Living in Entebbe: Turning from Grim to Nightmare The horror of traffic Jam

I used to live with an uncle of mine in Entebbe in the 1970s. I grew to love the place. I also dreamt living by the lakeside. I worked hard to achieve these two and started living in Entebbe. The logic was that since Entebbe road led to the airport the road should be expanded to take on the increasing number of vehicles. The country has grown tremendously in the last 20 years. The number of vehicles increased multifold (of course this growth also relates to growth in poverty due to the increasing number of people and their inability to produce) unfortunately the roads have not increased in number not even in quality. I stopped living in my residence in Entebbe because it would take me an hour and half to get to work. On Friday March 20, 2015 I left Kampala at 4:00pm hoping to get to my residence in an hours’ time. I was in for a shock. From Freedom City the traffic was at a snail speed. I got to my residence at a quarter to 7 tired, frustrated and definitely unhappy. I returned to Kampala on Sunday morning at about 9am and the journey took me an hour and 10 minutes. I still thought that was too much time to spend on a journey of less than 40 km.

The challenge on Entebbe road is of course too many cars and the single carriage way from Zana. At the Zana round about main road is joined by traffic by the side road that goes through the Kabowa area. Of course government is building a highway but will it address the current challenges of the local traffic? Definitely it will not. From Kampala to whoever the road will join, that traffic will continue to use the old road which we currently use. This means that the traffic on Entebbe road can only get worse. 

What needs to be done;

a) Annually expand the dual carriage way of the existing road. Even two kilometres per year will help the traffic.

b) Tarmac the road from Kabusu to Kajjansi. This will create relief on the road between Kampala and Kajjansi

c) Expand the road from Zana to Ndeeba. Again this will relieve some of the traffic on that road. 

d) Explore the southern bypass that can take traffic from the Bweyogere through Bugolobi, Gaba to Kisubi

e) The actual expansion of this same road needs to be given the same thought

Of course Entebbe road is an extreme but all major roads to Kampala have a major problem. For instance traffic to Jinja there is need to develop the routes that go through Namanve Industrial area and those roads the go through Namugongo. 

Tusaba government etuyambe!

CAN YOU LEAD?

Are You a leader?

Learning from the best, we find that leadership is not about being elected or appointed to an office. The world famous leaders, Martin King Jr., Mahtmah Ghandi and Nelson Mandela were not elected or appointed to office. Leadership is not having position, a title, rank or degrees. These do not qualify anyone to lead other people. The ability to lead does not come automatically from age or experience, either. Leadership is the ability to influence people. The people must accept it. So the right to lead is earned. It is the people to accept.

Do you Inspire Others?

You may impose yourself on people but it does not make you a leader. The key to becoming a good leader are people willing to listen to you, following you. But this has a cost. The cost is the ability to inspire and influence them. If you are able to inspire them, you can lead them. You then earn the right to lead them. Inspiration leads to influence, people will accept you as a leader without doubt. If you are able to get them to believe in you, and do what you ask them to do willingly. Human beings are inherently selfish. They do things to serve their personal needs. Great leaders do not do things primarily for their benefit. They do them to serve others.

How do you become a better leader? Be ready to serve. Leading is not for personal gain

The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. You become a leader by having what it takes to lead. The ability inspire and influence others. But its not about just influence, you should be ready to serve them.

Know what it is to follow

Followers are people who you inspire. People follow you because you have something they desire, but they will follow you if they know you. Trust you and know that you care about them.

Relate well to others

Leadership is about getting things done, but most important relating to others. A leader as stated must be able to influence people. This is how he can relate to them. Leadership is influence. Being able to influence people enables you to relate to them well. That means it is by people will go along with these they relate well with

Have passion for excellence

Leadership creates results usually good results. No follower will follow poor results. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their best to those they lead. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

Be disciplined but stop emotion

Leadership is often easy during the good times. Its when everything seems to be against you when you’re out of energy, and you don’t want to lead that you earn your place a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.

What value do you add?

Your pressure as a leader should bring something different to the community and people you lead. What do you bring?

Give your power away

Leaders are like football team captains. They don’t keep the ball they pass it on to the person best suited to score. You become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You’re meant tobe a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your gasp. In The right to lead, you will hear from the read about people who have done these same things and earned the right to lead others. Because of the courage they found and the character they displayed, other people recognized their admirable qualities and felt compelled to follow them.