#OutToLunch Let people buy their radio sets and face masks

By Denis Jjuuko

When COVID-19 struck, the government promised some people food and indeed some households got. It somewhat showed a government that cared for its people even though the distribution was bogged. Even the biggest economy in the world, the United States, gave its citizens something with adults getting checks of US$1200 and children US$600. In Uganda, there were arguments that instead of food, people should have received money on their phones to boost spending to restart the economy.

From free food, we were told of free face masks for everyone above six years old. Like it was with food, many people have never received their free face masks. Then last week, the government promised free radio and TV sets to enable kids to learn during the lockdown or enable politicians campaign now that the electoral commission is talking of campaigns carried over the airwaves. Ugandans are supposed to go to the polls next February. The newspapers said 10 million radio sets will be distributed each costing Shs38,000 or approximately US$10.

Ugandan governments since independence have run a mixed economy. Providing free medical care in government hospitals and free education. With Universal Primary Education (UPE), a child can study for free up to university. Many farmers today receive agricultural inputs in seeds and other stuff to boost their income. I think some progressive farmers have made significant progress taking advantage of these freebies though the majority have remained dependent on the seeds.

A face mask on average in Kampala costs Shs2,000, which is less than a US dollar. Even when the economy has been shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, we should assume that the majority of people should be able to buy themselves a mask that costs that much. If they can’t and therefore need to be given free ones, then there is a major problem we need to address.

There is a famous saying sometimes attributed to the Chinese that posits that it is more important to teach people how to fish than giving them fish. With face masks and free radios and everything free, we are giving people fish when they can fold their sleeves, get on a canoe and catch the fish themselves. If they learn how to fish, they can always get themselves what to eat. If we give them fish, they will be looking at us every few days even when the lake full of fish is just in their courtyard.

We have had many poverty alleviation campaigns for many decades now, it is time to assess their impact. If these campaigns have had any impact, we shouldn’t be now thinking about giving out free masks and now free radio sets. Many years ago, people may have lacked TV sets (like they still do today) but most households had radio sets. How come today they must be given free ones?

We should campaign less on giving people free stuff rather enable them to afford the basics of life. We should ensure that any household that needs a radio set worth approximately US$10 can have it by buying it themselves. The same applies to the face masks.

This can be done easily by creating markets for mainly agricultural produce because the majority of Ugandans depend on agriculture. Many years ago, if you moved into an area where people, for example, grew coffee, you would find either a coffee factory or a store. It meant that people in that area had somewhere to sell their produce. Many people when they needed anything, they could simply present their delivery notes for credit just in case the factories hadn’t paid yet. People took their kids to expensive schools because of coffee and other cash crops. This is something that could be done again.

The money that has been spent on free face masks and what will be spent on radio sets is approximately Shs500 billion. There are 134 districts in Uganda today. This means that Shs3.7 billion or approximately US$1 million per district. This is enough money to set up a project at least in one of the district sub-counties that can significantly, if well managed, change the lives of the ‘vulnerable poor’ in that area.

If we continue tuning the mindset of the poor that everything will be given to them, nothing will change. The dreams we have of a middle-income country will remain just that — dreams. Of course, there could be people who benefit when people are so poor but we should not forget that the poor are the same people who will be used to challenge those who are currently benefiting from them.

The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

Tags: Covid Uganda, COVID-19, Denis Jjuuko, Out to Lunch, Prime Time

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Corporate farmers, side hustlers must pay “school fees” to succeed

By Denis Jjuuko Over the weekend, a video surfaced online of a Kenyan who grew watermelons, looked for buyers, loaded them to the city, failed to sell them, stored them and they fermented overnight. The video went viral largely because many Ugandans especially those who hold day jobs in corporate bodies could relate. Known as ‘corporate farmers’ and under pressure to have a side hustle, many start businesses such as farming. These ventures — small gardens or even large farms, salons, clothing shops (known as boutiques), bufundas (small bars), grocery shops (labeled supermarkets), and restaurants among others are everywhere. One in Uganda must be seen to be doing a side hustle business or they are considered failures. There is a historical perspective to it. In the 1990s, many civil servants were retrenched and had no jobs. Kids saw how their parents or guardians without any other income suffered and swore not to suffer the same fate. In order to avoid those missteps, many decide to be different. Those who survived retrenchment saw their mothers open grocery shops at universities or doctors’ villages to supplement the family income. Today, many people are driven to start farming. Favourable weather patterns, abundant arable land, a growing population, affordable labour etc. On paper and indeed like for most businesses, it is all rosy. It doesn’t, however, take long before stories start springing up on social media platforms. Grown something and got nothing out, the platform is available to broadcast. But for many, the desire for a side hustle is hard to contain. In order to be different from their parents and grandparents, today’s side hustlers tend to think differently. Like the Kenyan watermelon man, if you harvest a sizeable number of them, hire a truck and take them to the market yourself, you would cut out the middlemen and make significant returns than if you sold them at the farm. Without much research or due diligence, the corporate farmer arrives at the market and everyone laughs at them. Nobody is willing to buy. There is a story of man in a suburb just outside Kampala known as Muvunza. The story goes that he one day arrived in Kampala with a truckful of matooke from his garden. He moved around several markets in Kampala and they were giving him peanuts per a bunch. He decided to offload the matooke at his home and watch them rot. The locals nicknamed him Muvunza (the one who lets stuff rot). Many corporate farmers or side hustlers are Muvunzas. If they are not letting matooke rot in their compound, they throwing money after money in ventures that are not sustainable or profitable. High rents, taxes, a small customer base and many other hinderances don’t enable them to make profit. Sometimes they don’t know because the salaries at their formal jobs cushion them from these losses. It is when they start running these businesses fulltime that they realize that the ventures were sinkholes. The main challenge for most hustlers is lack of experience or giving up before they have paid what Ugandans call “school fees.” For every venture, it will take time for the entrepreneur to crack it. To establish a network of clients or to be known for doing something requires time. If watermelons are your thing, the traders in Nakasero, Nakawa or Kalerwe markets won’t know you if you deliver once and even on the wrong day. They already have their suppliers. So, you will need to court them over time. They aren’t going to abandon guys they have been dealing with for the last 10 years just because you have shown up with a truck of watermelons or tomatoes. Maybe you even arrived when they stocked up a day before. You convince them one by one over a period of time. If you are to do farming and you do it for one season, there is no way you are going to succeed. Those who succeed do it for over time. Some seasons they make profits. Other seasons they make losses. Once they gain experience, they can then stabilize and be able to predict their incomes. By this time, the “school fees” paid have started to provide a return on investment. Networks have been established That is how traders in the Kampala markets start to call and place orders before even the seller arrives. That is how credit lines are established. That basically means that there is no excuse for experience. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 22, 2026

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Moses Matovu defined music. Others must posthumously learn from him

By Denis Jjuuko When news started filtering through that Moses Matovu had been killed in Kibuli last Thursday, the first question I asked myself was who would want him dead? I can’t claim to have known Moses Matovu very well. I only met him a few times; the first while interviewing him more than 20 years ago for a newspaper I worked for. The other occasions were whenever I was involved in organizing events and his Afrigo Band was set to perform. He was always calm and even measured. He dressed smartly and there was hardly a hair out of place. His army green Land Rover always looked immaculate and you could think he wasn’t driving it in dusty Kampala. You never saw it with a coat of dust. Moses Matovu also known by Papa Moi carried the personality of a man who had seen it all. Indeed, he had, having started performing when people reading this were not even yet born. He survived the turbulent 1970s and early 1980s when Uganda was engulfed in wars and extrajudicial killings. Some of his colleagues were actually killed. His band equipment was looted during those days but he didn’t give up. He re-assembled his ensemble and got back to work. Deaths of his fellow colleagues didn’t stop Afrigo. Last year in August, his legendary band celebrated its 50th anniversary with a deserving performance at the Millennium Grounds in Lugogo. Hopefully his death won’t be the end of a group that represent the best of Ugandan music even though we will miss his melodious voice. One could only hope that over the last 51 years or so, he had time to mentor others who could take over from him. Afrigo Band didn’t last this long in the industry known to have a high mortality rate because of just the vocal and saxophonizing ability of Moses Matovu. They are a disciplined lot. I have never heard that Afrigo was booked to perform somewhere and they didn’t turn up or turned up drunk and unable to perform. You didn’t hear them spend half their performance time talking about haters. Or even performing when their soul wasn’t there. Unlike today’s bands, you hardly saw them reading the songs off their smartphones strapped on the microphone stands. They only performed songs they knew at heart or had spent time practicing. They arrived on time and indeed finished their shows on time. Today, there is a band performing somewhere every single day. Many of these bands actually have large followings but I doubt any of them will be around for half the time Afrigo has been on stage. Once they become famous, they split and each member starts a band. Soon after, you see interviews on TikTok when one group is dissing the other. Each splinter group accusing the other of greed, unprofessionalism and all sort of things. Before you know it, the groups are all struggling to create a distinctive brand and then you hear one member disappeared with the drums, another with a keyboard. In Afrigo, Herman Ssewanyana a.k.a Omwana w’Ensenene has been with the band for 44 years. Joanita Kawalya for 36 years. Rachael Magoola for as long as one can remember. Even when she was elected Member of Parliament, she remained with the band. Each of those people I mention and many others could have started offshoots of Afrigo. They didn’t. They instead remained together and built a brand like no other. But also, Afrigo don’t just do covers. They don’t just recruit singers who can’t sing. They don’t appear to read songs instead of singing them. And most importantly, they have their distinctive voice. If you are abruptly woken up, you could immediately tell that it is Afrigo performing. I think because they have their own songs. Many other bands, you have to first see the vocalists to tell which one it is. And they all follow the same performance format. Start with ballads and end with Congolese songs! Why are today’s bands unable to have their own songs? How can a band, even those with good vocalists and other musicians be unable to record just one original song? How can they be comfortable to only perform other people’s songs for years (for those which are good enough to last a year or more)? Why should anyone pay a band Shs5m or even Shs7m to do karaoke at their wedding or any other events? Why should we actually pay bands to sing Afrigo songs? There is quite a lot to learn from Moses Matovu, unfortunately now, posthumously. The writer is a communications and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 22, 2026

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: A daily brunch could be what one needs as cost of living skyrockets

By Denis Jjuuko A few months ago, if you owned a small car and fueled it with just Shs100,000 or about US$30 at the time, you almost forgot about fuel for a whole week if you lived and worked around Kampala. Today, Shs100,000 worth of fuel lasts a day or two in the same vehicle while covering the same distance. If you went to a market for groceries, what you used to walk away with a few notes of the shillings is now significantly less. There was a time when meat was affordable to at least an average middle-class home in Kampala. Today, a kilogram costs as much as Shs20,000 at a roadside makeshift butchery. The cost of alternatives like beans has also gone up. If you add on the money one can spend on energy to boil them, things are now very tight. As the cost-of-living skyrockets, there is a need for households or individuals to tighten the ship. A few ways to do so. *Brunch*– Many Kampalans especially the youths love brunches. There is a brunch in Kampala almost every weekend in so many places. A brunch means a late-morning meal that combines both breakfast and lunch. It is now time to do that every day to save some money. That way money that would have been spent on two meals is saved by having one meal. This means eating a late breakfast or an early lunch but not both. *Rideshare*– It is time to share rides to work. Since most of you are already in the neighborhood WhatsApp group, it is time to now establish who works near each other and is willing to share a car. If you are five people, each can decide to drive one day. That way you have saved fuel for four days and significantly reduced your expenses. Of course, you will have to forego something when you share a vehicle. Online meetings are now more important than ever. *Bodaboda riding* – If the boda is your main means of transport, it is now time to learn how to ride one if you didn’t know already. Go buy a scooter that is electric and be your own rider. You can actually buy an electric bicycle. They cost about Shs2m on average. You have seen those ones ridden by the food delivery guys. If you have been spending on average Shs10,000 per a day on the conventional boda, with your own electric bicycle, you will be spending about Shs2,000 a day or less covering the same distance. You just need to ensure you have enough electricity units at home to charge a few days (you can charge at work and your manager won’t even notice). This means you have saved Shs240,000 per a month or Shs2.88m a year, enough to buy the bike and even keep some change. If you charge at work and your boss covers the cost of charging, you are traveling for free and saving everything. The last time I was in Ouagadougou, everyone seemed to ride a bike. Corporate bankers, suited lawyers, nurses, civil servants, everyone including the female ones. Today, I won’t mention some European cities. *Eat at home or pack lunch* – If your workplace doesn’t provide a free lunch, you may have to now wake up early, warm the food and pack for the brunch. You would not only eat the stuff that you are sure of the quality, you would also be saving money. If you work in some formal organization, I believe that somebody has donated to you a flask cup (is that what they call them?). Time to put it to work. Pack the porridge or the tea to your workplace. It is even considered fancy. Want to go out on a date? I hear it is romantic to cook the food at home. *Cook only what we will be eaten* – Globally, statistics from United Nations Environmental Programme show that about 30-40% of the food prepared for consumption is lost or wasted. If you look at your kitchen sink or garbage bin, you will realize how full it is after every meal with wasted food. Be strict on what your people prepare especially if they aren’t the ones who buy it with their money. Let them cook either what they will eat or buy some packs so they can have it stored. Leftover food once warmed before consumption has never caused a problem to anyone. *Tame the water bill* – Water in Kampala used to be affordable or even cheap. Not anymore. Regularly check your toilets to ensure there is no leakage. Recycle water as well whenever possible. Harvest some water as well. The rains are coming or already here. *Electric pressure cooker* – They are very affordable and efficient nowadays. Buy one and reduce your costs and even times of preparing meals. There is nothing cool about eating food prepared using firewood or charcoal. Lastly, invest whatever you have saved. The writer is a communications and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 22, 2026