While his rivals and antagonists busied themselves in PR campaigns pointing at his overstay in power, President Museveni has been busy with the undertaking of ambitious infrastructure projects ensuring Uganda’s future in regional trading.  

This is the sort of forward-thinking that keeps Museveni frustratingly ahead of his adversaries. They are no match for his acumen. Museveni is resourceful. He does not give in to provocation. He takes the affront and patiently plans for brutal retaliation. Kagame turned on him closing  Rwanda’s borders on Ugandan traders, launching campaigns to discredit him in the eyes of the west; he did not see him coming back at him. With these roads, Museveni is taking away the remaining crutch that supported Rwanda’s relevance to Congo.

To be clear, Uganda’s critics are not entirely wrong: the country suffers from severe corruption, poor population planning, appalling police, and military brutality among other things even though, all things considered, most Ugandans will agree that Museveni is not the dictator he is portrayed to be. For example, his disenchanted urban poor do take to the streets chanting all sorts of slogans against him, his leadership, his corrupt officials, etc… Who would dare try that in Kagame’s Rwanda?

In October of this year, Museveni defended an ambitious infrastructure project that would cost Uganda over $ 334 million before skeptical  MPs. 

He said: “…we’re going to do those roads because from Congo I think we’re earning $500m a year…That road helps us badly. The people of Eastern Congo need it but we also need it…”

East Africa will not catch up with the rest of the world in terms of development without a complementary infrastructure, and while enterprises such as roads joining Bunagana, Goma, Bukavu, Beni, and Butembo are remarkable achievements to be celebrated, on cannot help being concerned that these will push Rwanda further into an isolated corner. Rwanda relied on Congo’s “business” and Museveni’s machiavellian cunning is taking it from right under Kagame’s nose making it harder and harder to see Rwanda’s place in the East African regional integration scheme.

Does Rwanda have what it takes to stand alone? Is our plan to leave all the heavy lifting to the rest of the region and haughtily enjoy the fruits of their hard work through “Rwanda Finance Limited “ sustainable?

Inyenyeri News Group

Image: theelephant.info