Pure Good Governance

Something spectacular is lingering in the air and this is in respect to the 2016 elections.  Everyone is trying to make sense of what it is or better still what it will be.  The opinion polls, the political analyses, the media debates and dialogues are all part of the effort to figure out how the 2016 poll is likely to play out.   Campaign platforms are supposed to originate from real issues that confront people.  In many countries however, we have seen political figures sometimes artificially constructing the issues so that they can have seemingly ‘credible’ platforms on which to premise their campaigns.  I am talking about the irony of creating a problem so that you can provide the solution! That is just exactly what is gaining currency in many parts of the world today.   Forget about the clean authentic ancient Greek elections where those aspiring to stand for political office would spend time understanding people’s real issues.  Today, e...

On this sunny December afternoon, I decided to take a stroll from home down to the spring well. First to reconnect with childhood memoirs of fetching water, climbing mango trees, playing at the well, but also to enjoy the serenity of the avenue. Right below Kabalega Primary School is our home.     The place has an ambiance created by the mango trees that grace the sides of the sizeable path to the well.  As I took my leisurely mid-day walk, I met a good old man, a cross-generation friend – Ibona Portaz.    Ibona has been fetching water from the Kabalega spring well for the last forty years and does it for a living.  Ibona last saw me when I was a little boy riding my tricycle around the village in the company of my big brother.  Immediately after the greeting formalities, Ibona engaged me in a conversation that vividly brought to life lost time and evoked real childhood pleasures and pains. He reminded me of the days when a child bel...