Loyalty, discontent and first times....

Being the law abiding and patriotic citizen i am, i finally went to get the National ID Registration done yesterday. As a girl with etiquette, i sent the Human Resource Officer and General Manager an email requesting to have the afternoon off which was granted since it was for a very good cause. Nevertheless, i was in trouble with my immediate supervisor; i forgot to copy her in this email. Texting later to notify her about the subject was no remedy; she was already set on being mad at me!  I had left office in my haste to beat the crowds and thought a message would suffice.

Much to my surprise, the registration venue was not as crowded as would be expected on a weekend when most working people find some time to spare. I was reliably informed by the officials carrying out the exercise that it hasn’t been any different since its onset over 2 months ago regardless of the day of the week. Masses have not shown much zeal towards the whole exercise.

Does this go to show that Ugandans have lost faith and/or stopped attaching any significance to government projects? Was the mass sensitization and mobilization sufficient? These and so many others were some of the questions the applicants were pondering about. 

As is the procedure, one is required to present identification, get the form and after filling present it to an official for verification. At this particular venue, this decelerated the process a whole lot because the person assigned this task was an elderly feeble man with poor eye sight who instead of helping verify the forms as expected, was blissfully chit-chatting with applicants on their clans and why some Kingdoms don’t have them. I learned later that he is the LC 1 Chairman of the village!!!

Truth be told, the verification process here was a total waste of time. You only had to crack some jokes for the old man about your name, village and clan and you would be given a go ahead to have your form signed by the Parish chief. 

Fascinatingly, the official at this desk just automatically placed his signature on whatever form the old man deemed fit for signing! I observed in awe!

There was an expectant lady evidently weary from walking to the venue and seemingly helpless but determined to get the exercise done. Being the compassionate person i am, i requested the guy seated next to the Parish Chief to kindly offer her that seat for a short while since standing for long is by no means good for any woman in that condition. The words that came out of the Chief’s mouth left me thunderstruck; “Tone it down, you are speaking to a Police Officer and you can be arrested for inciting violence”. Like really??? Are some people that clueless and not afraid to exhibit their ignorance? Dude, the word police ceased to intimidate anyone AIA (After Idd Amin)! 

Thank heavens the Officer didn’t share the same sentiments as this deluded guy. He soothingly sat the lady on his chair and applauded me for being a commendable citizen. I had my “5 minutes of fame” there as all and sundry gave me a standing ovation!

The data entry point was the most exasperating. First off, my village does not exist in the system. Furthermore, they had to falsify a profession for me since holders of Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences do not have a specific one. So as it is now, i am a Procurement Officer according to National ID registration standards! The official serenely informed me that if we didn’t lie, the system would be ineffective. Beat that!

But oh well, that is Uganda for you! I mean if a government teacher can go 14 years without salary while certain officials bag a freaking 95m monthly, then anything in this beautiful country goes.

My mission was accomplished though. I got myself registered for the National ID! I am that loyal to my country, regardless! 

Besides, not all was frustrating. Like they say “some good always comes out of bad”.  There was this hot looking dude who from the instant i sat on a tree branch to fill my application was seriously making eyes at me and grinning the whole time. Gee whiz he has the cutest smile I’ve ever seen; it was impossible to not smile back.

He got the registration done way before i did but amazingly he had been waiting for me in his car by the roadside. 

We had lunch at the nearest “fast foods”, exchanged contacts and are in touch now...!

.....to be continued