Uganda, April 28 -- Statistics can be very interesting. Individuals running Uganda use them to tell us they are doing a good job. But statistics can contradict and make complete nonsense of what technocrats and the government are telling us about the progress they are making in managing the country.

On April 15, Daily Monitor, citing a survey conducted by the Bank of Uganda, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and aBi Finance Limited, which provides credit to agribusinesses, reported that 17.2 million Ugandans out of the 24.6 million adult population rely on family and friends, personal savings and borrowing to manage shortages.

Some of these people are employed and pay tax on their monthly income, widely known as PAYE. Any Ugandan earning ...