The United States Ambassador to Uganda, Deborah Malac, has said that strong institutions, not one person or party, is the secret to longevity and stability of nations.
Malac was speaking on Wednesday night at the celebrations of America’s 241 Independence anniversary at the US Embassy in Kampala. She noted that a true democracy requires the collection of all voices, backgrounds and beliefs and a system in which every individual can and does have a say in how Government is run.
She says although this system is noisy, contentious and messy, it is a system that works.
Ambassador Malac attributed the success of the US to great institutions, laws and structures that have ensured that Americans stay true to their ideals which are guard-rails of democracy. She says the founding fathers of the US put in place a system to safeguard the rights of the citizens against the difficulties to come.
“As a result, we have a constitution that has stood the test of time and has been only lightly amended during the past 241 years,” she said.
According to Malac, the constitution installs checks on the power of every arm of Government and with this no arm of Government could gain total control over the other. She says at the same time the US is a country of laws and everyone is accountable for their actions, adding the Government is bound by the dictates of law and not men.
She says no Government is perfect, noting that although their institutions may occasionally bend, they do not break.
Malac also said Ugandans need the same opportunity to determine their future, to have a full say in how they develop and how they are governed.
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