By Bruno Ignatius Namisi The Parliamentary session of 19th April 2023 was mainly about Uganda’s diplomatic relations, during the time I followed up proceedings on the media. Speaker after speaker underpinned the importance of Uganda’s relationship with other countries, especially our trade partners.
There were calls to improve on the infrastructure of Uganda’s diplomatic missions, as well as enhancement of capacity for all staff serving at such Embassies and consulates. Legislators across the political divide called for facilitating the welfare of Ugandan staff across the board.
They also proposed for appointment of Economists, trade experts, as well as specifically trained diplomats to represent Uganda, while armed with statistics and information regarding the country they represent.
The argument is that this will help them not seem lost, whenever they hold diplomatic engagements.
Furthermore, as I concentrated on this debate at Parliament, a message popped on my Twitter updating us on the proceedings of an event that was being held in the far West of Uganda. This event, dubbed “Rukundo Egumeho”, is spearheaded by supporters of Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with the main intention of promoting good relations between Uganda and Rwanda.
I love peace and good relations, and, I therefore applaud this team for driving this. However, taking a closer look at the pictures that came through, I saw two individuals who have always abused Bobi Wine for being a beggar and a promoter of homosexuality, attending this function.
They have insinuated that Bobi Wine’s continued relationship with other countries is a clear indicator that he promotes the aforementioned vice.
I wondered whether these people have taken Bobi Wine’s path! Relatedly, I am one of the leaders of an Alumni association called the Young African Leadership Initiative – a signature program started up by the ex-president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, with trainings undertaken at the regional level.
During my engagements, I have heard some people express fear about these programs as being grounds for nurturing opposition leaders, without understanding what the mandate of our organization is.
I laugh it off because I personally know how diverse this group is, with each and every one respecting another’s political views. We are happy to say that we are one group that can host members of different political groups in one room, to unite on professional grounds, than to be divisive.
All these members have cultivated very good relationships with some of Uganda’s diplomatic allies. I also need to remind everyone that Uganda’s budget still requires about 48% from those development partners, most of whom are foreign.
I therefore call upon everyone to desist from the habit of blackmailing the young generation that is trying to build diplomatic relationships with other countries.
We must appreciate the importance of partnerships, as well as stop being pessimistic about all diplomatic relations as being a door to breeding opposition leaders.
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