Why do we Ugandans, have our priorities wrong?

Uganda made international headlines again this week. Not for launching a major project that is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa or eliminating government bureaucracy to enhance opportunity and unlock funding into major income generating activities, but for passing two naïve and discriminatory laws against sections of people in the society. This is probably a good time for me to clearly state that I am strongly against the promotion, recruitment or open exhibitionism of homosexuality, but I also do not support the idea of regulating what two consenting adults prefer to do in private regardless of their sexual orientation. I also have nothing but contempt for anyone who thinks they should dictate how a woman should dress. This unfortunate attempt to impose radical moralism on unwilling people is what I see enshrined in the two infamous laws; The Anti-Pornography Law and the Anti-Homosexuality Law. 

Article 21(1) of the Constitution of Uganda, the Supreme law of the land states that; “All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law.” It goes on to say in clause 2 of the same article that, “Without prejudice to clause (1) of this article, a person shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.” This article demands of the government to not only commit but actually uphold and protect the rights of all Ugandans without discrimination.

With all the problems Uganda is facing at this time in form of youth unemployment to the tune of 84%, an ailing and depressing health sector, a 20th century education system that churns out graduates without any current market skills at all, murder of police officers, 4% annual population growth with about 20% of the population living on less than a dollar per day, wars all around the neighbourhood, one would think that our government has sufficient priorities other than getting concerned about how people dress or who they are sleeping with.

Our government seems to be majoring in the minors while minoring in the majors. No wonder the citizens look at politicians as just greedy and corrupt individuals seeking to enrich themselves and perpetuate their stay in power. The law of unintended consequences did not take long to kick in. Ladies were being attacked, humiliated, undressed and robbed in downtown Kampala for wearing “Mini-skirts”, due to the ambiguous and broad description of indecent dressing advanced by the Minister of Ethics (who is a Catholic priest by the way) and exacerbated by our media which either mistakenly or out of sheer irresponsibility conveyed the wrong idea that the “Mini-skirt” had been outlawed. It took the efforts of women activists, the Honourable Speaker of Parliament and The Prime Minister to curb the abhorrent mob justice that was being committed against innocent ladies in the name of ‘enforcing’ a ridiculous law.

There was no civic education or civic engagement about these laws. Hours after signing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into Law, reports were circulating around social media of men living in the same house, some siblings or just friends, being threatened with violence by self-righteous bigots accusing them of being gay and therefore out of order. One can only hope that with time, we will not witness the same witch hunt as seen in Nigeria where suspected gay people were beaten and their homes burnt by mobs without a shred of evidence. 

While other countries in the region get serious on Infrastructure projects, education, health care and ICT, Uganda is training MPs on how to use iPads (which by the way, come with user manuals), urging the president to stand unopposed for a fifth term, passing redundant laws and protecting the corrupt from prosecution.

The passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and subsequent signing by the President has sparked off a series of threats of and actual Aid cuts to the country. Norway, Denmark and Netherlands have announced such cuts to a tune of more than $30 Million to Uganda in budget and sector support. The US is also apparently reviewing their Aid as well. Personally, I think this is absurd. It is ridiculous to punish an ordinary citizen on the street for the sins of their government which they may not have a direct hand in. Why should a mother in a rural area of Uganda lose her life while giving birth all because the government of her nation has refused to accept gay rights? How are the two related? Why should a child contract HIV/AIDS at birth and be condemned to death because of the actions of a few politicians who have decided not to soothe the egos of their fellow leaders in the West? I stand to be corrected but I am convinced that it is a skewed idea to peg foreign aid that helps real people with real problems to the petty actions of corrupt politicians. Unless of course aid is just a foreign policy tool that works as leverage to hold African nations hostage to assume positions they do not agree with.

If that’s the case, then how do the providers of aid differ from those who had initially proposed to kill the gay people? The west needs to find better ways to convince Africans to accept gays. Otherwise, issuing threats will only create more Zimbabwe cases. With all the years of no aid and sanctions, Robert Mugabe is still president and Zimbabweans are still suffering without any hope of democratisation. So what did the sanctions and aid cuts achieve? The Aid cuts will only serve to strengthen patriotism, African pride and will fuel further hatred for the west will also complicate the strategic regional security partnerships. I hope the west is smart enough to realize this.

Ugandans: Selling our souls to the highest bidder

The ongoing Northern Corridor Summit of EAC heads of state and their ministers is of special significance as we look to fast track the East African Integration process.  The Infrastructural advancements planned including the single customs territory, the single tourism visa, the national ID projects, NCR and arguably the most ambitious project East Africa has ever seen, the Standard Gauge Railway worth a whooping $14bn, once fully operational are expected to launch our takeoff into middle class economies.

Unfortunately, in this country, all this talk and vision is only familiar to a few elites here in Kampala. The president may have talked about it in a few upcountry trips but there’s no real sense that we are moving together as a country on this. This is precisely due to the wide and growing gap between the rich, smartphone-wielding middle class here in the city and the rural and gullible, countryside poor who constitute the largest percentage of our population. This is the population that gets targeted during election time, and more recently, even way before.

This is because it is increasingly becoming clear to many of us that elections are only just a ritual that we engage in every five years, pumping in billions of our taxes but with no significant outcome. Fewer and a reducing number of Ugandans believe in the polls to shape their destiny. If you vote for someone and they win, there’s negligible to zero chances that they will work in your interests or the interests of the general community. MPs are loyal to the parties they subscribe to (and their leaders), more than they are to the voters.  As soon as they are elected, they begin planning for the next election and how to pay back the money the used in funding their campaign. This prompts them to give their loyalty to the sponsoring parties and money lenders. This pattern can be clearly seen once you look closely at how they conduct their business on and off the floor of parliament. 

As they continue to pass ridiculous and unenforceable laws, pick up huge salaries, live large, and more recently, kneel down begging the president to contest unopposed in the party for a fifth term, MPs and their leader continue to alienate their electorate and are increasingly seeming oblivious of the people’s plight. As such, people have resorted to selling their souls to the highest bidder.

There are things that are outside the reach of mere democratic mandates. We acquiesce in decisions of governments we did not vote for not because we accept the rule of majority voting but much more importantly because we know that majorities do not confer absolute power. There’s always need to consult the electorate. Voting one in power is not a blank cheque to do whatever they want.

It is near certain that none of our current crop of politicians in this country will advocate and work towards increasing our chances of putting food on our tables, availing medicines in hospitals, creating employment for the 40,000 or so graduates that get churned into the job market every year or improve the road network in the so called remote areas to connect produce to the market.

Amidst all this government arrogance and disregard of the plight of the common man, people have resorted to begging. Cash handouts in envelopes and sacks, rewarding allegiance with appointments in public offices regardless of one’s performance have become the order of the day. People do not look at their leaders as those who can facilitate transformation in the economy to improve the lives of the people they lead. Instead, they look at them as a means to get their next meal, get a job fix in some organisation or as potential sources of grants. The focus of people has shifted from the long term vision and where they want to go as a country in future, to how they achieve their immediate needs.

The dangers posed by the rampant abuse of power under the guise of democracy (majority) are increasingly becoming clear and will ultimately affect our kids and their kids, however much we might like to rhetorically suggest otherwise when government does things that displease us.

It is this way of life that led us to see a whole 48 percent of eligible voters not going to vote in the 2011 elections, because they don’t believe that their vote will change anything for the better. After receiving cash handouts, soap, sugar and other incentives that meet their immediate needs, the long term needs can be left to God. For a population that lives hand to mouth, you can agree with me that elections don’t really mean much. This is why I can say with absolute certainty, that whoever has the fattest bank account will win elections in Uganda. It’s a shame!

An Open Letter to President Obama from Uganda

Your Excellency,

I have read your statement on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is soon to be enacted into law in my country in Uganda and I respect you for this response. I am however taken aback by the kind of double standards that you and your administration continue to shamelessly portray in diplomatic relations with other countries especially in Africa and the Middle East. I will focus on Uganda for now. 

Your statement opens with how the “United States has consistently stood for the protection of fundamental freedoms and universal human rights. We believe that people everywhere should be treated equally, with dignity and respect, and that they should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, no matter who they are or whom they love.“ I fully support this virtue and applaud you for it. What I have an issue with is your country’s continuous habit of applying it as and when it benefits you or your PR driven agendas.

Two years ago, the EU and other donor countries responded to Massive theft of donor money in the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda, meant for development and rehabilitation projects in poverty stricken former war ravaged areas. They froze their funds and demanded reforms and reimbursement of the stolen funds. As usual, we the taxpayers picked the tab. Your country kept silent about it as it has about other high level corruption scandals in this country. 

Since the 2011 Elections, the Uganda Police under the NRM administration has constantly harassed members of the opposition with “preventive arrest”, an obnoxious act of the colonial days, spraying them with tear gas, poisoned pepper spray, denying them the freedom of assembly that is clearly stated in the constitution. The government has cut off all funding channels for other political parties in the country. Last year, the ruling party pushed through a ridiculous law in Public Order Management Law and the president assented to it to primarily clamp down the activities of the opposition leaders and their supporters. To this day, your country has been silent about all these injustices. 

So Mr. President, forgive me if I don’t take you seriously when you say that your country stands for the protection of fundamental freedoms and Universal Human rights. Allow me to say that you kept silent because of the strategic security and militaristic relationship between your country and mine, which ordinary Ugandans and Americans alike know nothing about.

I personally have my reservations about the Anti-Gay Bill but I will keep them to myself. On principle, allow me not to take you seriously when you say that the enactment of this legislation will complicate your valued relationship with Uganda. Let’s be honest, the relationship will only get complicated when Uganda refuses to agree to fight your wars on your behalf as we see in Somalia, South Sudan and CAR. That’s the only possible reason. Else, Uganda will remain a sovereign dictatorship and you will do nothing about it. So do not pretend to care about oppressed Ugandans when you have watched on for years as worse injustices have happened. The Gay issue should be as sensitive as the battering, wrongful arrest and harassing of any dissenting voices in the country by the state machinery. Unless of course you are implying that the rights of Gay people are a special kind of rights as compared to the straight people. Rights are rights and they should be protected and respected across the board. 

Be informed that the same Uganda Police Force which you kept quiet about as they carried on their excesses against political dissent in this country is the same police that will be hunting down the Gays as soon as the bill is assented to. Maybe now you realize you should have spoken earlier. Good luck on trying to intimidate the president into not signing the bill.

(The Author of this Letter prefers to keep Anonymous. This Blog is privileged with the opportunity to publish it.) 

Very Grim Times for Politics in Uganda

The mess that is Uganda’s politics couldn’t have played out any better in the past week. Sadly, it is more likely than not that we shall sail further in the murky waters in the short and medium term as a country. The youthful elite in this country have been accused of leaving active politics to the old guard while preferring the arguably less messy corporate world. I’m compelled to think maybe they are justified considering the situation.

A fortnight ago, this column reported and went on to question the choice of Leader of opposition in parliament that was appointed by the FDC president, cautioning about the likely fallout in the party and other repercussions. On Wednesday 12^th, the new LoP together with the party president announced their new Shadow Cabinet. I remember reading through the list and wondering if “reviewing” opposition leadership in parliament meant the same thing as “reshuffling” them. Only a few people like the Shadow Attorney General and Defence Minister had retained their positions. Everybody else had been switched around while others were dropped in a move that the leadership described as ‘rebranding the party from militaristic ways’.

I was not shocked to read a few minutes later, that two MPs, Hon. Odonga Otto and Hon. Odo Tayebwa had already rejected their appointments citing lack of competence in the respective positions of appointment and not being consulted before hand. Mr. Odonga Otto had made it clear before that he was only interested in the coveted position of heading the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and nothing else. While I appreciate that not everyone could get what they wanted, I think the new FDC leadership made mistakes of a fundamental magnitude that could further strain the already shaky confidence in their capabilities. Take for Instance, the appointment the Secretary General Ms. Alice Alaso to head PAC. Her interest in the LoP position notwithstanding, it was a ridiculous appointment. Alice has a background of a teacher and social worker as she clearly pointed out in her rather shocking rejection of the appointment as well. How is such a background supposed to make her competent to head PAC, a position that requires accounting and dealing with numbers and figures? This is one of the many examples that seem to point out that the appointments were not made on a basis of competence and ability to deliver but had other considerations, possibly ego-centric ones. The outgoing leader of opposition, a very strong member of the party and former candidate for the party presidency is understood to have declined any appointment to the shadow cabinet and preferred to go back to the back bench.

Kampala Woman MP, Nabillah Ssempala, who had criticized the appointment of Hon. Wafula Oguttu as LoP and earlier had allegations of an impending crossover to the ruling party hanging over her shoulder, seemed rather delighted after being appointed Shadow Minister for Information. She made a sudden U-turn and pledged to work for the party. All this disgruntlement, U-turns and rejections point us to one direction: the impending demise of FDC as the strongest opposition party in Uganda. I predicted a breakaway faction before the 2016 Elections but at this rate, it might be coming sooner than that. It is increasingly becoming clear that some members are in it for self-aggrandizement but also, that the new leadership’s rebranding campaign is backfiring quite fast.

Enter the NRM retreat in Kyankwanzi. The drama was unprecedented. A retreat that was to review the manifesto, track progress and churn a way forward ended up revolving around succession for the president. A lot of talk had been making rounds about the Prime Minister Mr. Amama Mbabazi habouring strong interests in the presidency for 2016. It all started with a carefully written and purportedly well researched article in The Independent Magazine last year that the Premier was doing serious mobilisation within and outside the party in preparation for his presidential bid. The premier initially denied the allegations but with time, constant pressure and unceasing debate on the issue from the media, he began to employ the softer response of contesting only if he is chosen by the party.

The President kept mum about the issue but as usual, he is always orchestrating something behind the scenes. The man doesn’t take any threat to his power lightly. The opposition knows that more than anybody else. The retreat has made known to us the carefully executed plan to ensure Mr. Mbabazi has no chance to contest against his boss. The so-called “Nanjing Group”, owing their name to the upscale hotel where the plan is alleged to have been hatched, led by youthful MP Evelyn Anite literally blackmailed the Premier into signing away his right to challenge the president. By making every MP sign an illegal document backing Museveni as the sole candidate in the upcoming election, the group has cut off any chances for anyone else to be a serious challenger. However undemocratic and ridiculous the action is, it has produced an effective tool to curb any opposition to the president from within the party. Who said we are a democratic country anyway? Democracy and rule of law in Uganda are just a sham. The past three elections in this country have always been just a norm with no effect on the status quo, especially the presidency, to the extent that about 48% of eligible voters didn’t bother to participate in the last election because there’s an increasing belief that their decisions can not cause change. So why would we expect the ruling party to use democratic means?

I feel sorry for Mr. Mbabazi if his ambitions are true but I feel sorrier for Uganda’s politics. With an opposition totally devoid of a clear ideology to drive Uganda out of the mess we have been in for the past nearly three decades of this presidency and with cracks all over their party structures, I shudder at the thought of five more years of NRM rule after 2016. These are very grim times for Uganda and the worst is yet to come.

Africa: It could get worse before it gets better.

Last year climaxed on a very bleak note for Africa, and consequently, so has the New Year begun. Turmoil has engulfed almost every region of this well-endowed continent but is more pronounced in the Great Lakes Region and surrounding areas. The war in the DR Congo, which has its original bearings in the 20th century, seemed to have come close to a conclusion when MONUSCO, equipped with a new mandate, effectively overran the M23 rebel strongholds in the Eastern jungles of that country, only for us to see further attacks from the rather ambiguous M18 and another groups that the government called “terrorists” who attacked key installations in Kinshasa on December, 30th.

Central African Republic is on the brink of Genocide according to the UN. The religious conflict in that country doesn’t seem to abate, despite French and Rwandese boots on the ground, a new leader and lots of aid resources from Europe. Since Michel Djotodia and his Seleka Islamist rebels seized power in March last year through a coup forcing former president Francois Bozize into exile, the country has been plunged in religious killings that have claimed thousands of lives. Horrible and gruesome acts of murder by the Christian anti-balaka militia in revenge for the atrocities of the Muslim Seleka rebels range from cutting off men’s genitals and putting them in their mouths to cannibalism to mass parade lynching of young Muslim children to death. I don’t think Rwanda’s 1994 Genocide compares to such absolute horror. 

In South Sudan, a coup attempt, as the government put it, on December 15th from within the ranks of the presidential guard has escalated into a full blown war which experts and observers alike consider to be politically motivated but underlined by ethnic tensions. Disagreements within the ruling party of Africa’s newest state have degenerated into near ethnic cleansing pitting the Dinka tribe of President Salva Kiir against the Nuer tribe of his erstwhile deputy Riek Machar. The almost two months old conflict has already claimed thousands of lives according to some accounts. Uganda rushed to send in troops to prevent the toppling of Salva Kiir but ended up engaging in active combat against Machar’s rebels while peace negotiations under the IGAD framework ensued in Addis Ababa. The tangible results of these efforts, we are yet to see. 

There’s instability in northern Nigeria and Mali caused by terrorist activities in the region considered to be offshoots of AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb). Egypt and Libya are suffering the unintended consequences of sudden regime change as a result of the Arab Spring. They are learning the hard way how difficult it is to swim the murky waters of transition to democracy after a long spell of authoritarian rule. Egypt had turned the page by electing a civilian Islamist leader in democratic elections but that was short-lived. The “almighty” army seized power from him in what many western leaders deliberately refused to call a coup as that’s what it was. 

Other relatively stable countries in the regions continue to increasingly show signs of fragility. Anything could happen in the next few months. For example, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in their recent report on fragile states consider all East African countries as fragile apart from Tanzania. They go further to include Chad, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia on this list. The main drivers of this conflict in this region include Conflict minerals and fire arms spilling over borders, armed groups and refugees that spread instability. However, key governance deficiencies and increasing poverty also contribute to making these countries prone to falling victim of instability. 

Poor people who feel excluded from accessing national resources and weak or non-existent institutions to address their grievances tend to inspire lack of confidence in governments. The continuous dissatisfaction with the status quo will always keep people on the edge. This will ultimately culminate into a fragile state that can go awry at the slightest provocation and an enabling environment. Several leaders in Africa have a tendency of rendering institutions useless in search for absolute power or turning them into their personal stooges especially the army and the police. This is a recipe for disaster as was evidenced in the Kenya Post Election violence of 2007/8. 

In the last few decades, there have been conflicts in Sierra Leone, DRC, Uganda, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Mali, Libya, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya et al. The major characteristic that all these countries have had in common is weak institutions and “strong man” rule. All this “cosmetic democracy” we keep seeing as a trend in Africa has failed to work. Leaders have constantly undermined constitutionalism and rule of law by corrupting all institutions of justice and accountability and rendering them useless, rewarding political allies and friends while further alienating opponents, shamelessly plundering public resources at the expense of providing social services to the population, suffocation of civil society, activists and the media among others. All, but a few, African countries have been often found lacking in effective governance and protection of Universal Human rights and freedoms. 

As long as this trend continues, the idea of a peaceful Africa will remain just that. Many of us thought that the days of coups and military overthrow were left in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The recent years have proved us wrong. There has been an astronomical growth in population, high and increasing rate of unemployment, social exclusion by the ruling class, discovery of oil, rapid urbanization. All these create a ripe environment for instability if our countries do not go to work. Africa Development Bank has announced a planned investment of $1.5 billion in fragile states over the next three years to strengthen governance, job creation and streamline extractive industries. Of course this is good news as many studies have shown a clear link between conflict and inequality, unemployment and poor governance.

Countries must reform institutions, ensure transparency, create jobs and restore public confidence. The apprehension about transition of power must be eliminated and people need to believe that when they go to the ballot, their vote counts. Inclusiveness in government must be enhanced and national resources distributed equally among the populace. The Leaders in the East African region and the great lakes have a uniquely important role to play. Instability has a way of spilling over across borderlines. If the reforms are not embraced, the “coup contagion” is not very far from the door and the situation could get worse before it gets better.

Is Wafula Oguttu the best choice for LoP?

On Friday, 31^st Jan, the FDC party President Mr. Mugisha Muntu nominated Bukhooli MP Phillip Wafula Oguttu as the new Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP). By the end of the day, it was confirmed the former party spokesperson would be the new LoP. To many, it came as a shocking surprise considering that Phillip wasn’t even in the running to begin with. The party president had for a long while been expected to change the Opposition leadership in parliament not only because he is supposed to review it on a bi-annual basis but also because of the tensions that have rocked the FDC party since last year’s contested presidential elections.

Many observers watching from the sidelines, including yours truly, would have placed a bet on the choice of the new LoP to be between Abdu Katuntu, Cecilia Ogwal and maybe Alice Alaso. This expectation is widely based on the length of their experience and tenacity in legislative practice, personal capabilities and ability to withstand the pressure and bullying from the NRM without having their backs broken or their commitment to good policies and good governance warped. But I guess the president of the largest opposition party in the Ugandan parliament had other ideas and considerations.

As expected when such a choice is made, many questions continue to linger about the wisdom and the underpinning reasons of appointing Phillip especially considering that he has been in parliament for only two or so years. For a party president that claims to seek reconciliation and reuniting the party after a contested election result, one would have thought Mugisha Muntu would start by appointing an acceptable choice of LoP. But sources indicate that the former party spokesperson himself was surprised when his name was announced and he walked out of the meeting. He later had to be convinced to accept the blessing from the party president. Is that really the kind of person that is expected to counter the cunning and outright bullying of the Government leadership in parliament when the numbers are against his kind?

Muntu is quoted to have argued that he made his choice to bridge the gap between the Nandala Mafabi camp and his own since Phillip belong to the other side. He further adds that Phillip commands respect and is not easy to compromise. With all due respect to Muntu, you don’t “bridge a gap” by removing your opponent from their position and promoting someone several steps their junior both in terms of party hierarchy and legislative experience. If you do so, let it be someone whom both camps (and the party members) find as an acceptable choice not a questionable one as in this case. Several MPs seem to believe that with Phillip, the NRM will enjoy a walk in the park. I’m compelled to agree with them. And it is on this matter that I feel it is going to be a tough challenge for Phillip because to succeed as LoP, one needs all the support he can get from his fellow opposition MPs. I don’t foresee Phillip getting this support considering the same MPs from whom the shadow cabinet will be selected are already questioning his appointment and capabilities. And a couple of them who see themselves as better choices, more capable and who wield more influence in parliament because of their debating skills and generally better experience, will probably be disgruntled. Ms. Cecilia Ogwal, one of the most senior MPs in parliament and until Friday, a leading contender for the LoP positon, was appointed the party chief whip. If she doesn’t choose to eat humble pie and act mature, it will be a disastrous two years ahead for Phillip. 

Nandala Mafabi may have had his mishaps in his management style as LoP, preferring to use stick more often than carrot while dealing with the shadow cabinet and other opposition MPs, but I believe he was and still would be a better choice compared to Phillip, the other better choices in Katuntu and Cecilia notwithstanding. If Muntu made the choice because he wants to reconcile the party, I think that’s even the wrong reason. The choice of LoP should be premised more on what they are capable of considering the tasks ahead of them in parliament than on what they will do on the party stage. The squabbles in the party should be addressed by the party leadership and structures such as the NEC because they are certainly not the responsibility of the LoP even if the side he chooses to take may have an influence.

Then there’s the elephant in the room that no one in the current FDC leadership wants to face; the possibility of a breakaway faction. It is not far fetched considering we have already seen Betty Kamya leaving and forming her own party. Mafabi has swallowed a bitter pill since losing the party presidency to Muntu in November 2012. He has even gone ahead to reconcile and issue statements of “no beef” between Muntu and him. And on Friday, he is quoted to have said that he’s ready to work with the new LoP.  Well, personally I don’t usually take politicians’ words at face value. Even people close to Mafabi have always said he doesn’t take losing too well. But that’s okay. Afterall, who does?

The situation though, may take an interesting turn especially after February 18^th when he is supposed to welcome his “new boss” Phillip in parliament. Some of Mafabi’s supporters in the party have already announced that they will follow him wherever he takes them. This is not a good indication. It means that even if Mafabi may have made peace with himself, his supporters haven’t and they may compel him to leave the party due to “unfair treatment”. And he might accept because he “needs” them if his “future plans” are to materialise. I’m not a prophet of doom, but if this happens, it shall mark the beginning of the end of FDC as we know it. Until then, we keep an even closer look on things as they unfold.