Can Uganda's middle class guarantee political stability
They pay the least taxes, lack social morals and ultimately, no influence and interest whatsoever on politics and public policies that benefits the common man. They are as artificial as deceptive. They are oblivious to core values that ensure a stable society. They would rather influence policies that ensure the masses are apathetic and ill-informed; and manipulate mass sentiments for their conceit. They assumed the elite class and prospered in an environment characterized by lassitude and information distortion
By Julius Peter Ochen
Over the last three decades, globalization and economic growth have given rise to a remarkable sociological phenomenon: the enormous expansion of the middle class in the developing world. Between 1990 and 2015, the emerging middle class nearly doubled, rising from 1.4 billion people to 2.6, according to economists Surjit Bhalla and Martin Ravallion.
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What are the political implications of this development? Ardently, the roles of the middle class in ensuring political stability world over cannot be over accentuated. History suggests that a large and secure middle class is a solid foundation for building and sustaining an effective democratic state. Middle class not only have the means to finance vital services such as roads, and public education through taxes, but they also demand regulations, the fair enforcement of contracts, and the rule of law, more generally – public goods that create a level of social and economic playfield on which all can prosper.
Whereas the economists who herald the growth of the middle class in the developing world would rather define it as an income category, contemporary economists studying the connection between the middle class and political stability have broadened the definition to include sources of income. This is intended to ascertain in exactness the possible influence of the middle class in shaping the socio-political direction of their countries, courtesy of the sharp rise in the population of the African middle class.
It now brings us to the scratchy question; How genuine is Uganda's middle class? What percentage population do they constitute? What is its geographic composition? How much tax do they pay? What products do they have in Uganda’s markets? How much do they influence politics and policies? A glance at the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry would answer most of these questions. But I can confirm that the situation is sneer.
More information from URA reveals that Indian community businesses contribute up to 65% to our national tax, while other nationals contribute 15%. Ugandan nationals contribute just 20%. So, what exactly is the contribution of the Ugandan middle class to our annual tax collection before we microscope their possible influence? Verifiable statistics further reveal that a good percentage of our middle class are civil servants profiteering from industrial-scale corruption, and politically connected fellows lifting at least 20% of our annual national budget through government tenders and contracts, violently dividing society into those who have power and those who do not. Stability cannot be guaranteed!
It therefore supplementarily means that the Ugandan middle class are politically mobilized, arising out of lobbied government tenders and contracts, strategic job placements at MDAs, multinational corporations, embassies and international development organizations. They do not exist as a social community or a class. They have no political role of their own. Their political roles in ensuring a democratic state are as elusive as their mere existence.
They pay the least taxes, lack social morals and ultimately, no influence and interest whatsoever on politics and public policies that benefits the common man. They are as artificial as deceptive. They are oblivious to core values that ensure a stable society. They would rather influence policies that ensure the masses are apathetic and ill-informed; and manipulate mass sentiments for their conceit. They assumed the elite class and prospered in an environment characterized by lassitude and information distortion
Quick contrast however shows that the Kenyan middle class are more shaped than the rest of her East African counterparts. They are more flexible, they agree more than they disagree; they are more concerned about political stability, which ensures economic solidity on which they proliferate, for that, they build consensus on constitutional governance, democratic procedures, majority rule, freedom of speech and of the press, freedom to form political parties and run for office, equality of opportunity, private property, individual initiative and reward, and the legitimacy of free enterprise and capitalism.
So, the political and socio-economic stability that can only be guaranteed by the conscious middle class will continue to elude Uganda.
The writer is A Public Policy analyst, with an interest in politics.
@OchenJP
