Some of you are advancing a view which gives the impression that Britain and other developed cuntries knew of all the dangers of asbestos
by 1962, and that the Uganda government of the time was duped into
accepting what was known to be a health hazard. That view is erroneous,
and it shows the common weakness here of trying to twist every debate
into a partisan issue or issues of Buganda vs the rest.
Facts:
In Britain, asbestos materials were banned in 1985 while the import, sale and second hand reuse of outlawed in 1999. If Britain exported asbestos to Uganda in 1962, I suspect that to be because on any standard calendar, 1962 comes before 1999.
Final regulations on non-domestic building owners, e.g. factories, offices etc. to manage asbestos on its premises by making themselves aware of its presence and ensuring
the material does not deteriorate, removing it came in force only six years ago, in 2006 (effective from 13 November 2006)!
Turkey banned asbestos
just last year, N/Zealand 2002, and the US will finally ban it in 2014,
when it will not be allowed to use it in brakes/clutch plates. Yes.
2014. So, Uganda, 1962, are we just joking?
Canada has refused to ban asbestos! Just last moth, Canada's last asbestos
mine in Quebec received
a $58-million lease from Quebec government, as 66% of the cost of
renovating and reopening the mine, and that loan is supposed to run that
asbestos mine up to 2032. So, Uganda, no asbestos in 1962? Just because UPC must be lampooned? And that is the way the opposition to day is going about it.....
Scotland
is right now stuck with the Red Rod flats constructed between
1964-1969, opened in 1971. So, Uganda in 1962!!! Those flats are full
of asbestos, everyone is scared of even demolishing them....
Red Rod flats in Scotland constructed with asbestos, 1964-69, condemned.....RECENTLY
So,
Uganda, 1962? Just because Obote must be condemned? Can't we condemn
political opponents/anathemas without making ourselves sound ludicrous?
How we love ourselves!
Reminds
me of the shooting of the Pope
in 1981, a the height of partisan wrangling in Uganda. Since DP is
'Diini ya Papa', and UPC are protestants, when that Turkish man shot the
pontiff, a peasant in Mawokota wailed: 'ebisajja bya UPC bimusse taata
waffe': that UPC thugs have shot our father!
Of
course there are a lot of key facts that some of you are disregarding as you
advance your general point that whatever went wrong in Uganda in the
wake of independence was the fault of everybody else apart from Buganda
and its elite. To strengthen your argument, I see you disregarding many
important facts about the whole question of asbestosis world over, and
you are doing so in such a manner that it really does not disturb you
whatsoever.
First
point, if you blame the post-independent Ugandan government of
inefficiencies and oversights, and do so as a way of setting it apart
from Buganda, you are making a mistake. The President of Uganda for the
whole run of the 1962-66 when the first development plan was
implemented was none other than Edward Mutesa. He was in alliance with
UPC as you may probably know. I can offer a mini album....
When what you now impute to be the 'Asbestos Plan' was being implemented,
where was the President? I mean President Edward Mutesa. Unless you
want to argue that the 1966 fallout was over disagreements between the
president (Mutesa) and the Prime Minister (Obote) over the pros and cons
of asbestos.
Note that there were several categories or houses in the so-called African quarters. Some had clay tiles, some had asbestos tiles, others had asbestos/cement tiles while others had corrugated asbestos....all depended on the grade of civil servants destined to occupy them.
When you show us a single clay-tiled house, you
are really telling just part of the story.
I
give you the picture below of one of the houses erected in 1948 in
Tororo, around the time of the building of the Nakawa/Naguru
estate......Follow the link for details.....
DILAPIDATED HOUSING
The housing situation is pathetic. The 74-year-old quarters paint a picture of a slum, with rotten doors and dirty tiles. The municipal health inspectorate and engineering department have condemned the structures but health workers continue to live there because they have no alternative.
HORRIFIC SANITATION
Poor sanitation is evidenced by careless disposal of rubbish. Holes have developed in the aging asbestos roofing material as cracks also run across the walls of the staff quarters, presenting a risk to occupants.
The housing situation is pathetic. The 74-year-old quarters paint a picture of a slum, with rotten doors and dirty tiles. The municipal health inspectorate and engineering department have condemned the structures but health workers continue to live there because they have no alternative.
HORRIFIC SANITATION
Poor sanitation is evidenced by careless disposal of rubbish. Holes have developed in the aging asbestos roofing material as cracks also run across the walls of the staff quarters, presenting a risk to occupants.
Lance Corporal (Rtd) Patrick Otto
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