About Us

FORUM FOR INTEGRITY IN LEADERSHIP

PART 1:

THE BASIS OF OUR EXISTENCE

The Call

For 40 years, Uganda has wandered through the wilderness in search of her destiny. We acknowledge and salute the first generation of leaders who have served our nation under DP, UPC, the NRM and other organisations through the hard times. Their sacrifices have left a national legacy to be inherited, preserved and built upon. We believe that the work of the first generation is finished.

As much as we respect the work of those that have gone before us, we bear the responsibility, as the second generation, to lead Uganda into her destiny knowing well that we too will give an account to God and to our children some day. Our nation’s destiny beckons us.

In answer to the call from God and our duty as citizens, The Forum for Integrity in Leadership (FIL) has been formed as a political organisation to rally and lead the second generation. FIL will, stand for national integrity, transformed leadership, uphold family values and support wealth creation. This is the basis of our existence.

The Leadership Challenge

Africa is a continent with immense natural resources yet it is ridden with depravation, poverty, disease and ignorance. A century under colonisation and half a century of independence have not seen Africa develop to a stage where she can give a decent livelihood to her 800 million inhabitants. Most African governments are dependent on foreign aid for more than 60% of their budgets, robbing her of dignity and self-worth. Africa is a continent characterized by poor leadership, poverty, corruption, civil wars, unemployment, greed, selfishness, diseases, mismanagement of resources and the like. Social problems such as crime, drug abuse, pornography and other forms of immorality are on the rise in most African countries. These inconsistencies do not have to be Africa’s permanent condition. Her natural resources can be harnessed to benefit the people and free them from poverty.

Africa’s problems are not lack of resources, but the centre of the problem seems to be a problem of the heart. The paradox seems to be a leadership challenge. It is our considered opinion that the biggest stumbling block to Africa’s social and economic advancement is poor leadership.

Africa’s enigma is largely a leadership problem. Research indicates that annually corrupt leaders are banking 39% of Africa’s wealth outside Africa.

Upon the return to constitutional governance in Uganda, it has become clear that a huge leadership gap exists at all levels of the social, economic and political spectrum. However, we believe that a nation can only develop as far as the vision, wisdom, commitment and selflessness of its leaders. FIL is dedicated to the development of leadership at all levels to inspire, motivate, direct and coordinate development.

Developing leaders of integrity.

Integrity

Integrity is about wholesomeness. A person of integrity is one who is whole: she/he does not have a double or spirit personality. A person with double personality is untrustworthy, frightening and unpredictable. On the other hand, a person of integrity is the same in the public as she/he is in the private. Such a person is transparent and predictable. The predictability comes from the person’s commitment to live a principle and value –driven lifestyle. For Ugandans, this lifestyle is spelt our in our motto

“For God and my country”

One can tell whether a line is crooked or not by placing it next to a straight one.

The correlation to the straight line is a measure of integrity or lack of it. At independence, our founders articulated for us the straight line when the nation committed itself to live in line with, and to doing everything for “God and our country” That is the straight line Fil seeks to return Ugandans to. It is a line we must correlate to, if we are to lead with integrity.

Transformation of Leadership (why)

Everything rises and falls on leadership. Africa’s challenge and indeed Uganda’s is a challenge of leadership. And simply stated, leadership. And simply stated, leadership is about meeting peoples’ needs in a given situation and context (time and place)

The situation has changed. Today, we have a generation with glaring needs: they need effective education programs jobs, national security, and a heavy tax burden relief, to mention but a few. The new situation demands a new kind of leadership.

To day, Uganda’s situation indicates that the nation is heading for moral decay. This is evidenced in the high levels of corruption, pornography and other forms of selfish-agendas. We need leaders who will change this situation and meet people’s biting needs, like poverty alleviation, security, healthy and education.

We cannot have these kinds of leaders if we do not change. Now transformation is about change. It is a change that takes place from within: a change that comes as a result of renewed thinking, especially a thinking that has integrity with our motto, “For God and my country”.

Transformation of leadership is about thinking outside the box. It is new leadership with radical ideas. It is about an intentional development of effective leaders in every family, community, and the nation. It is about new leaders whose thinking has been renewed with God’s value

Integrity + Democracy = good governance

Good governance + information = Transformation

Preservation of the Family

The role of Family in national building and development:

The family, which is the basic institution of any nation and is fundamental to national integrity, building and development. It is important to note that, nations are built by values not ideologies. Families are being threatened by the rising incidence of drug abuse, prostitution, pornography, homosexuality, child sexual abuse, and crime. These manifest that our nation is in distress.

FIL has noted that, for over 30 years our national integrity and esteem were challenged mostly by political dictatorship and lawlessness, our greatest challenges today are moral decay and social disintegration.

FIL believes in political responsibility for the moral condition of the nation and is dedicated to lead the nation towards resolution of the social and moral challenges of our time.

THE ELDERLY AND PENSION

FIL will set up a special funding scheme at every district to cater for the elderly who can not support themselves.

FIL will not rob nor cheat the retired, they will be given their adequate pensions on time.

Wealth Creation

Uganda is endowed and blessed with such a unique and abundant wealth of fertile land, fresh water bodies, minerals and unmatched beauty that the world rightly recognizes her as the Pearl of Africa. And yet her people remain trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, disease and ignorance.

FIL will guide the nation in creating wealth from the abundant resources so that she can feed and provide a decent livelihood for her children and for the children of the entire region. The primary focus will be agriculture.

Focus on agricultural

We think it is irrational that agriculture in which 84% of our population is engaged should continue to receive about 2% of the national budget, as has been the case in Uganda. We believe that Uganda has the capacity not only be self sufficient on food but also be the breadbasket for the region. We plan a nationwide mobilization and coordination of agricultural production. This we will achieve by dividing the country into production zones, grouping together districts that produce similar of the same products.

We shall then mobilize the households to produce such products, provide them support and professional agricultural extension services. Our government will construct storage facilities and play a role in the marketing of the products so that the households in Uganda get a decent income from their agricultural activity. The strategy we have already developed.

The transformation of agricultural production on a national scale is going to necessitate massive investment in infrastructure like electric power, roads and telecommunication to facilitate safe storage, partial processing and marketing of the products.

East African outlook or Regional integration

In the years to come we will increasingly belong to the greater East African nation. FIL will pursue the economic and political integration of East Africa.

The economic resources available to Uganda vis a vis the competitive global environment suggest that our recovery can only be slow and gradual. But if the East African economy would function as one, it would be a sufficient enough market to spur on domestic and foreign investment, the resources required to build the necessary infrastructure would be easier to mobilize if we act as a region and the negative sectarian tendencies in our politics based on the tribes would begin to recede. Together we would become major players in coffee, tea, fish and tourism. It makes economic sense and therefore should be given priority.

Promotion of good governance and development of a democratic culture

Our infant democratic institutions still need nurturing. Our politicians need to learn to compete without conflicting. Respect for opponents is very minimal. We still need to promote tolerance, to institutionalize and recognize the role of the opposition. Only then can we say that we are truly free. And a people conscious of they lack of freedom cannot be positively engaged in the development process. Economic progress cannot be sustained without a parallel progress in democracy.