All around us we are bombarded with negativism. I have often wondered whether there still remains any appetite for good news.
If one were to set
up a newspaper, radio or television station sorely dedicated to
disseminating what is good and positive in society would there be
consumers? I read papers religiously and watch news regularly. In the
main I am subjected to bad news; nay, to extremely bad news almost all
the time.
Rarely do positive developments make breaking news, except perhaps when Francis became Pope.
Mentioning the Pope, as I penned this article, the headline of a leading daily screamed thus: “Vatican asks IGP to probe theft of church money”. It continued thus: “Thousands stranded as part of Jomo Kenyatta airport goes into flames”; “63 schools close over lack of funds”; even on the ear pieces the paper was still screaming: “Kazibwe family blocks Specioza from funeral”. It is only in small print that the paper found space for “Muslims celebrate Eid after a month of fasting”.
Mentioning the Pope, as I penned this article, the headline of a leading daily screamed thus: “Vatican asks IGP to probe theft of church money”. It continued thus: “Thousands stranded as part of Jomo Kenyatta airport goes into flames”; “63 schools close over lack of funds”; even on the ear pieces the paper was still screaming: “Kazibwe family blocks Specioza from funeral”. It is only in small print that the paper found space for “Muslims celebrate Eid after a month of fasting”.
Yet this was on the day when it was being revealed that Uganda’s
exports were projected to hit sh31 trillion by 2017. No one in the media
cared to remind the nation that 2017 is the watershed year by which,
under our first Poverty Eradiation Action Plan (PEAP), the proportion of
those living below the poverty line was supposed to have reduced from
56% to less than 10%.
I am an activist. But I am also a realist. Most importantly I am an optimist. Having lived through the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, I know that we are on a journey whose destination we must all help to determine. I want my contributions to bequeath posterity a better Uganda than I have lived in.
I am an activist. But I am also a realist. Most importantly I am an optimist. Having lived through the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, I know that we are on a journey whose destination we must all help to determine. I want my contributions to bequeath posterity a better Uganda than I have lived in.
So I try very hard to be balanced, constructive and to put things in
proper perspective. However, similar to media reporting, most of the
time activism also thrives in the realm of the negative, except when one
is talking about their own work or belief.
My spouse, who is from Botswana and is also an activist, amazes me by how positive she is about her country of birth. She gets very excited when she receives positive news from home. For example, she has been telling us how Botswana is diversifying away from over-dependency on diamonds; how the government is fighting poverty by distributing small animals to relatively poor households.
My spouse, who is from Botswana and is also an activist, amazes me by how positive she is about her country of birth. She gets very excited when she receives positive news from home. For example, she has been telling us how Botswana is diversifying away from over-dependency on diamonds; how the government is fighting poverty by distributing small animals to relatively poor households.
How the president personally goes to communities in remote areas to
distribute Chinese-made blankets in winter. Lately she is excited about
the statistic that Botswana has been listed as home to three of the top
10 most expensive safari resorts in the world – Khwai River Lodge,
Savuti Elephant Camp, Eagle Island Camp and Spar.
I am thinking, if Botswana was Uganda, much of what we would be
talking about would be the dictatorial tendencies of the general who
runs the government; the expensive presidential jet which is a drain on
the economy, the arrogance of the head of State who refuses to attend
most summits of heads of states because he says it is a waste of time as
heads are given only seven minutes to speak; the hotels which are run
from abroad, and so on and so forth.
I am convinced that Uganda would benefit from something along the lines of “Appreciative Inquiry” to re-focus national conversation and collective attitude.
I am convinced that Uganda would benefit from something along the lines of “Appreciative Inquiry” to re-focus national conversation and collective attitude.
The Appreciative Inquiry model, which I first encountered when I
worked with World Vision in the 1990s, is based on the assumption that
the questions we ask will tend to focus our attention in a particular
direction. If we look for problems all the time, we are sure to find
problems galore.
Some researchers even believe that excessive focus on dysfunctions
can actually cause them to become worse or fail to become better.
Dismissing everything the government does is not only dishonest but can
also makes the situation get worse. If one’s starting point is “What are
the problems?”, “What’s wrong?” or “What needs fixing?” – which are
based on a deficiency model - yield solutions that beget more problems.
Obsession with fault-finding ends up even fixing what is not broken.
As an “asset-based approach", Appreciative Inquiry starts with the belief that every person has positive attributes that can be built upon. It asks questions like “What’s working well?”, “What’s good about what is happening currently?” arguing that when society is motivated to recall and value the most favourable features of its culture and other assets, it makes rapid improvements.
Let us remember that in our Uganda, Sir Winston Churchill, all those years ago, saw the Pearl of Africa, gifted by nature, with so much potential. Millions of visitors flock here every year for a glimpse of that Pearl; and more would come if we had the enabling infrastructure.
As an “asset-based approach", Appreciative Inquiry starts with the belief that every person has positive attributes that can be built upon. It asks questions like “What’s working well?”, “What’s good about what is happening currently?” arguing that when society is motivated to recall and value the most favourable features of its culture and other assets, it makes rapid improvements.
Let us remember that in our Uganda, Sir Winston Churchill, all those years ago, saw the Pearl of Africa, gifted by nature, with so much potential. Millions of visitors flock here every year for a glimpse of that Pearl; and more would come if we had the enabling infrastructure.
Many diplomats come here and never want to return to their countries
for love of Uganda. Someone confided in me the other day how, compared
to his country, which shall remain nameless, Uganda is heaven – there is
vibrancy, people are enterprising, social life is superb, the land is
productive.
Security, though not perfect, is relatively good. People live longer
and the quality of life gets better with every succeeding generation.
At commanding heights of academic excellence, Makerere University is clawing back to its days of international glory. Ugandans are winning international accolades in different aspects of life. We lead East Africa as an investment destination. And much more good stuff is happening here.
At commanding heights of academic excellence, Makerere University is clawing back to its days of international glory. Ugandans are winning international accolades in different aspects of life. We lead East Africa as an investment destination. And much more good stuff is happening here.
We are fatigued and even agitated by long incumbency because we have
taken certain things for granted, which we would value more were they to
be taken away. Appreciative Inquiry is not covering up or sweeping
problems under the carpet. It is deliberately choosing to focus on the
other side of the coin to put the negative into perspective.
If we can collectively figure out what makes for this progress, we can push ourselves along with our political, economic, social, cultural and religious harder, to build on what is working well as we crowd out what is not working thereby making the realisation of such aspirations as Vision 2040 as easy as peeling and munching a ripe Bogoya.
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If we can collectively figure out what makes for this progress, we can push ourselves along with our political, economic, social, cultural and religious harder, to build on what is working well as we crowd out what is not working thereby making the realisation of such aspirations as Vision 2040 as easy as peeling and munching a ripe Bogoya.
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