The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance through its Mindset Education Program has lectured its staff on how to attain a positive mind, and work towards positive change and development of the country.
The lecture delivered on Friday in partnership with the International Youth Fellowship (IYF) aimed on creating a system which delivers a radiant mindset and competencies amongst the labor force, and to ensure that Ugandans have the right mindsets to embrace and support government programs especially poverty eradication programmes.
Over time, it has been realized that the citizens’ negative mindsets are some of the key national constraints to development and social transformation.
Speaking to the Ministry staff, the Commissioner – Communications and information dissemination at the ICT Ministry, Moses Watasa said that before the mindset of Ugandans is positively changed, government programs especially poverty eradication programs will not yield results.
“So, government puts money [in various programs], but if the mindset is not right, we will not go far. That is why we are here today to conduct this mindset education program starting with ourselves so that in turn we work on the minds of others. So, we are now doing it for our own Ministry so that before we work on the minds of others, even our own minds are properly aligned. The thinking has to be right. The mind has to be properly oriented,” he said.
In every election, government introduces a 5-year poverty eradication program through its manifesto to pull Ugandans out of poverty.
Some of the programs include; prosperity for all, Entandikwa (starting capital), youth entrepreneurship program, women entrepreneurship program, and the Emyooga Programme and the Parish Development Model for the 2021 – 2026 elective term.
However, most of all these programs have not achieved their intended objectives.
Designed to be revolving, beneficiaries of the programs’ funds do the contrary on the pretext that government avails the funds to citii in appreciation for electing it back to power.
According to Commissioner Watasa, unless the mindset of Ugandans is changed, poverty eradication programs will not achieve much.
“There are programmes where we have put money in the past, but we didn’t go strong on working on minds and thinking of the people. For instance, where I come from, men tend to be polygamous. So, you give them money for wealth creation project, and this man goes to marry a second or a third wife. You give him money to get out of poverty, but it multiplies his poverty, because once he marries another wife, then he is multiplying his costs. We learnt from that as government, and we are now seeking to run the mindset program as we address other developmental issues and poverty eradication,” he said.
On disseminating information up to grassroot level, Watasa said all community mobilization officers, communication officers at the districts and parish chiefs will be tasked to spread the message in their respective areas
Rev James Kim – the Chairman of International Youth Fellowship in Uganda from South Korea while delivering his lecturer said that his country developed not because of foreign support, but because of mindset change of citizens.
“South Korea, about 50 to 60 years ago was passing through very many challenges, and in 1950, we had the Korean war and everything was destroyed. At that time, Korea was behind Uganda, but how Korea was able to develop, it is not that we have a lot of natural resources, it is not because we received a lot of support from UK or America, but [because] our grandfather’s generation had strong minds and did not want to deliver their poverty to the next generations. That is why with their strong minds, instead of waiting for government to support them or any other foreign support, they all worked together and all the 50 million Koreans started to work for and serve their country, work for the community and they were able to develop. That is the Korean you see now,” he said.
“Our organization (International Youth Fellowship Uganda) trains people on mindset [because] that is the reason Korea was able to develop. Uganda has everything; it has the best weather in the world, it has fertile soils, natural resources, and we have a lot youths meaning that we have much human resource, but we are lack of a positive mindset. We don’t just have to wait for government to work for us. With that, if we can work together, I believe we have a great future in Uganda,” he added.
Kim who has been in Uganda for the last 14 years, said the challenge he has witnessed is that people over complain to government to be source of every challenge the country is grappling with yet they can make a positive difference.