Work for patriotism not pay
- Written by Sam Evidence Orikunda
Medical workers protesting over pay
While officiating at the funeral of the late minister Charles Engola, President Museveni asked a challenging and philosophical question to Ugandans.
He asked how a child would demand to suckle a mother who is dying. This parable-like question simply meant that the economy isn't doing well because of a number of issues known to at least everyone who has gone to school.
Surprisingly it's these people who are demanding increments of their salaries and allowances to the extent of even forcing it and calling for a sit-down strike. When a mother is on her death bed, you give her the care she needs to survive so that when she gets well maybe the child can get breastfeeding.
It is only an 'idiot' who will demand to breastfeed from a mother who is on her deathbed because a sound human being can't do that. The post-Covid-19 pandemic challenges have affected almost every country in the world including the strongest economies and things could even go worse given the fact that some countries are at war with each other and that situation affects all of us because of what they produce.
So some of the economic challenges we are facing as a country are not for our own making and the government could be having nothing much to do about it.
This situation we are in has ever happened in Uganda and the president explained it well at the funeral of Engola. He said that as he and his group struggled in the bush to liberate Uganda, the economy had already crumbled.
All they needed at that time was food to survive and maybe medicine which wasn't available. They kept the morale to achieve what had taken them to the bush. If the combatants he had in the struggle demanded pay, probably they would have deviated from the course and they would have been defeated hands down.
One should ask himself or herself, where were the families of the combatants as the war went on? Who was taking care of their children, feeding them, or even paying school fees? How about those who unfortunately lost their lives during the struggle?
How would Uganda be if those people did not sacrifice their lives? At the time of the struggle to liberate Uganda, how much were the civil servants and the public servants earning? Was that money important to them at that time?
All the answers to these questions if answered well could tell us why the demand for the increment of salaries and allowances should slow down or never appear anywhere again.
There's no person who demands an increment in salaries during war or times of catastrophe. For instance, I saw a doctor on television who was complaining that the government prioritizes things like going to DRC to fight when the doctors have no money.
That doctor simply portrayed to the country that he didn't know the importance of the stability of the country and its neighbourhood, perhaps his thinking would have been better if he was treating casualties of the war, maybe that's when he would understand that the security should be given priority over anything.
All the civil servants and the public servants should by now only demand for what to use to do their work and what to eat to survive so that we all get through this world economic recession. Then when we get better, someone can demand for the increment of their salaries and other privileges to which they're entitled to.
When the government fails to fulfill at that time when things are better, then they can lay down their tools but I'm confident that it has been a norm for the government to accept several demands of its workers to make their work better and also motivate them.
The writer is a deputy RDC Sheema district
Comments
sentiments!!!
And what is patriotic about the president of a highly indebted country like Uganda self-serving himself with Shs.500 million for his Wardrobe (clothing), yet Medical doctors live a humiliating dogs life?
What is patriotic about a country whose police and military officers are freaking out and beginning to murder their bosses over the disparity of salary vis-a-vis being over-worked, underpaid and rendered homeless, and not able to send children to school and/or cater the wives maternity and/or Medical Bills?
Is this why Museveni is lifetime ruler, will leave the post to his son, because they are patriots not payed?
Sane adults, leave alone idiot adults don't suckle. It is interesting that those who spend most of the nation's monies are always the ones who tell others to be patriotic???
And there are so many of them, spread throughout. Very mediocre in their reasoning, and for that fact, being in positions that don't require brains, and in jobs that equally have nothing to add to the betterment of this country.