Recently, I have been wrestling with several questions.

Why the ruthlessness in racing for resources that has become the norm of the day? 

Why do countries that are the most endowed with natural resources seem to be the poorest or most poorly governed? 

What are the underlying causes? 

My wife and I recently spent a week in Ndola, Zambia, commonly referred to as The Copperbelt because of it's abundance of natural resources and prevalent mining industry. Despite the wealth of copper and limestone, we saw that the roads were in very poor condition. The city has luxurious hotels and accommodations, but they are owned by residents of the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), not local residents. This was thought-provoking for me.

Back home in Uganda, the situation is not so different.  We just concluded the primary party elections of the ruling party ahead of the 2026 elections, The depiction of violence — including death cases — was alarming. This causes anxiety about how the campaigns ensuing into the general elections early 2026 will look.

On the global scene, the international agencies are not left unaffected. This has involved restructuring and disbanding programs with efficiency as the key driver for global decisions, not necessarily ensuring people have the resources they need.  

I thought about how the spirit of injustice can so easily override and erode the intended purpose. 

Sometimes the subtle injustices are more dangerous than the obviously visible injustices in society. My questions are not yet answered in full, but I continue to wonder how justice and equity could become shared values across all societies. 

Photo provided by the author.