Tutsi Empire Great Lakes of Afrika: Museveni should not impose political federation on East Africa. Further to my today’s article advising President Kenyatta to tread carefully on political federation, here is further information that may help to resist Museveni efforts to impose a political federation on East Africa prematurely simply to let him realize his dream of Tutsi empire before he steps down from active politics. This information is drawn from an article titled “The Next Europe: Toward a Federal Union” written by Nicholas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels and published in Foreign Affairs of July/August 2013. By Radio Free Buganda on Sunday, 7 July 2013 at 13:30 The authors confirm that “History offers few notable examples of successful federations”. The experience of successful Swiss federation shows that federation has a slow gestation. “It took centuries for people living in Swiss cantons [equivalent of states] get to know each other, then a long period of confederation before the move toward full federation in 1848”. What is more, the Swiss federation has worked “because the center has been respectful of the autonomy of the cantons (which were never anxious to handover their authority) and careful never to abuse its powers”. What Museveni wants is to eliminate East African state borders and create a new geographic entity which he will probably call Tutsi Empire. He has made his position very clear that he wants to eliminate colonial borders and Paul Kagame has agreed with him as per the meeting that recently took place between Uganda and Rwanda delegations in Kigali and agreed that colonial borders be eliminated. The authors recommend that Europe should follow the Swiss model. They also indicate that a federal political union should follow after economic integration such as banking and fiscal unions and markets are already established, hence economic integration preceding political federation. There are arguments that bringing European states closer should focus on economic and social issues such as wage levels, social contract and tax rates etc handled by the European Commission with an elected president rather than intergovernmental treaties whose negotiations will be dominated by a few powerful states. This is the approach that East Africa should follow to avoid Uganda and Rwanda dominating others and forcing a premature political union on East Africans. Political federations must not be imposed. The process must be truly democratic, transparent and participatory. The federal institutions should be constructed from the bottom up not by a treaty signed by heads of state that seems to be preferable in East Africa by those who want to fast track the political federation. “The only way to answer Europe’s current challenge in the face of the many uncertainties is for Europe’s leaders, and its public, to at last commit to this transformation instead of remaining paralyzed with hesitancy”. Yoweri Museveni’s attempt to impose a political federation according to his timetable has already raised suspicions and should not be allowed to prevail. Let us take time because creating federations require time as in Switzerland so that people in different states get to know each other through economic and social integration before a move towards full federation takes place. By Radio Free Buganda on Sunday, 7 July 2013 at 13:30
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 12:33:08 +0000
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