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- Written by asemakula
- Category: Blog
Birds feed on food remnants inside a crocodile.
Just before campaigns begun I saw President Museveni on TV struggling to show Ugandans what government has done. He gathered a few photo of schools, hospitals and roads and markets among others and ended with complaining about his team not being able to have a comprehensive resource of government information, atleast the achievements for that matter. Recently government ordered all media houses to broadcast or promote government programs and services or face closer. Unfortunately for them, there was hardly any ready information resource about government programs and services, meaning they hard to invest money in promoting government /ruling party, meanwhile the ruling party was splashing billions of cash in bribing voters, appeasing its loyal cadres, among others.
The last few months have been tough for the ruling party as they campaign to seek re-election for is it the fifth or sixth term. It obviously is tougher than previous campaigns for a number of reasons but mostly because more hoodwinked citizens are finally removing the hoods off.
Governments are infamous at Public Relations (PR). We have seen people successfully talk against government on poor-performance not because they aren’t performing but because government is famed for poor PR. I mean severally government opposers have gone away with false claims like the road in such and such an area is not good yet it is good, there is no medicine in such and such an hospital yet there is, among others, just because they are pretty sure no one will come-up to oppose their claim as government hasn’t put the information out there. Of course am not saying government is performing but that even the little they have accomplished can be easily used against them thanks to their in-sensitiveness to publicity.
“Communication, communication, communication” is a popular idiom by relationship counselors. Government’s indifference to public interaction can be likened to a man who wins the heart and marries a beautiful wife after an expensive and competitive courting affair, then a few days after the wedding the man travels for business leaving the wife alone in the house. No communication, no gifts, phone calls “not available at the moment”, emails “Delivery failed permanently”, WhatsApp status “last seen 4 years and 7 months ago” no interaction at all she is basically fending for herself. Then from the blue he reappears asking to renew marriage vows. If the wife is kind enough to accept the new manifesto, with a great deal of lying ofcourse, it is unlikely she will accept the third term if the same disrespect is repeated.
With more likelihood of a loss or re-run than ever before, News has it that government has spent over 120 billion so far in this campaign, actual figures could be far more but going by the analogy above, government(s) are responsible such predicaments. They even don’t have to be good performers but good communicators. Rollo May says Constant, effective “Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.” So what if both sides can mutually, positively, and richly interact throughout the term?
Former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan says that good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. If governance matters, so does the need for more reliable and valid data and convenient public participation on key governance activities.
What if the government had committed just less than 5 Billion for citizen-state interaction to improve PR, am sure it would be spending far less in the campaigns since citizens who already know what they have done, doing, and planning to do. Governments therefore need to treat their citizens as mutual partners not just during election campaigns but throughout the entire term they are in power. Quality interaction through well planned and strategic constant communication about government programs and services can ensure this mutual trust on both sides. Thus investing in systems that promote this interaction can greatly improve government-citizens trust and ofcourse the ruling party won’t have to invest millions of dollars in campaigns since the citizens are in constant communication with government and already trust them.
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- Written by asemakula
- Category: Blog
Ugandans love and fondly follow trends, you can see that in the way they dress, cars they drive and many other ways. Even international companies know that for a fact that is why you now see Walmart, KFC, among others launch here to quench Ugandans’ thirst for trendiness. So what is the next if not current big thing on the lips of Ugandans? You will hear “siyina ko” (am out of) MBs, bundle, internet, then facebook, WhatsApp, twitter, Instagram, etc. What’s that? It’s all internet.
With over 8 million Ugandans using the internet on PC, and mobile or smart devices especially for social media connection, there is no doubt the internet is the latest trend. Our society has become highly media centric and the internet offers a faster, convenient and maybe cheaper way.
For business owners however this trend comes with numerous opportunities depending on how you what you do, size of your business, who you consult, and above all how you plan. Early adopters like banks, URA, and most recently a few retail dealers have taken their businesses to another level riding on the internet. You can now order even food online and it is delivered at your doorstep at hellofood.ug, you can sell and buy anything at olx.co.ug, and others.
So what about your business, you can also take advantage of this new trend to maximise sales, offer customer services & support, create customer loyalty and stay connected to your employees and suppliers.
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- Written by asemakula
- Category: Blog
With many thousands of companies and organisations in Uganda (9th in Internet Usage in Africa) now owning websites, it’s no doubt a grown industry, but website owners are yet to benefit from their website investments. We think the time is now to pay more attention to Return on Investment (ROI) on website projects to tap the now fanatical growth of internet users lest your competition devours you. Below are some of the reasons why your website isn’t yielding the required ROI.
1. Short Term Mentality
Most Ugandans have an inherent mentality of quick gains, getting rich quick has actually become a standard for success as some scholars say. The get rich quick syndrome has caught up like bush fire transcending almost all sectors of work. But like the English saying goes, “if all wishes were horses, beggars would ride” the fact is that success on
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- Written by Super User
- Category: Blog
Imagine a website with responsive web design that adjusts to the device that your customers are using to view your business online. Imagine the content, the text, titles and the images actually moving so that they fit within the size of that specific screen. Whether it’s a tablet or an iPhone or an iMac or a PC desktop! You can literally see the adjustments happen as the browser size shifts from one size to another.
Now I have to admit, the first time I saw this I was blown away! My immediate reaction to watching such a complex feature in action was WOW – this is awesome! What could be more incredible than this? Even today after having seen hundreds of websites with responsive design I still can’t help but smile every time I see the functionality in action; the “cool factor” is just that good every time. It’s no wonder responsive web design continues to receive so much attention – it really is state of the art and very convenient to have.
But aside from aesthetics there are some very important benefits that responsive design provides that you should be aware of. So let’s dive into some of those benefits in this blog post! When it comes to responsive web design we want to give you the tools to make an informed and intelligent decision especially if you are creating a new business website.
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- Written by asemakula
- Category: Blog
Did you know government pays part of your Umeme bills, electrifying a village in Rakai district, tarmacking a road in Gulu and much more? 99.9 % of 34 million Ugandans will answer No, how am I to know? In a recent NTV Uganda interview, the spokesperson of the Directorate of Public Prosecution said the Directorate`s biggest challenge is dissemination of information to the public. Adding, “We have won 53% of cases…” news to questioners on social media.
Government; (ministries, departments and agencies) has continuously lagged behind on harnessing the value of ICT in rebranding itself as a performer. This is not to say government is performing but another wakeup call for government to open up to citizens to participate in developments by leveraging the ICT tool to promote transparency. I mean,
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
 The New Ambiguity of “Open Government” | “Open government” used to carry a hard political edge: It referred to politically sensitive disclosures of government information. The phrase was first used in the 1950s in the debates leading up to passage of the Freedom of Information Act. But over the | 291 kB |
| Implementing Right to Information: A Case Study of Uganda | Until 2010, Uganda was one of only four countries in Africa1 with an access-to-information law, the Access to Information Act (ATIA), which was passed by Parliament in 2005, and formally came into effect in April 2006. | 847 kB |
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