big trophies: The FA Cup and the UCL? God you are almighty.

Thanks to God yet again

Lord God almighty thanks again for yet another victory. The miracles you make never cease. May your name be glorified forever.

God's favour, God's mercy, God's love

Thanks Lord for making my evening. All victory comes from you. Thank you. I hope the readers will get my drift. Sing hallelujah!