By Mr Stanley Kinyatta
Since President Museveni emphasised industrialisation as a key important factor for our economic and social development, several writers in the press including Mr Charles Peter Mayiga (Daily Monitor February 28, 2008) and Mr Eric Naigambi (March 14, 2008), have made lots of criticisms and arguments against the theory. They have argued that, justice, law and order will be the most important factor to bring economic and social development in the country. Contrary, I wish to inform those writers that the president is completely right.
It is not law and order that is the most important factor to bring economic and social development. One must first understand what causes lawlessness in society. These are some of the main causes;
Unemployment and lack of means to generate income: Society becomes idle and disorderly and hence majority of the active population engages itself in criminal activities such as robberies etc. Worldwide industry and trade employ the largest active population. These two are related. One produces, the other transports, distributes and retails to the consumer. It is a chain that gives more employment opportunities to the large part at the population, hence income generation and economic development.
Unequal distribution of resources among the population: This brings grievances and hatred among the privileged visa vis those who have not. This has caused problems in many countries. Unequal distribution of national resources among the population is a factor that leads to an uprising. What happened in Rwanda and recently in Kenya are good examples. Some people go into politics to be heard or take up arms to demand their human rights.
Lack of equal opportunities brings dominance of a certain class of population that creates hatred among people. Eat but let others also eat. Live and let others also live decently. A political slogan of one people, one nation will not work when some are eating and others dying of hunger!
The cure of Number 1-3 is multiplication of economic activities and efficient distribution and management of public affairs and national resources among people. The chief multiplier of all factors and creation of linkages among various sectors is creation of economic activities based on industrialisation.
Justice alone cannot bring development and peace can only come when the hungry are fed, when opportunities are evenly distributed, when national resources are efficiently managed on behalf of the people, when protection and promotion of individual rights are enhanced through strengthening administration of justice. The law and order can then prevail in our society.
What causes people to become break the law and become disorderly is lack of equality, uneven distribution of national resources, unemployment etc.
The president was therefore right on the import substitution theory (industrialisation) as a means to add value to our raw materials and hence saving our foreign exchange, creating more employment and generation of incomes for our people through linkages created from the production of raw materials, through industrial processing to marketing either locally or abroad.
Industrialisation means changing of raw materials through industrial process to finished goods. It is not only to add value to our raw materials but also to change the form e.g. from cotton, spinning to cloth. From raw copper to electric cables etc.
The producers of those goods are not only protected by law and order but they can mainly be protected and guaranteed in business by the quality and quantity of their products sold on the local and international markets under competitive conditions. If the producers or manufacturers do not adhere to this they disappear or close whether there is law and order or not.
The writers who would like Uganda to continue importing sugar when we have natural advantage of growing natural sugar cane are extremely wrong. The cost of sugar per kilo may be high because of law production of sugar which does not satisfy the demand or because of production costs caused by shortage of power, transport costs of imports from Mombasa etc due to our land lockedness. However these production costs are being addressed by the government and soon they will be over.
The Writer is a Development Economics Consultant and Former Resident District Commissioner (RDC)-Kampala District
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