HomeOpEdCommentary COMMENTARY ATM Mbale: The symptom of a national quagmire SHARE BOOKMARKPRINTRATING By Joseph Ochieno Posted Sunday, July 14 2013 at 01:00 IN SUMMARY “An African government that does nothing – if any - to address chronic youth unemployment is self centred and swamped by opportunists, not nation builders. For a continent and for that matter a country like Uganda, with amongst the youngest population in the world not to prioritise job creation is irresponsible.” SHARE THIS STORY 0 inShare Recently, I had cause to have a long conversation with a soon-to-be middle aged Ugandan from Bugisu. The person concerned is a relatively experienced public servant who concluded further studies last year in Asia and, it was from there that we talked via skype. Our conversation covered Uganda’s history, the once-upon-a time beauty of Mbale, wider social issues, Barack Obama’s visit to Africa, education and career prospects. My friend being a proud born and bred citizen of Mbale, it swung into my minds’ eyes what-might-be of some of the town’s former glories. “How about ATM…?” I asked. “Oh, you mean ATM cash machines?” “No I mean the…”, I did not finish before with a giggle, came an apologetic interruption, “I think you mean some place in Mbale….I have heard about”, is it NYTIL?” Embarrassed, my friend conceded he had no clue. ATM (not the cash dispensing machine), is the abreviation for African Textile Mill (Mbale) once a major national employer, a loud tax payer and foreign exchange earner for Uganda. NYTIL was the Nyanza Textile Industries Ltd (Jinja). Somehow, I had relatives working in both firms. For the purposes of this piece, I will stick with ATM. As our smooth conversation turned into serious mental lamentations for me, I visualised, as a young boy, the beauty and vibrance of Mbale, the nice fish in Namatala and that unusual train journey – alone – courtesy of the ticket inspector, back to Nagongera. My friend would be in Uganda today, but for seeking jobs and alternative opportunities in Asia (nkuba kyeyo, the derogative name). Yet this is the person who had no clue that only a handful of miles away from their home of birth was once upon a time a thriving likely employer. Shocked that these two industries used to supply finished, high quality fabrics to Marks & Spencer and, C&A superstores in Britain (and others in the US), once a preserve of only the super rich. The irony of AGOA factory in Bugolobi, where young women where used, numbered and dumped, sneaked into my mind. If anything, that was the wrong site. Bugolobi was home to the largest coffee processing plant in the world, second only to the ones in Brazil. I wondered, bothered and enquired. It turned out that ATM was closed in 1989 or thereabouts after an alleged dispute between government and an alleged Asian ‘owner. Six years later, someone else who also had their own dispute with government involving billions of shillings successfully won in Court, claiming for ‘majority’ shareholding. The former ATM estate now hosts a private school while the remaining elements are either silent machines – bought in the 1960s under lock – or a ghost town, with residue former staff and beneficiaries. What is striking is how in Africa, we take life’s benchmarks for granted. In Brazil, a football mad nation and global favourite, a general strike that started over what was considered excesses public expenditure on stadia and other sporting facilities for next year’s World Cup, quickly galvanized people across social and political strata, spreading to cover issues as diverse and as common as high taxes, shoddy state of roads, schools and health facilities to politicians who break the law with impunity while some – even after being tried and found wanting in Courts of law – still staying in office and public life. Sounds familiar? An African government that does nothing – if any - to address chronic youth unemployment is self centred and swamped by opportunists, not nation builders. For a continent and for that matter a country like Uganda, with amongst the youngest population in the world not to prioritise job creation is irresponsible. Immediately after independence, visionary leaders came up with systems and programmes that catered for the population of the time. If ATM could be found necessary in the 1960s as a net contributor to the manufacturing and value addition base for Uganda, why would Namatala not constitute the wider conurbation for a would-be expanded Mbale ‘city’ but a slum today? While my friend revisits their local history and continues to pray for a productive post graduate job at home, I hope many young Ugandans benefit from president Obama’s Young African Leaders’ Initiative. But can we wait for this crop of leaders to guarantee African resources for African peoples? Africa must rise through her human and material resources. The writer is a columnist with New African Magazine
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 22:59:08 +0000
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