|
Monday, 21 December 2009 13:23 |
|
Page 1 of 6 Buganda Conference 2009
Chairman’s speech
 On behalf of the organizing committee, I am very honored to welcome you all to this 2nd annual Buganda Conference.
I am particularly honored and pleased to welcome our brothers and sisters from Tooro, Acholi, Ankole, West Nile, Karamoja, Tororo, Busoga, UK, USA, South Africa and other parts of Uganda.
In a special way, I welcome professor Emeritus Jonah Isawa Eliagwu of the Institute of Governance and social research of the University of Jos in Nigeria. He has prepared two comprehensive papers for this conference and traveled a long way to join us. We are very honored with his presence.
Your presence here today clearly manifests the friendship and solidarity that you have with the Kingdom of Buganda. We value this solidarity. We do not take it for granted. We firmly believe that unity can be achieved through the respect of cultural and ethnic diversity and not through suppression of diversity of divide and rule.
This conference is part of the celebrations of the 16th Coronation anniversary of the King, Ssaabasajja Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II. It is belated- considering that the coronation anniversary was marked in July this year. However, as many of you know, the Kingdom has been kept very busy since July with several pressing matters including the refusal of the Kabaka to visit Kayunga, the closure of our radio station CBS and the arrest and detention of several of our colleagues on various charges ranging from terrorism to sedition. As we speak now, many of our brethren are still in prison and have been denied bail.
Because of these and other reasons, the presentations of this conference were disrupted and delayed. We thank God that in spite of the impediments we are able to convene today to take a critical look at the question of governance of Uganda and federalism in particular. Federalism is a subject that has engrossed the politics of Uganda since independence. In spite of the fact that it is a popular form of governance, in this part and other parts of this country, it has not been adopted. There are many reasons for this. This conference aims to analyse some of these reasons.
At a general level, in this conference we seek your friendship and cooperation to build a country at peace with itself. We seek to listen to the aspirations of our fellow countrymen and women. We seek to address or dispel the fears that some of our fellow Ugandans may have about Buganda and federalism.
But more specifically, this conference seeks to-
- To create further understanding of and make a case for federalism for Uganda as a whole.
- To offer a platform for dialogue among the people of Uganda about how to develop a system of governance that will enhance effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery.
- To examine the unitary form of government and the Regional Tier system on how they relate to the general and specific aspirations of Ugandans and their potential contribution to the economic social and political development of the country.
- To examine the international and African experience with federalism and draw key lessons for Uganda.
- To develop a consensus and strategic approach on how federalism may be achieved in Uganda.
We are grateful to have distinguished academicians, politicians, historians, anthropologists and other specialist including Prof. G.W Kanyeihamba to help us in the discussions on this important subject.
Please join me in thanking the Katikkiro of Buganda and the various individuals who have worked very hard to organize this conference.
In a special way, join me in thanking the Nnabagereka of Buganda for her work in uplifting the cultural and social lives of many young girls and children across the country and honoring our invitation to be the guest of honor this morning and to open the 2nd Buganda Conference.
Let me end with two Nigerians proverbs……..
“The tree that cannot shed its old leaves in the dry season, cannot survive the period of drought”. And
However long the moon disappears, someday it must shine again…..
Thank you all.
Ssabasajja Kabaka Awaangale.
Apollo N. Makubuya
CHAIRMAN ORGANISING COMMITTEE
|
