Ronald Leonard Egesa

Ndorwa West MP David Bahati is the news man of the moment. What I find interesting though is the fact that those opposed to his private members’ bill are failing to give good reasons to convince the liberals to join their side. The media has been awash with headlines pointing at the powerful people of the west (President Obama, Top US Diplomat Hillary Clinton, British Premier Gordon Brown and the Canadian Premier among others) being against this bill. One of these was quoted as saying that passing this bill into law would be a major setback in the protection of human rights!

Interestingly, top Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda and Scientist and leader of opposition in Uganda, Prof Morris Ogenga Latigo argue that homosexuality is a trait exhibited by a small proportion of the human race just as is the case in other animal species. This is the reason they are suggesting that the bill is uncalled for and it is diversionary. I would like to remind these two learned men that every human being is born with a trait of theft and deceit among other common sins! For this very reason Jesus asked the fellows who brought a prostitute before him to front only one who had sinned not to be the first to cast a stone unto her! We all know that at one time in our lives, we have stolen something from a friend, brother, sister or even told a lie to achieve wealth, but we never oppose legislation that is geared towards addressing acts of Theft and telling lies and uttering false documents. Why then are we so much determined to fight the Bahati bill? Something is fishy here! There must be more than meets the eye that we must look out for in whoever is coming out to call sodomy a “HUMAN RIGHT”! It is also on record that Hon. Margaret Muhanga (sister to Andrew Mwenda) once said that God did not create Adam and Steven, but created Adam and Eve. She ought to tell this to her baby brother.

On the other hand, making the legislation is laudable and promising to make Uganda one of the most dangerous destinations for sodomists, but the question is will this law be implemented? What happens when the fellow implicated in sodomy is your brother, sister, father, mother, friend? These people who are close to you would be implicated in having had knowledge of homosexual activity in the vicinity. It is very hard to prove beyond reasonable doubt that someone had prior knowledge of sodomy between a pair of two other consenting adults since this does not amount into a conspiracy. Why then don’t we have such clauses in the penal code when dealing with theft or robbery or trespass?

In conclusion, the Bahati bill is a step in the right direction to let the sodomists not set foot in our motherland Uganda, but it needs to be panel-beaten to remove some clauses that are not directly dealing with the sodomists themselves. There is no point in the law being harsh to third parties who have other pressing issues to deal with.

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY

Ronald Leonard Egesa
Email: leo@ronaldegesa.com
Tel: +256-752-442375
Kampala

Many a time we seek to go to University and other places of higher studies to acquire skills that will make us better managers. It goes without arguement that this training makes people better educated and enables them to pick up some skills that make them better managers in the jobs they take up thereafter of in their own businesses.

Today, I have a burning issue and this is what this whole article is about. Management is about the art of knowing when to say Yes and No. Every single Management decision is preceeded by a person with authority saying Yes or No. “Good/Excellent” Manager are those that have the skill and art to say yes when it is time to say yes and no when it is time to say No. It is as simple as that. If it is as simple as that then why all the problems at the workplace.

The few years I have spent managing my business and seen it grow I have learnt that a good manager needs to follow the following steps before saying yes or no:

1. Quickly decide whether the issue before you is only to be handled by you or requires seeking the opinion of your colleagues
2. If u must consult, then give a straight answer that I need consultation from my colleagues such as fellow Board members of the company
3. Based on what you or the team has decided, go ahead and make the decision and clearly tell the concerned parties what your stand is. Do not leave room for false hope
4. There you have it and you will go down as a good manager.

Ofcourse there is more in management, but as you will learn, it will always trickle down to Yes and No circus!

I had travelled to Hoima for the first time in December 2008, but due to the pressure that I was under to complete work so fast and get back to Kampala, I actually did not get down to know a lot about Hoima.

On January 24th 2009, I set out of Kampala to Hoima for yet another work trip. I had just gone to setup school software in Central Schools Limited and also train the staff members there. The week before my trip, I had been working round the clock and had managed only 20 hours of sleep in the 7 days leading to my trip - I was slowly becoming a Japanese in black skin: so I decided to set off on Saturday (work was meant to start on Monday). So in the early hours of the afternoon I had already set foot in the “oil city” of Uganda and had already started touring the place so that I would get acquainted with it.

The weather in Hoima town was really great. It is a bit hot during the day and extremely cold in the night (remember - land and sea breeze in physics classes!). I have not in the past and present been forced to put on a sweater or jacket. Much as Hoima town was proving to be cooler than Kampala, I was not about to put on a jacket let alone wear a sweater - the worse part of it is that I had not travelled with any of them.

On my walks around the town, I came across very hospitable people from the Banyoro tribe. They seem not to be bothered about what tomorrow holds for them -remember the economists talking about ‘the curse of plenty’. They are so lazy when it comes to work- this is also seen from the pace of speech in lunyoro. Ofcourse am not stereotyping here, but am simply bringing you my side of the story and my perception of the society in the oil city.

Talking is one thing that really takes up much of their time at the work place; what I did not go ahead to establish is what exactly they talk about the most, but believe me it is idle talk. However, there were a few folks that I came across in Hoima that really mean business and when it comes to work, they do not joke. One of my clients that I had gone to work for was one of a kind. He means business and never jokes around when it comes to working.
I installed the software Magezi Harvest, Magezi Finpro and Magezi Apex successfully and conducted the training for 4 days and after that I set out on my return journey to Kampala.

Ofcourse, I have to mention that Hoima is one good place to go and relax your minds after the hectic work pressures in Kampala coupled with the mess in downtown Kampala. I would definately recommend Hoima to a friend who is going on holiday.

Enjoy

I am disappointed by Celtel Uganda which is currently playing a song of this musician about to come to town. I got embarrassed when someone called me on Sunday morning and this song that carries a secular message was played back to him before I picked his call.

Celtel is using this as a way of marketing themselves and their activities but it is injuring our reputation. Two committed Christians claimed that calling me and listening to such music spoilt their Sunday.
When I called Customer Care, the arrogant woman who picked my call told me they selected the numbers randomly. But this is bad marketing behaviour.

Ronald Leonard Egesa
0752442375
This was published in the letters section of The Daily Monitor of July 16 2008