Out to Lunch – Page 3 – Prime Time Communications

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Karuma bridge should be rebuilt with tourism in mind

#OutToLunch: Karuma bridge should be rebuilt with tourism in mind By Denis Jjuuko As you read this, the main bridge to northern Uganda has been closed to pave way for repairs. The authority responsible says that they need three months of zero disturbances from vehicular traffic. For some time, the bridge has only been accessible by small vehicles with trucks and buses diverted to other routes. Originally constructed in 1963, the Karuma bridge has since outlived its purpose. It is too narrow for today’s traffic to the region and neighboring South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Access to the bridge is through winding corners, which could explain why some vehicles have in the past plunged into the river killing many people. The long-term plan for Karuma should be a replacement bridge like what happened in Jinja over the same River Nile. However, Karuma should be different. Recently, King Mswati III of Eswatini was in the country and stopped by the Jinja Nile bridge to take in the beauty of the majestic river and some photos. The bridge design doesn’t seem to have been fully planned for tourism. There was supposed to be a small restaurant on the bridge, a very small car parking area and what looks like a pathway people could stand. Nothing really much. The restaurant has never been opened and hardly anyone stops to take in photos or view the imposing Nile. Like Karuma, the meanest soldiers are usually seen patrolling the bridges. Photography is not even easily permitted. I don’t know if this is to protect them from terrorists but any serious terrorist doesn’t need some photo taken on a smartphone to blow up a bridge. The Jinja bridge is a landmark structure that could have brought in a lot of money if we had not, as usual, missed the chance. Some thinking was needed to turn it into a tourist attraction and not just as a bridge that eases traffic. In many global cities that attract thousands of tourists, such bridges are planned with an eye on tourism. High-altitude walking ways that provide sightseeing are common. Towers with telescopes from which people could view the Nile snaking into Kayunga and beyond would have created magic. Right now, all we offer for anyone who wants to explore the Nile in Jinja is largely a canoe that takes you to the point that is marked the Source of the River Nile. There is no proper marina, accessing the canoes is through a jungle of wooden dilapidated curio shops that make the entire place look like a slum. I don’t know how many tourists want to experience that. Imagine ziplining on the Nile in Jinja for those who love adventure or sightseeing through a cable car. People would be lining up from all over the world to experience this. A proper restaurant that enables you to experience the Nile. I believe many young people would be proposing marriage here. Karuma is even more beautiful than Jinja and could offer more. Imagine walking over a glass bridge that gives you a 360-degree view of the water falls? Imagine a sightseeing elevator that enables you to see River Nile cutting through the thick vegetation of the Murchison Falls National Park? And maybe even catch a few animals in the distance. The Karuma 600MW power dam would even add more attractions to this area and most importantly the electricity required to power cable cars and sightseeing towers and elevators. We know that we now generate more electricity than we consume. It is stuff like these that will enable us consume that electricity while creating millions of sustainable jobs. We are struggling to build another bridge at Katonga on the highway to Masaka, Tanzania, Rwanda and DRC. The NRM claims to have fond memories of Katonga given the battle that eventually led them to capture power in 1986. They went around at one stage and installed an ugly billboard that featured the late Muamar Gaddafi of Libya. Tired of its ugliness and lack of imagination, the termites ate it away! Then the Katonga bridge collapsed. It has been a few years of a temporary bridge since. What about building an iconic bridge with a museum that tells that Katonga battle? Add in the legends of River Katonga from the Baganda who have lived there for hundreds of years and you have a sellable product to international tourists. The guys at the Uganda National Roads Authority and other ministries and agencies particularly responsible for tourism need to work together to see how they can make bridges attract tourists. Money should not be a problem. They can ask Bank of Uganda to issue a bridge bond. It would be oversubscribed. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 21, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: A mere change of guards won’t transform Kampala city

#OutToLunch: A mere change of guards won’t transform Kampala city By Denis Jjuuko If you have been to Kampala, you may have seen cows strolling on the streets. Sometimes, you may have seen them chilling on the pedestrian overpass on the Kampala Northern Bypass. Cows, apparently, know how to scale the stairs. Makeshift markets are set up on the streets every day, selling all sorts of things including foodstuffs leaving garbage everywhere. Boda Bodas, the notorious motorcycle taxis in Kampala, move at high speeds from all sorts of directions. Kampala is one of the cities you look left, right, left, right and left again several times before crossing a one-way street! You simply don’t know where a boda boda will come from. And they will hull insults at you should you look at them sternly. If you are unlucky, like my friend, you will knock one or two around Mulago as you drive to your office. If it is not cows suddenly trying to cross the road, it is a stray dog sniffing a rotting piece of meat a mile away. At signalized traffic junctions, when lights turn red, they instead rev up their motorbikes. The traffic police look on haplessly. Passengers have no helmets. Riders hung the helmet somewhere at the front of the bike. The national referral hospital ends up with many broken limbs and crushed skulls. Government prefers to treat them than preventing the accidents! Living in a third world can be strange. Uganda’s economy is mainly based in Kampala and makes losses of approximately US$800m or Shs3 trillion a year in gross domestic product according to the World Bank. KCCA itself carries this unwanted statistic on its website. The reason is traffic congestion. Kiira Motors has buses that can solve this problem easily. But we fear to annoy the taxiprenuers and their backers. We can’t inform and support them to transition. We can’t ban street parking on Kampala Road to create a bus lane. We are happy to collect a paltry Shs2,000 an hour while losing Shs3 trillion. We are that strange. Anyway, perhaps aware of how bad Kampala is managed, the president decided to do something by sacking the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director and her deputy. The news didn’t surprise anyone who has ever been to Uganda’s capital. Some of her workers, the ladies who try to clean the streets, threw a party and this time sweated under the midday sun celebrating her sacking. They claim she hadn’t paid them for months. The official reason for her sacking is the collapse of the Kiteezi garbage landfill that killed dozens of people in August. Yet it isn’t just Kiteezi. The roads, if you can call them that, are deeply potholed sending motorists to garages on a daily to replace suspension parts and other stuff. The air pollution is responsible for the ever-increasing respiratory diseases. Thieves surround you at midday and beat the hell out of you so they can take your fourth-hand Chinese phone. They know nobody will do anything to them. In the endless traffic jams, guys majestically walk looking at who is driving with windows down or checking who forgot to central lock the car doors. They open and take a phone or handbag. They don’t even run. They majestically walk. They know nobody will do anything to them. Others start removing side mirrors, car emblems and anything removable from the car. They even show it to you and inform you that they have taken it but you can buy it back from Kisekka Market an hour or so later. If the thieves who remove the parts are unknown, what about the shops that sell the stolen parts? They remain untouchable. They even pay a trading license to sell stolen car parts. What a city to live in! But the problems of Kampala can’t be just blamed on the executive team alone tasked to manage the city. Sometimes I sympathize with them. If you go to City Hall (somebody called it City Hole), you will see falling ceilings in some offices or those which have fully fallen off. You will see paper files everywhere on desks of officers (watch the hand over clips of the sacked officers). Yet on social media you will read about Kampala being a smart city. Whatever that means. You can’t have a smart city when desks of officers are full of paper files. You won’t have smooth roads when the officer responsible sits under a falling ceiling. Anyway, Kampala died. It needs to resurrect. Government must put in the money while hiring technical people who have the skills and mettle to run a sprawling emerging city. The Kampalans must adhere to living in the city. Some force may be required. If your cows are seen walking along Acacia Avenue, they should be slaughtered and meat distributed to people there. The herders will find suitable pasture in Nakasongola. If they know nothing will be done, they will continue keeping them in the city. A functional capital city is possible but the national government must do its job. A mere change of guards won’t do. All government agencies must be deliberate about Kampala’s transformation. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 21, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: What Africa must do in the next 60 years of independence

#OutToLunch: What Africa must do in the next 60 years of independence By Denis Jjuuko Many African countries have clocked 60 years since they became independent from the colonizers. Last week, Uganda marked its 62nd anniversary. The anniversary came at a critical time when a government agency revealed that at least Shs25 billion or approximately US$6.7m is lost to corruption daily. I think the richest countries in the world are in Africa. Imagine losing US$6.7m a day and we still exist. The figure may not even be accurate. Government agencies tend to be conservative when revealing these things. Anyway, the majority of African leaders spend half their time blaming colonialists and western powers while accepting every invitation to the White House, 10 Downing Street and the Elysée Palace. Their public relations handlers and influencers even brag about such invitations. Photos in the White House are shared with glee. On return, they tell us the reason why we are poor is because of western powers and vow to fight and defeat them. The African masses, eager to attend the rallies, so that they can get their once in a year doze of protein from the meat being served, clap, clench their fist and vow to fight back. In the presidential mansions, the Africans tell their western counterparts, that whatever they said was just “managing politics.” They seek for another invitation to Washington, London and Paris. How can Africans manage the next 60 years of their independence? At least by not spending half their time blaming the westerners. Africa was not the only colonized continent. The British, for example, colonized many parts of Asia and Middle East. How did some countries in Asia and the Gulf managed to develop, some in a little time than Africa? Take the example of the United Arab Emirates, it only became independent in 1971, a decade after most African countries had become independent. They were a barren desert. Today, Africans go there for honeymoon, medical treatment, university education and some even invest in properties there. The simplistic story is that UAE had oil. But it isn’t the only one with oil. Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, and Angola among others have oil. The countries mentioned above also have access to the sea just like the UAE. However, the African countries had even more favorable weather than the harshness of the Dubai or Abu Dhabi deserts. But today, Africa almost has no single city that is at the level of Dubai. South African cities are deteriorating at the speed of a rocket. If the British, French and Americans sabotage Africa like African leaders and intellectuals always claim, how come they didn’t do that to the Asians and countries like UAE? They were still interested in oil in UAE. They were still interested in access to the sea as they are today. If African leaders wished to develop their countries, I believe they would without anyone in the west stopping them. Does the west, for example, stop any African city from finding solutions to their garbage problem? I believe many western powers would actually want their businesses to invest in solving the garbage issue so that they can make money out of it. Does a western power tell a procurement officer to give a contract to the most incompetent company to construct a road? Most road projects, for example, in Uganda are so small for any western power to get utterly interested. I mean, if you are constructing a 21km four lane northern bypass worth a few million dollars, why would the west be so interested in stopping it? The other day, I saw a road agency happy to report that they will construct 6km a year of an expressway. Imagine just 6km a year of a four-lane road! Now, imagine if the country had more ambitious projects, how long would they take to achieve them? African leaders are these days summoned to every Asian capital for some African Summit. The other day I saw poor Indonesia summoning them and they all went or sent their deputies. What is in Jakarta that Africans can’t do? Ok, if they go there, what do they learn? How has Indonesia managed to ‘develop’ that it can now summon African presidents to go for a summit? And when they return what can they do so the countries can develop? In the next 60 years, Africa must be deliberate to write a new chapter. The colonialism and neocolonialism rhetoric has run its course. There are 1.4 billion people in Africa. They need to see a continent that works for them, not one that talks about issues of the past 60 years. it is time to create an enabling environment that enables Africans to thrive. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 21, 2024

Out to Lunch

OutToLunch: China Town: Protectionism and partnerships critical for African economies

OutToLunch: China Town: Protectionism and partnerships critical for African economies By Denis Jjuuko China Town, a retail shop, in Lugogo without placing a single advert became the talk of town providing invaluable lessons for advertising and marketing executives. Shoppers looking for bargain deals claimed to have queued up from morning and left when the shop closed without having even stepped into the store. In March 2023, I wrote about China Square in Nairobi that was giving Kenyan traders sleepless nights while making consumers happy. Obviously, we may not have paid attention as a country until a company with a similar name showed up. I have heard that they are similar China something everywhere on the continent, selling stuff at laughable prices. At 1.4 billion people, Africa has a huge population that needs goods and services and even though it is the poorest continent, the volumes businesses can push cannot be entirely ignored. That is why retailers like China Town, China Square, China Mall and a plethora of others are here. Their model is the same—lower prices than elsewhere. I hope that they are selling high quality goods that have passed the tests of Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). Many traders are worried that their business models are being disrupted and their enterprises will collapse. They claim that they can’t compete anymore. That could be true. The Chinese are probably enjoying incentives from their home governments. The more products sold in consumer markets; the more days factories remain open in the producer markets. The more days factories remain open, the more people remain employed. The more taxes governments in producer markets earn. And the entire value chain is huge. Of course, these shops may not always sell imported products. Some may be locally made. The owners of such shops may approach manufacturers and sign contracts that give them lots of stuff in bulk at low rates. If a manufacturer is guaranteed a market at a certain price, they can be able to supply and remain in business. With better experiences, technologies, capital, systems and structures, these retailers may become very hard for local businesses to compete. So what countries usually do is that they decide to protect their businesses. The Americans have imposed high taxes on electric vehicles not made in the US because they know that Chinese automakers would make the likes of Tesla collapse or see a significant chunk of their revenue shrink. They have also imposed bans on some Chinese smartphones like Huawei. They have been toying with the idea of banning TikTok, the popular addictive video streaming app. The Chinese also banned American apps, which enabled their messaging apps like WeChat and Weibo become so big in China. The Europeans do the same. They have provided huge subsidies for their agricultural sector. In France, if you own a cow, you get an annual subsidy of EUR280 (Shs1.16m) annually. If you add in subsidies on land and other incentives, the farmer is in business. That also means that a farmer elsewhere can’t easily penetrate that market. There are also restrictions on importing beef and dairy products. In Africa, South Africa has some of the continent’s biggest assembling plants for cars. To protect them, South Africa doesn’t allow the importation of vehicles at their end of life from Japan or elsewhere. In fact, they don’t allow you to import any used vehicles. You can only import a brand new car which is not made in South Africa. Basically, you can only import Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces and such other luxury brands. They impose hefty import duties on them as well. They know that if they allow anyone to import any car they want, the auto industry will die. Uganda needs to put in place some protection policies and implement them. If Kiira Motors is making buses in Jinja, then they should not allow the importation of buses from anywhere else. You either buy the bus made in Uganda or forget about it. If there are people making household electronics in Kampala’s industrial area or Kapeeka, then others should not be imported. That way the guy who set up his plant can keep their factory open. Of course, UNBS would have to double down on its quality inspection protocols so that they ensure that only products of highest standards are made and supplied. Government would have to nip corruption in the bud for this to take place. However, in a globalized world, foreign investment cannot be fully eliminated especially in poor and transitioning economies. Global retailers and businesses would have to set up shop. Ensure that these global businesses are in partnership with local entrepreneurs that way they can learn a thing or two and will remain even if the foreigner decides to go. There will also be some capital that won’t be evacuated. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

September 18, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Incentives could further switch on West Nile for investment

OutToLunch: Incentives could further switch on West Nile for investment By Denis Jjuuko On my first visit to Arua in West Nile, many years ago, my colleagues and I decided to unwind by visiting a nightclub or something similar to it. We were young and free. We had made the long trip from Kampala, rested a bit and decided to indulge in the night, enjoy some Lingala and whatever a bustling border town has got to offer. I had seen a huge electricity generator station by the roadside, a few minutes to Arua town but hadn’t paid much attention to it. I had also not done much research about the city’s night life. It was one of those days you jump into a car, drive to a town, get some accommodation and you are ready to go. A journey to discover the unknown. Some people call it adventure. In the nightclub, I noticed something strange. As a self-confessed nocturnal at the time, I had been a ‘happening’ boy by some lousy standards. I had also worked in journalism and the entertainment sector had been part of my beat. At university, I had enjoyed the exuberance of youth through clubbing. Nightclubs, therefore, were not strange to me. In Arua, at that nightclub, everyone had a torch. If you are considered old in Uganda, you remember the silver metallic ones with a red button on the side. Those were for the sophisticated ones. Those who lacked means had plastic ones. The only revelers who didn’t have either a plastic or silver metallic torch, were my colleagues and I. The majority of the people pulling all dance strokes on Lingala music were partly ‘giving us the eye.’ Like in most places, you could tell that people realize you are a foreigner. You don’t understand the rules. I became more cautious and decided not to indulge much and be more of a casual observer, with one eye on the exit door. Sooner than later, I realized why everyone who knew Arua well had a torch. At the peak of people’s enjoyment, electricity was switched off. The entire town went dark and quieter than a cemetery! Again, if you are considered old in Uganda, loadshedding is not something new to you. Electricity was always shared. If you had power today, you didn’t have it tomorrow. Rationing. But loadshedding in most parts of Uganda at the time meant power was switched off in the early evening around 6.00pm and switched back on around 10.00pm. In Arua, power was being switched off after 10.00pm. Strange loadshedding. Once power went off, the nightclub didn’t have a generator powerful enough to enable the rotating multicolor disco lights to be switched on. The nightclub’s standby generator was only big enough to power the sound system. That is why the revelers had torches. They switched them on. Some pressed the red button on the switches which made the torches provide a blinkering light. Others tied them on their waists. As they pulled those rare dancing strokes that are synonymous with Congolese across the border, they provided a spectacular experience akin to that of customized dazzling disco lights. What a spectacle! The ingenuity of the West Nilers. I have made hundreds of trips to Arua since that night and definitely power had become a bit reliable. But it is only the other week that West Nile was switched to the national electricity grid. It is a remarkable achievement or a shame that it has taken this long depending on how you look at it. The region has unbelievable potential given its location at the borders of both the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, some of Uganda’s biggest trading partners. Both countries are expansive and a big chunk of their populations rely on cities like Arua as the source of their goods and services. I learnt that some of those guys who were rivaling Congolese dancers in that nightclub were actually Congolese who cross the border to enjoy life. Anyway, both countries also suffer regular insecurity which means investors will always keep away apart from those exploiting the countries’ massive natural resources. But the investors could not set up businesses such as factories in Arua, to supply West Nile, DRC and South Sudan and beyond. They would rather set up in Kampala or Jinja where electricity was not such a big challenge. Yet if they set up in West Nile, they would be nearer to the market. Lack of electricity was always the challenge. Now that the problem is sorted, West Nile’s potential should now be fully exploited. West Nile is also very diverse with many different cultures, which can be a bedrock for non-animalized tourism. Even the alleged world’s smallest church is in West Nile! Nang Nang, perhaps the world’s tastiest fish is available in basketfuls. The River Nile cuts through the region, providing near perfect locations for riverside resorts and water sports. Land is still relatively affordable and fertile and some of the major towns are being connected by bituminous standard roads. Small planes can land in Arua. For those who love animals, Murchison National Park is partly in the region. Affordable trainable labour is in abundance. Electricity also means companies like Kiira Motors can now set up shop for electric buses. Or investors can think of electric vehicle chargers. An electric bus trip from Kampala to Arua would cut the cost by more than 50%. Major urban centres like Arua being border towns have populations with some bit of disposable income. But investors will need to be mobilized and incentivized so that they can set up shop. For those responsible for the country’s development, their work is now well cut out. Those selling torches, if they still existed, will have to pivot. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

August 14, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Coffee export good but protect farmers by consuming some of it locally

By Denis Jjuuko For a few years, coffee prices have been rising greatly crossing the Shs13,000 per kilo mark for the fair average quality or what is known as kase thereby turning many farmers into millionaires. Some of them instantly. The price of Robusta over the last few months has been almost the same as Arabica that usually grows on higher altitudes. Driving through some villages in Masaka recently, you hardly found a courtyard where coffee was not being dried. And almost everyone dried the coffee on tarpaulins instead of the bare ground of yonder. This obviously means a better-quality product and the fact that people are adhering to the messages being given to them. Farmers are also planting improved varieties and applying better farming methods all of which are leading to an improved end product that is demanded across the world. In the just concluded financial year, Uganda exported 6.13 million bags (60kg each) of coffee earning an unprecedented USD1.144 billion, an increment of 6.33% in volume and 35.29% in revenue compared to the previous year. The higher prices have been attributed to improved quality and quantity but also demand in the destination markets where coffee is consumed. Although there might be other reasons such increased local consumption in larger exporting countries like Brazil and weather fluctuations in Vietnam, and a changing environment in Europe starting in January 2025 leading to stock ups. Europe says it will only be buying coffee which is traced to farms that have not been set up after destroying forests. Most Ugandan coffee farmers are small and do so on small pieces of land and therefore no forests have been destroyed, which means the demand for our coffee in European markets should continue. Although farmers are experiencing the highest prices in 30 years, the vulnerabilities still exist and therefore Uganda’s focus should not be entirely on exports that is targeting the 20m bags annually. Local consumption is equally important. In Ethiopia, Africa’s largest coffee producer, 60% of the harvests are consumed at home. The data may be hard to come up with but imagine how many meetings especially in government ministries, departments and agencies take place on a daily basis. They must be hundreds of them. Many of them have some coffee and tea for the people to enjoy. Many officials in government have flasks of coffee and tea beside their office desks and it is not uncommon to find a few government workers enjoying breakfast or a mid-morning snack complete with a hot cup of beverages. Now, imagine if they all were drinking Ugandan coffee! How much money would the government be spending? How much money would the farmers and roasters be earning? Many times, the coffee people drink is imported instant coffees. At workshops in many hotels, imported instant coffees rule the day sometimes serving hundreds of people attending conferences and workshops. Private companies and development partners are not exceptional. In a country that is a major producer of coffee! I don’t know whether the preference of instant coffees is strategic where we prefer to export raw coffee so we can important instant ones or it is one of those things we have not clearly thought about. Should we consume some of the coffee we grow here or we should focus on exporting it only? There is no guarantee that the current prices will remain as high as they are today and if we only focus on exports, farmers at one stage may become delusional and abandon it like they did years ago. To avoid this risk, there must be ways to promote its consumption locally not through fictious campaigns that teach people how to drink coffee but through a well thought out campaign. A campaign that gets implemented. A campaign that is implemented by people that are trusted. In the central region for example, Buganda Kingdom pushed these boundaries earlier through their Mmwanyi Terimba campaign, distributing seedlings and the Katikkiro making endless drives to the expansive kingdom to see whether the people were growing coffee. The results can be seen by even a suckling baby. Government can start with its offices. Procurement officers, administrators and whoever is responsible for purchasing coffee should be aligned to the fact that charity begins at home. That they can’t be singing value addition while importing something as easy to make as coffee. Then private companies and development partners can be encouraged to go locally roasted coffee. Tax incentives could be given. This doesn’t mean that we abandon the 20 million bags target rather we do both. Improved quality and quantity would ensure that we can go ahead and get nearer to the 20 million bags target while a significant chunk is consumed at home. The writer is communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

August 8, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: School trips to Dubai good but parents should manage their children’s expectations

By Denis Jjuuko One night many years ago, I tried sleeping and failed. I think, like other kids, I was anxious. I kept staring in the dark, wondering when day would break. The night seemed longer than usual. Eventually, it was time to “wake up.” Time to dress up and embark on this dream journey that I and believe many other kids had been looking forward to. The school had organized a tour of a few “attractions” in and around Kampala over a few days. We jumped in a Mercedes Benz bus, the size of today’s coasters, all smartly dressed and made our way to Kampala from Masaka. Our first stop if I recall correctly was Mukwano Industries. On arrival, we were taken onto a guided tour, climbing up metal stairs to see the huge boilers that mixed liquids that turned into bar soap. Mesmerizing. The next stops were even more interesting because at least we would be able to consume some of the products being made — soda and bread. We wondered why Mukwano didn’t give us soap, didn’t they think we also wash clothes or bathe? Anyway, we moved on to Entebbe International Airport, climbed up to the first or second floor from where we saw planes on the tarmac. This wasn’t as exciting as the trip to the factories. I had been here before while escorting or welcoming back one of my relatives, a frequent traveler to Europe but to many other kids, this was the pinnacle of their trip. Realizing that planes are not as small as what they see when they are flying over at 30,000 feet above sea level. We returned to tell stories to the kids who didn’t make the trip and of course our parents and guardians. I think this is one of the reasons I am a big fan of factories and seeing things being made. Although I am not overly enthusiastic about traveling, I think it is a good thing that exposes a person to the world unknown to them. I thank my parents, guardians or whoever paid for that trip. Of recent, some Kampala schools have outgrown taking kids to Freedom City, Garden City and any other building bearing the word city on its façade and started organizing trips to Nairobi, Mombasa, Johannesburg, Dubai and European countries. Last weekend, such a memo trended on social media and people wondered why should schools organize such trips. People argued that those who wouldn’t make the trip will feel left out and their mental wellbeing could be affected. That could easily be the case but there are many things that can affect a child’s mental wellbeing. A better school bag or pair of shoes or even a watch. Regularly, my children come home and ask for certain things. Stuff they have seen with their colleagues at school or even cousins. Apple watches, tablet computers, wheelable school bags, water bottles and every little thing that catches their fancy. Sometimes on the road, whenever they see a nice car, they ask me to buy one like that. On visits to relatives or friends, they sometimes demand that I convince that aunt or uncle to sell the house to me. Kids demand all sorts of things and schools, since they are commercial enterprises, know that many parents will not spare a coin to make their children happy. Many will borrow and forego their own happiness. Because many can’t afford and fear to disappoint their children, they want the schools to stop the trips. That explains why parents were on social media putting pressure on schools to stop these trips. The trips are not inherently bad for those who can afford them. Most people in developing countries like Uganda dream of flying and it would expose some of the kids to working hard to afford life in the future or even build Uganda the way Dubai or Rome is built. But parents should not put themselves under unnecessary pressure because Junior has been besieging them for a trip to Dubai or Italy. They should sit down with their children and explain to them what is possible and what is not. In many cases, the children will understand that this is not possible. When my children ask for those unrealistic stuff like buying my friends or relatives homes or the fanciest car on the road or even Apple watches, I tell them the truth. All the times, they understand what is not possible and sooner than later, they will be demanding something else. That is how kids are wired. Although there is no blueprint on raising children, giving them whatever they ask for is setting them up to fail in the future. Schools can go ahead and organize these trips, after all they are not mandatory, but it is also the parents’ responsibility to manage their children’s expectations. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

August 8, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Let the demographic dividend not pass us by

By Denis Jjuuko The results of the national population census that were not overly surprising. Uganda is one of the countries with the fastest growing populations and we did not disappoint with 11.3 million added since the last census in 2014. We are now 45.9 million people. Phew! We are what some of my friends call “team no sleep” since we spend a great amount of our time producing babies. It is assumed babies are made at night when people frolic between the sheets instead of sleeping but that may not be the best way to start this article. We are a damn serious lot here! Anyway, one of the most interesting bits from the population census was the revelation that 55.6% of Uganda’s population is between ages 14 to 64. That translates to more than 25.5 million people. This is the age group that is defined as the working age. If harnessed appropriately, this demographic dividend that we have attained can lead to unprecedented economic growth. A demographic dividend leads to less resources spent on the elderly, those in retirement and even children. Those working should be able to take care of themselves and their offspring. Of course, this would require reduction in births so that investments are not put at entirely looking after children. However, it will take a while for us as a country to stop being “team no sleep.” Many people love to have several children or grandchildren. Sometimes it is because we are still an uneducated lot who believe that having more children is an insurance that protects a parent in case some of the children die. Since many children grow up by chance in Uganda, many parents would prefer to have more. If two or so die, they would not be childless, the argument goes. This means that Uganda would have to spend more money on education and health so that many people start seeing their children growing up and debunk their argument for having more kids. The more educated people are, the better chances of raising healthy kids. They will immunize them, make them sleep in mosquito nets, take them to healthy facilities when sick, and feed them better and most importantly educate them which eventually will break a cycle of poverty that most households find them in today. Also, like studies have shown, the more educated people are, the more likely to earn better. Investments in education are key in enabling people to earn better and live better lives. Many African countries have rolled out universal primary and even secondary education but the quality is low with many learners unable to read and write at the level commensurate with their level of education. Secondary education must be emphasized but also made relevant in this age of technology because this is the highest level many students in Africa attain. Digital and communication skills will be critical but also, they should leave secondary education such as O-level when they are able to do some work that can lead to sustainable employment. Integrating technical and vocational skills is important. If we massively invest in affordable high-quality education at all levels, investments will flow as businesses take advantage of our demographic dividend — a young highly trainable population. Most businesses such as factories rely on a workforce that is trainable to do repetitive work efficiently. They don’t even need to think, they need to simply add a part here and there on the assembly line or do the same thing repeatedly. Of course, there are many things that need to be in place to attract investments. Economic and political stability is crucial. And if we can’t find jobs for these 25.5 million people, there will not be political stability regardless of how many teargas canisters or pink water canons we import. If the tax revenue collection guys decide on whim how much one is to pay, it won’t make it easier for people to bring their money here either. If farmers in Masaka have to sleep in their gardens at night to protect their coffee from thieves, big coffee players will think twice before setting up their factories here. If a kick in Kampala sends you to your creator and the criminal knows police won’t find him, then people will take their money elsewhere. If Kampala remains run down as it is now, investors won’t be impressed to invest. Infrastructure is key. We can’t continuously avoid investments in the major road network in Kampala. Electricity must be available and affordable. Systems to facilitate businesses must be in place which means bureaucracy in government offices must be cut down. Civil servants should not behave as if they are doing investors local and foreign a favour. Otherwise, this demographic dividend may pass us by. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 23, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Mpigi could be the next investment big thing

By Denis Jjuuko Mpigi town today is nondescript, a backwater town located approximately 45.8km from Kampala on the Kampala-Masaka highway. The town of almost one street is dominated by small traders, some operating in incomplete buildings or kiosks. A few branches of banks here and there. Generally, nothing much to write home about. I bet that most frequent users of the highway didn’t even know its location until recently when traffic was diverted through it to pave way for the construction of an interchange or something similar that will connect the Masaka highway to the Kampala-Mpigi Expressway that is currently under construction. When the Kampala-Mpigi Expressway is complete, the distance from Kampala to Mpigi will reduce to approximately 41.4km. That isn’t much difference in terms of kilometres until you understand the impact the expressway will create. Today, sometimes, it can take you two hours to cover the distance from Mpigi to Kampala. Other times it can be three hours or more. It is a nightmare. This is one of the busiest highways in Uganda through which the connection to Rwanda, Tanzania, parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and beyond is made thereby facilitating intercountry trade. It is only fitting that an expressway is under construction. To further decongest this busy highway, the government recently held a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the Mpigi-Kasanje-Nakawuka-Kisubi road as well as the Nakawuka-Nateete road. People traveling to Entebbe from Masaka or any part of south western Uganda will not have to drive all the way to Busega and join the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway. They can use these roads to connect to Entebbe, thereby shortening the distance and cost it currently requires. There is also a ferry service on Lake Victoria connecting Entebbe at Nakiwogo to Buwaya near Mpigi. Although I described Mpigi town in unflattering terms in the opening paragraph of this article, the area surrounding the town is actually very beautiful dotted with well vegetated pristine hills that seem to kiss the sky. Atop these hills, the areas near Mpigi town provide some of the most breathtaking views of Lake Victoria. If you are a child or an aviation enthusiast, you may even find watching planes land and take off from Entebbe international airport a fascinating pastime. A few kilometres from Mpigi town is the Mabamba Swamp. If you have never heard of it, you have certainly never found bird watching interesting. If bird watching isn’t your thing, know that many tourists fly in from all over the world to watch the birds at Mabamba. The Mpanga forest range is not far from Mpigi. There is a crocodile farm and another park where people go and take selfies with lions not far from Mpigi. I don’t have to mention the Equator. But decent hotels in Mpigi are as rare as snow in Uganda. If you have never noticed, Mpigi is the same distance as Entebbe even when using the current Masaka-Mpigi road but because of traffic and congestion and under development, very few people consider Mpigi as a place where they can commute from to Kampala every day. Because of the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, Entebbe is now so near Kampala taking people a few minutes to reach their destination. Nobody complains anymore if invited to an event in Entebbe. Try organizing an event in Mpigi and you will get many excuses. That is not going to be the case though once the network of roads under construction is complete making Mpigi the right destination for your investment. Land including that on hills with spectacular views is still relatively affordable in Mpigi compared to many other parts of greater Kampala. With the Kampala-Mpigi Expressway and the Mpigi-Kisubi road nexus complete, the time one takes to move from Mpigi to Kampala or Entebbe will be drastically reduced. Living in Mpigi and working in the central business district of Kampala or Entebbe will be as easy as pushing somebody who is squatting. A Kampala resident going to party on a beach in Mpigi will not be so difficult to try. The areas surrounding Mpigi town are going to cease being hard to reach areas. In fact, Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga and his team at Bulange are already planning a major housing estate in Mayembe Ga Mbogo on the outskirts of Mpigi town. Many other investors are already in the area with similar plans. Young people looking for affordable land for their first homes should look no further than Mpigi. Older ones could consider Mpigi as a potential area for their retirement. Investors in hospitality and recreation, farming to feed the ever-increasing Kampala population, housing, and satellite cities, Mpigi could be the next big thing. However, many people may not still be aware of Mpigi’s potential as a destination for investment. District local governments have commercial officers. They are usually poorly facilitated and yet they should be drivers in promoting the opportunities available. Hopefully, the one of Mpigi could now launch an Invest in Mpigi campaign. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 23, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Survival by borrowing entrenching household poverty

By Denis Jjuuko Somebody told me that to survive in Kampala, you need to learn a few tricks. One of them that caught my attention is on lending money to friends and relatives. Like almost everyone in Kampala, he receives several requests. A relative who needs to borrow to pay school fees, buy food for their family, pay rent, take a sick child or parent to hospital or enjoy a night out in the bars with the most dazzling lights. When he had just started working, he told me, he almost realized that he didn’t have any money left after he had met most of the borrowing requisitions sent his way. Years later, he came to realize that those who borrowed never paid back. In fact, some even returned to borrow more. He had to be ingenious if he was to survive in the city. He devised a method of only lending without expecting anything in return. So, if a friend, co-worker or relative called to borrow, he would only lend what would not affect him significantly. If somebody called to borrow say Shs200,000, he would offer to lend them Shs50,000. He never expected this money to be paid back. He never calls them to remind them of their obligations. If anyone paid back, he considered it a bonus. This method also worked as a deterrent. The majority of those who borrowed never came back to borrow again. Those who did, he would remind them that they hadn’t paid back what they had borrowed earlier. Many would pretend to be ashamed but at least he knew that person would never disturb him again. He says this model has worked for him and saved him the anguish of expecting money from people who had no intentions of paying back. I was reminded of this last week when a study funded by the central bank indicated that the majority of adult Ugandans or 17.2 million people out of 24.6 million survive by borrowing. The snippets from this study have made national headlines in some of the daily newspapers. For a country to have 70% of its adult population surviving on borrowing should be worrying. Uganda being such a young population, it means that most of these people are unemployed or earn so little to “afford life.” And when they retire or unable to work, they won’t have any pension to depend on. Many adult Ugandans who aren’t borrowing have become beggars. Parents begging their children. Couples begging their partners. Parents begging their sons and sometimes daughters in law. When we talk about borrowing, it gives a connotation that at one stage, money will be paid back by the borrower. Although it wasn’t clear in the report who lends these Ugandans money, many borrow from friends and relatives as the case of my friend. Money that is usually not paid back. To be honest, many of the borrowers have genuine problems largely based on our lack of good public schools and health facilities. Many are dehumanized to borrow and if they had a chance to find employment, they would diligently work. That is why Entebbe airport departure lounges are full of young people going abroad to seek employment. Had they been lazy as some people (especially politicians) allege, they wouldn’t be frequenting the Arabian deserts. Since the money borrowed is largely never paid back, the lender is denied an opportunity to invest it in worthwhile ventures which could provide a return on investment. That is why one of the reasons people end up without sustainable pension. They spend a lot of their resources while working to look after other adults, thereby playing the role of a government without the resources of a government. When time for retirement comes, they have nothing sustainable to rely on. The borrowing cycle continues for generations thereby entrenching household poverty. Some people call this “black tax” — money black people pay to sustain their extended family and a host of friends. It also fuels corruption. Few people are going to do the right thing when they have a sick mother at home and are struggling with hospital bills or when the children are home instead of school. Government needs to find a way for the majority of people to find sustainable jobs, provide at least affordable public health and education services so that they don’t depending on borrowing from people who also don’t have much. That would require the reduction on the largesse of government officials on stuff that provide no real value, provide incentives to local businesses to thrive instead of employing methods that lead to their closure while at the same time attracting the elusive foreign direct investment to spur economic growth. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 16, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Why you may consider investing in Rotary

By Denis Jjuuko About 15 years or so ago, a friend asked me whether I could help them do some voluntary work. There was somebody visiting Uganda and there could use some of my skills. I was invited for a meeting over lunch at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala. The meeting turned out to be a lecture of sorts where a speaker on a lectern makes a presentation followed by questions and answers from the plenary. A high table of sorts existed where somebody had a bell and wearing a chain pinned with golden miniature plaques. Many of the people at the lunch hour event wore suits and all the kind of clothing that is considered acceptable in corporate offices. I could recognize a few public faces — captains of their respective industries. As is usually the case, I had arrived before my scheduled time for the meeting. So, I was asked to sit in and listen. Somebody gave an update of the visit of the big man. People said it was a big moment for Uganda and they were to leave no stone unturned. My friend claimed that is why he needed me to volunteer my skills to make the visit a success. After an hour or so, the “lecture” ended and was officially closed by the man wearing a chain at the top of the table after going through some sort of rituals. I am not a big fan of formal events so I wasn’t very impressed with all the formalities. I think people were also wondering why I was there. I was one of the few people not in a pin-stripe suit or silk necktie with a Windsor knot. Anyway, after the formalities, we sat down by the poolside with my friend and few people who had been in the meeting and ordered for some lunch. I was to support the visit of the Rotary International President to Uganda. So, I had just attended a Rotary meeting (sometimes called a fellowship in Uganda). I had heard about Rotary before but I had never been this close. I had been told it is a club of extremely wealthy people who spend all their time spending money. I had wanted to join and see if a few doors could open but nobody maybe thought I was worthy. Also, I didn’t have money to spend. In 2011, a friend who I had told that I wanted to join Rotary informed me that a club was being set up in Naalya and since I lived in Najjeera, I should consider joining. He was joining too. He said it was easier to join a new club being formed than joining an established one like that I had interacted with at the Grand Imperial Hotel. I accepted his invitation and some ajoling and became a member. I found out you don’t have to be wealthy to become a member. But like many such organizations where membership is by invitation, sometimes Rotary is misunderstood and a few salacious tweets are usually posted by people who don’t care much to analyze society. Through Rotary, a membership organization of nearly 1.5 million people globally, professionals, business executives and students use their resources to change their societies or those in other parts of the world they will never even meet. They are almost single handedly responsible for the near eradication of polio; through immunization campaigns they carry out all over the world. Rotary focuses on a few areas such as maternal and child health, education and literacy, water and sanitation, peace and conflict prevention, and economic and community empowerment among others. In Uganda, Rotary is known in almost every community. If they are not building classrooms, sinking boreholes, refurbishing health facilities, planting trees, or immunizing kids, they are mobilizing resources to set up a cancer treatment center in Nsambya and a blood bank in Mengo. Rotarians like calling themselves people of action and any keen observer would see the good they do in the world. But they don’t just help others. Members become leaders which enables them to build and improve their leadership skills. Every week day in Uganda, many people meet through their clubs to listen to speakers others may have to pay for while establishing networks for life. Of course, sometimes they meet and celebrate like last week when a new district governor, Anne Nkutu, was installed. Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga was there to talk about keeping hope alive and how the Kingdom of Buganda and Rotary work together to make lives better. But even at celebrations, the business part of Rotary is always the big thing. And if you want to increase your networking opportunities while honing your leadership skills and at the same time helping others in our communities, you may consider an ‘investment’ in being a Rotary member. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 16, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Home ownership one way to a country’s development

By Denis Jjuuko More than 20 years ago, a man set up an office at the current Serena Conference Centre. He seemed to have a huge advertising budget and didn’t spare a coin in pushing his product. Newspapers featured him. Radio presenters talked about him. I was in active journalism at the time and looked out for him. He gave me an appointment at 4.30am. Any chance to change to a favorable time fell on deaf ears. 4.30am, or nothing. I agonized. How would I make it from my home to his office in the middle of Kampala? I was about to accept but he wasn’t the Pope, US President or Osama bin Laden. Why would he only have time at 4.30am? The article I was to write was to enhance his profile for free. But I also thought he was pretentious, trying to prove to a journalist that he works so hard. I gave up on him. A few months later, his property brokering business started foundering. He never owned the properties he advertised. He was a broker. But he was smart enough to set up an office at a fancy location. Most of his colleagues operated on the streets of Luwum and William. Those who had found a fortune, their Toyota Mark IIs were their offices and impressing meant wearing sharp pointed fake-crocodile skin shoes. Since he was different, with an office, people trusted him and gave him their money. Some of the people who had told him they owned the land were fraudulent. The land either didn’t belong to them or the families were fight for every square foot of it. Since he was the one making the connection between the buyer and seller and sometimes received money from clients, whoever didn’t get their land came for him. He would end up on the beaches of Luzira. Having learnt from him, another broker went a step further and set up a dingy office in Old Kampala. Although it wasn’t glamorous, he had one unique aspect about him — he and his associates owned the land. He bought large swatches of land in areas like Kulambiro, Buwaate, Kira and divided them into 50×100 feet plots (approximately 11.5 decimals). Kampala was expanding at the time beyond its original seven hills. People who had seen their retrenched or retiring parents move from fancy homes in Kololo into poverty thought to act differently. They would build houses. The economy was growing, and a semblance of a middle class was emerging. There was a ready market of people streaming to his Old Kampala office to buy land. Unlike his Serena Conference Centre predecessor, land titles were easily availed to whoever purchased from him. He too advertised heavily, promising Ugandans to live in organised estates with access roads and all that. People saw an opportunity to live in a community that was not too much of a slum at an affordable rate. Before a place sold out, another new estate would be opened. Eventually, there was an estate on every major road to Kampala to cater for every purchaser’s interests. You know how Kampalans love living near highways that lead to their ancestral villages! To further impress, he put up a mega building in Old Kampala and expanded into a quarry business along Jinja Road. A building hardware shop was set up, if you bought a plot of land, he would give you a few bags of cement so you could start building your dream home! Anyway, that growth was funded by banks which meant they would hold on to the land titles. So, people who purchased land took away agreements instead of titles. Some of the land was far away from the city yet the majority of his clients were first home owners. The others were speculators involved in land banking. The estates were not selling out at the previous rates. People who needed their titles were not getting them. That led to people stopping buying from him. The original landlords were also in some cases not fully paid. Court appearances became his preoccupation. The other week, the banks won a case against him that declared him bankrupt. It was one of the saddest stories of Ugandan entrepreneurship. A self-made man who had made it to the top. Yet he is not the only Ugandan real estate entrepreneur to go under. One of the challenges of real estate in Uganda especially the one where the model is buying land and parceling it into small plots for selling is that most of these estates are deep in areas that lack access and basic services today. First home owners shun them yet they don’t have resources to buy in their preferred areas. Second home owners already have land in areas that these estates sold 10 or so years ago. Or they are looking for bigger land for their country homes. Other investment vehicles like treasury bonds and unit trusts are competing with land banking. Wrangles over land are common as family members of the original owner always come up with counter claims against each other. Squatters are everywhere and they are more protected than the owners in some cases. Police is not competent or facilitated to investigate these cases. Courts take forever to decide these cases. Yet home ownership is one way that countries develop. People who own homes won’t wake up to burn a city down. They work hard for its development because they have something to lose. If we need to develop this country, we must devise means that enable young people to easily own homes. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 16, 2024