Advancing the Ugandan Economy: A Personal Account

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution , and Kemal Derviş, director of the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings, for appointing me a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in April 2010 and allowing me to use the vast facilities of Brookings and its wonderful environment to write this book. I equally wish to thank Ernest Aryeetey who, as the first director of the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) at Brookings, actually sought me out in Uganda and persisted in ensuring that I finally come to Brookings. His initial guidance and friendship were invaluable.When he was appointed vice-chancellor at the University of Ghana, the directorship of AGI fell to Mwangi Kimenyi, who drove me consistently and relentlessly to the finish line and who extended invaluable professional and collegial support, including extension of the time needed to complete the project. I am extremely grateful to him. Also at AGI, I wish to make special mention of Zenia Lewis who assisted me in all areas of research, editing, diagrams, data compilation, and technology. Nicholas Krafft, Nelipher Moyo, and Sara Messer also aided me with a number of chapters in the book while postdoctoral fellows—John Mutenyo, Olumide Taiwo, and Emmanuel Asma—all helped in providing an intellectually stimulating environment within AGI. During my stay at Brookings I made many wonderful friends, all of whom unfortunately I cannot mention here. However, I feel a special intellectual debt to Homi Kharas for his special grace toward me and to Rebecca Winthrop for her consistent encouragement. I also want to thank Kristina Server for introducing me to various distinguished personalities and organizations. Acknowledgments xv 00-2589-3 FM:Cels 2262-5 3/25/14 4:01 PM Page xv I am especially grateful to Yamillett Fuentes whose consistent and cheerful support to me and my family was a shining example of administrative efficiency and effectiveness. She was assisted by Armand Armah in financial matters and by Elena Anderson-DeLay who patiently guided us through immigration and numerous welfare matters. I also wish to pay special tribute to the Communications Department at the Global Division of Brookings and especially to Mao-Lin Shen, Carla dal Cais, and Eileen Gallagher, all of whom brought me up to speed with the great world of communications. Beyond AGI and Brookings, I truly want to thank John Mbaku, professor at Weber State University, who extensively and intensively reviewed the manuscript and advised changes that improved it considerably. I am also grateful to my friend Henry Krabbendam, professor emeritus at Covenant College who, together with Carl Beisner and Gary North, organized a retreat in Fort Lauderdale that enriched my work on the book immensely. Krabbendam read the draft manuscript and made extremely helpful suggestions and revisions; he also wrote the foreword. My lifelong friend Ijuka Kabumba also read the entire manuscript and made very encouraging comments. I am extremely grateful to both of them. In Uganda I especially wish to thank President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for the many opportunities he provided me to serve in high positions in the government of Uganda—experiences that enabled me to write this book. I also wish to thank Apolo Nsibambi, the prime minister of Uganda from 1999 to 2011, who granted me the leave of absence to come to Brookings Institution. I am equally grateful to my friend and colleague Ruhakana Rugunda, who, as Africa’s representative to the United Nations Security Council in 2010–11, gave me frequent encouragement and listened patiently to my interminable ideas. My brother Ezekiel Balaba was always encouraging, as also was my nephew Bruce Balaba of the Makerere University Convocation. The staff of Everlight College, Kampala, were very faithful in keeping my family’s affairs in Uganda in order while we were away in Washington, D.C. I thank my son Askia Suruma and his wife Dawn and daughter Zoe for going out of their way to welcome us and help us settle down in Washington. I wish to offer the deepest gratitude possible to all my family for their continuous and consistent encouragement that was indispensable to the implementation and completion of this project. I am indebted to my dear wife, Specioza, who abandoned her school, Everlight College, in order to be with me and bring our children, Freeman, Mandela, Samantha, and Musa, whose seriousness and discipline vitally complemented my own. Thank you guys! Keep it up. xvi Acknowledgments 00-2589-3 FM:Cels 2262-5 3/26/14 3:46...