Jal paddy
Your Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and our own Sadiq Khan have a lot in common.
Both were elected early this year on the opposition tickets. While it’s a conservative government in power, our London mayor is from the opposition Labour party. Both men have a background in law and are very rich with words.
But if you are to hear what our guy has done for London in his six months in office, you will realise how important it is for Lukwago to ring him for a chat. Khan started by introducing a unique bus fare system. In this, Londoners who have to hop on more than one bus on their commute have their second journey free of charge within one hour.
Let’s put it in your Kampala context. If one boards a taxi from Ntinda to Bugolobi, but has to change taxis at Nakawa; he would not be charged for the Nakawa-Bugolobi fare, having already paid the Ntinda-Nakawa fare. It’s easy to make such arrangements on the London buses because we pay using electronic travel cards.
The card is programmed to deduct money once. Khan also got trains travelling all night on weekends. This is a big boost to the London nightlife. Still on transport, two brand-new cycle super highways have already been approved for those who prefer bicycles to cars.
On the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, our mayor took to the road to reassure the rest of the world London was open and good for business. The tourist numbers stayed up and businesses weren’t shaken.
I did not even vote for the guy but for a London version of Pirra Ssema… in some wealthy dude Zac Goldsmith. Blame it on Maslow’s theory which got me thinking a man free of material needs only wants to leave a legacy. It, however, turns out a bus conductor’s son can just be as pro-people as a billionaire’s.
The lessons from Khan’s way of doing things is that the ‘100 days in office’ tradition the media runs on new office bearers may have some bit of relevance.
Otherwise, it can take up to four or five years for a leader to get used to his new office. In most cases, real work usually begins during the second term of office. For big offices such as the presidency, it can take up to 20 or 30 years to gain the momentum to do real work.
When time comes for Khan to leave office, I don’t see his successor changing much of what has already been done for London. I guess Khan will be leaving behind a legacy.
Knowing how tough and different your Kampala politics is, I think it’s only fair we allow Lukwago his full term before the red pen comes out. For now, he should ring Khan for a chat.
Your friend,
Chris.