Out to Lunch – Page 6 – Prime Time Communications

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Predictable incomes, culture of paying debt key in lowering interests on loans

By Denis Jjuuko You have probably heard somebody say these not very magical words; “It is very little money,” especially when they are being asked to pay back some money, they were so desperate to borrow. Or somebody has accosted you for depositing money on a particular mobile money line without asking them first as they had a debt on a line on which you deposited. You also probably know somebody who came crying to borrow some money and has since switched off their phones or no longer answers your phone call. Some wise people have advised Ugandans to only lend people money that they can afford to lose. Imagine! This habit of failure to pay back is extensive. I saw a post with a quote attributed to the Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor saying that the Uganda Bankers Association had told him that commercial banks in the country have Shs5 trillion of loans in courts. Apparently, once some people borrow money from the banks, when payment time comes, they run to court disputing the amount to pay or the legality of the lender. As you know courts take their time to decide non-political cases. It can be years before a judge is allotted the case and then the scheduling and adjournment can take forever. As the judge is about to give his judgement, he is transferred and another judge is appointed to hear the case. Adjournment of cases is the norm in Ugandan courts. In the meantime, the lender is losing money and the borrower is in court purposely to play the long game. It’s perhaps one of the explanations for the high interest rates we pay on loans thereby affecting the country’s economic growth. Usually, we only complain about the banks and not our failure to honor our loan obligations. Failure to pay debt is one of the major impediments to growth. In his top selling autobiography, legendary businessman, Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige (BMK) and now deceased, credited his growth on supplier’s credit where he received goods on credit and paid back. He said that many of his colleagues who always found ways not to pay back suppliers had their businesses collapse within a few years. Some of these people, he said, had been wealthier than him. By the time of his death, some used to call him for financial assistance. Of course, debt payment issues aren’t squarely on the shoulders of the debtors. The banks aren’t innocent either but there are also other issues why interest rates are high in Africa. The size of the economy, political instability, high levels of poverty and high inflation rates among others could provide richer explanations. But the borrowers can’t always be absolved. The majority of people in Africa have no predictable income since they largely work in subsistence agriculture, growing food for household consumption with the little surplus left to sell. Even those who practice commercial agriculture, the majority have small gardens and always unsure of their income. Today the tomato harvest is good but everyone has had a bumper harvest thereby crushing the prices. Next season, few farmers have remained in the business and the prices are high prompting everyone to grow the tomatoes the following season. By harvest time, there are simply too much tomatoes and the prices are down again. That is the circle most smallholder farmers operate in. Banks looking for somebody to lend money won’t even bother giving them a call. They know that chances of a borrower not being able to pay back are high. If they are to lend, they extend as little as possible (at high rate) which is unable to help get a farmer out of poverty. Yet 50km away, in the country’s capital, the tomatoes are on high demand that some are being imported into the country either as fresh tomatoes or factory processed tomato paste (look at the shelves in your local supermarket). This being the rain season, there are reports that farm gate milk prices have crushed by more than 50 percent. In December, at the first sign of a dry season, the prices will go up again. But farmers have no alternatives to preserve their milk and wait for the prices to go up. The money they would have made due to increases in the prices in the dry season will go into looking for water for the cows. You can say that about almost every crop or produce. If we want lower interest rates on loans, there is a need to ensure that the majority of our population who are involved in agriculture earn a predictable income, the judiciary must become efficient in disposing cases (Katikkiro Mayiga writes about this in his book Uganda:7-Key Transformation Idea), and cultivate a culture of people paying back their debts and stabilize the economy and the politics. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

December 7, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Nyege Nyege and the case for local governments to identify their niche attractions

By Denis Jjuuko For many years, Jinja had lost its status as the industrial hub of Uganda when many factories closed following their privatization to private entities. The private investors preferred setting up in Kampala near to the market or executives didn’t want to abandon their Muyenga mansions for life on Kiira Road on the banks of River Nile. Jinja, with its wide streets, became somewhat sleepy, eventually known for making chapattis! But the picturesque location that is Jinja was always going to be key for its revival. Residential houses where once factory executives resided became bed and breakfast lodges. And tourism players started building hotels and lodges on cliffs where people could see the majestic Nile flowing towards the Mediterranean. Sports such as kayaking and bungee jumping were introduced. Someone brought in quad bikes and horse riding. Soon, Jinja became a preferred destination for tourists, honeymooners and those seeking a nook to break away from the hustle and bustle of Kampala. Many young people spend their weekends in Jinja. Located a mere 80km away from Kampala, the town is a cheaper option for those seeking gateways. Transport fares are reasonable and accommodation is affordable and there are lots of stuff to see and enjoy on budget. Eventually, factories returned to Jinja and many are being set up increasing the number of people in town. But also, Jinja still has big open spaces where big events can be staged. The agricultural show is a parmanent fixture on the town’s calendar and of recently, the famous Nyege Nyege that took place over the last weekend. There is no event that divides opinion like Nyege Nyege in Uganda. It has been debated in parliament and at one stage, MPs wanted to ban it even though people questioned if they had the legal mandate to do so. The ethics ministry termed it an immoral event. Busoga political stalwart Rebecca Kadaga showed up to preside over its opening ceremony, like she did again this year. Pictures and videos will emerge of a few people who have drunk a little too much or who are dancing seductively or dressed in clothes the size of handkerchiefs. Those against the four-day music festival will use such images to justify their opposition to the event as one that is leading to the erosion of the country’s moral compass. Regardless, young people arrive in Jinja in droves to enjoy the event. Many fly in from overseas and turn the town upside down for four days to the chagrin of the country’s morality police. Wherever people converge in large numbers, some may do certain things that many won’t approve of. People ‘misbehave’ at workplaces or even worship ‘crusades.’ There is no way, a few people wouldn’t let their passion take over during a musical festival. Anyway, it is during this event that Jinja experiences some bit of traffic gridlock and have the many lodges filled up. Some people turn their homes into temporary hotels while those in the camping tent business make a killing. Boda boda riders, chapatti makers and all sorts of small businesses make lots of money during this festival. Jinja local government authorities and the Uganda Revenue Authority must be smiling all the way to the bank. Banks themselves are smiling as well. However, if you are a local government in one of the major towns or cities as some are called, you should have taken keen interest in Nyege Nyege. Local governments need to promote their towns so that businesses can blossom which in turn will mean increased revenues. They don’t necessarily have to do music festivals. Masaka, for example, could do more about grasshoppers during the two seasons a year (hopefully they return). They can promote the season and open up collection or gathering centres where at night, people can get involved. They can make the exercise a fun event for four days each season. Uganda is food rich. Another town can do a food festival. Actually, that can be done in each region of the country given our peculiarities when it comes to culinary stuff as long as we portray it as fun event. Packwach’s Nang Nang fish is delicious just like the cassava in Kafu. Malewa in Mbale. Malakwang in Gulu. Firinda in Tooro and potatoes (chips festival?) and Enturire in Kabale. What about games? Wrestling (ekigwo), board games (mweso, dduulu), okwepena (what is it in English?), skipping the rope, and blend it with modern ones people have come up with these days like Otyo and a town’s fortunes may change forever. Towns like Arua have golf courses. They also don’t have to be events held once a year. Local governments with support from their mother ministry or that of tourism or the Uganda Investment Authority may help towns identify their niche attractions and work on a plan to promote them. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

December 7, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: If people can contribute to Kyabazinga wedding, they can do so for impactful causes too

By Denis Jjuuko Many times, the Busoga region appears in the press for the wrong reasons. High levels of poverty largely blamed on sugar cartels that disenfranchise farmers and even higher cases of teenage pregnancy that are sometimes above the national and East African average. But earlier this month, the focus was on the royal wedding. Globally, people love weddings and more so if it involves royals or very famous people. Television stations left no stones unturned in broadcasting the event live. Many people on social media claimed to have spent the day glued to their TV sets to capture every aspect of the ceremony. Jovia Mutesi, the Queen Consort, had done a great job of ensuring there wasn’t much known about her before the wedding. There were no previous social media posts of her past circulating everywhere. No groupies claiming, she is their bestie. At least I didn’t see them. Not even her kwanjula photos. The first images we saw were of her farewell ceremony on the day of the wedding. Kudos to her and the team. For the past nine years of William Gabula Nadiope as the Kyabazinga of Busoga, it has been hard to tell what the kingdom is doing from an outsider’s perspective. He seemed to be largely holed up in his palaces, appearing once in a while at events before disappearing from the public view. We even heard at one stage that he had been appointed an ambassador by the central government. And when his prime minister announced the wedding date and unveiled the future queen consort, everything seemed to be going awry. A corporate bank issued a famous letter that they have no money to contribute followed by an audio allegedly of a woman he married in a small island country in Europe. But the kingdom didn’t panic. They stayed on course with their strategy, only issuing a statement when some lawyers had written about the existence of another marriage albeit without any iota of evidence at least for us watching from the distance. Undeterred by such allegations, organizations and even individuals continued to line up to the prime minister’s office to donate and wish the king and his future wife happy nuptials. That confidence that people had in their king even when many allegations were flying on social media and even in some newspapers is something Busoga Kingdom must build on. Kingdoms today don’t have the mandate to fight poverty and provide social services to their people. That is the sole responsibility of the central government, which enjoys absolute authority yet the people demand social services from the kingdoms — at least the kingdom that have legitimacy. It is not possible for these legitimate kingdoms to sit back and tell the people who are desperate that your social contract is with the central government. The people actually know that but they have learnt to manage their expectations. So, for Kyabazinga to continue enjoying his legitimacy, he must do something. The wedding has shown him what is possible. If people can contribute billions to a wedding, they can contribute to kingdom programs that alleviate people from biting poverty. The organizing committee of the wedding already know this and I saw that they committed themselves to do something in the first 100 days of this wedding. It is good that they don’t lose momentum but they should also be thinking long term. You can’t significantly reduce teenage pregnancy in 100 days. They also committed themselves to ensuring the people of Busoga participate in the parish development model. Good stuff. But they should avoid portraying themselves as an extension of the central government or ruling party. They wouldn’t want to be blamed for its excesses. At one stage during the wedding, it looked like a political party event. Towing an independent line would ensure that they don’t alienate the Kyabazinga’s subjects that belong to other political parties. They should work with all people across the political divide. For many reasons, they can look west to Buganda which manages to deliver social services to its people without the resources from the public till. If corporate bodies see value in the work of Busoga Kingdom, they will partner with it just like they collaborate with Buganda. The Kyabazinga already has a team that he can rely on and he shouldn’t allow them to go into hibernation mode after the 100 days they talked about. It will also be important to put administrative structures in place that are watertight to safeguard the interest of the kingdom. Since the Nnabagereka of Buganda was Inhebantu Mutesi’s witness in church, she now has a direct line she can use to learn how she can create an office that can address some of the challenges children and young women in Busoga face today. Just like her husband, she already has the will of the people. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

December 7, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Grasshopper farming could create thousands of jobs

By Denis Jjuuko A crisis nearly happened in Uganda this month. November is the month for millennia that is known for grasshoppers that the Baganda named the month after it — Musenene. It is the last month in the second rainy season that comes with grasshoppers or Nsenene in Uganda. Mild rains usually come in with grasshoppers just like they do in May at the end of the first rainy season. However, this November has been a bit different, with grasshoppers nearly doing a no show. People in Masaka, the urban area where the grasshoppers always showed up waited and waited with fluorescent lights beaming at the highest levels every night ready to attract and catch them only managing to see a few butterflies each night. Approximately 120km away in Kampala, a crisis was about to unfold. Where are the grasshoppers, everyone asked. Memes started flying on social media that if the grasshoppers don’t show up, the people should instead feast on those who belong to this particular clan. You know, Nsenene is one of the 54 clans of Buganda! Ugandans even when a crisis is unfolding, they will always find some humour. Nsenene is a delicacy that is loved by Ugandans. Many people long to feast on them in May and November. Some people peg their annual income on these two seasons. Many hawkers and traders forget about other items so that their full focus is on the grasshoppers. Taxi operators abandon people to bring grasshoppers to Kampala, which is the major market in Uganda, driving at speeds that ambulances can’t match. Grasshoppers are highly perishable! If a grasshopper is seen in a town, within hours, people have set up the infrastructure necessary to catch them. As we waited for the now elusive grasshoppers, a few were seen in a small trading centre in Kassanda. Within hours, some optimistic business people had hired generators from Kampala, bought iron sheets and round metallic containers commonly known as Drums to catch them. That is how far people go to catch these flying insects. Then, we heard that they had finally been spotted in Fort Portal and Bundibugyo in western Uganda. The excitement in Kampala was unparallel. Finally, the grasshoppers were here. People asked dieticians if they could eat as much as they want. A small cup containing about 300 grams was going for Shs10,000. People complained of the cost but they were still lining up to buy. I have heard that Masaka finally got swarms of them crushing the prices significantly to the chagrin of the Nsenene traders. However, the delay for the Nsenene to leave their habitat so we could enjoy them shows one of the biggest challenges of our time. For millennia, we have enjoyed the delicacy that is grasshoppers but we have never bothered to do something about it. We simply wait for God to send them every May and November. The majority of us have no idea where these grasshoppers come from. Why can’t we do studies about them? Why can’t we hatch them and commercially farm them? To be fair, I heard some years ago that some researchers have done so in Makerere and had found it humanly possible to commercially farm Nsenene. I hope I am wrong but I haven’t heard of any place where Nsenene is farmed today. It is a delicacy that can bring significant rewards to the investors all year round than simply waiting in anticipation every May and November and complaining whenever they don’t show up or delay to do so. As Uganda’s population grows and turning the Nsenene habitats into farmlands and urban centres, we should not always expect that grasshoppers will be in abundance every May and November as it has been for thousands of years. The delay this November is a sign that the worst times are ahead. Our famed scientists have their job well cut out. I am not sure who was funding the Makerere researchers but this is one area the government of Uganda can take up. Grasshoppers and its value chain can create thousands of decent jobs for young people throughout the year instead of just twice a year. The youth who work the night to catch them, transporters, utility companies and the distribution network that we usually see every May and November would now be annual businesses. We can process them so that they are available on the shelf for whoever is interested. We can export them too. Approximately two billion people or 25% of the world’s population eat insects. That is a market that is estimated to grow to US$18 billion by 2032. We can target it. Edible insects like grasshoppers are richer in protein, amino acids, vitamins, fat and energy than animal meats and therefore could solve some of our malnutrition challenges. And we didn’t have enough time to talk about white ants (enswa), crickets (amayenje), and locusts (amayanzi) today! The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

December 7, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Declined treasury bond bids could spur private sector growth

#OutToLunch Declined treasury bond bids could spur private sector growth By Denis Jjuuko As you already know, Uganda is one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. Many people including those in formal employment have some bit of business they do on the side. We have come to know it as the side hustle. Many of these businesses aren’t that profitable as they are subsidized by their owners using income or perks from their formal jobs. A farm in the countryside that may look profitable may cease being so once the owner starts factoring in the cost of driving there every weekend. Others are subsidized by spouses, sometimes unknowingly. If for example you fuel your spouse’s car which they use to go to run their boutique in the mall and meet all its maintenance cost, they may not realize that the business they think is profitable isn’t actually. Once the formal job goes or the spouse renegades on meeting some costs, many of these side hustles collapse. But they aren’t the only ones. Even those started by full time hustlers collapse within the first five years. There are many reasons why businesses collapse but one of them is the cost of capital or in most cases the sheer lack of it. If you are into motivational books from America and Europe, they will claim that capital isn’t the most important thing for an entrepreneur. They may have a point but they write from an economy where venture capital exists or where loan interest rates are in single digits, not ours of upwards of 20%. So, for a Ugandan entrepreneur, capital or the lack of it is a key reason for the success or failure. So, I was intrigued reading a press release from the Bank of Uganda that gave results of the central bank’s treasury bond auction held on 12 July. They (central bank) needed to borrow Shs150 billion for a three-year period and Shs300 billion for 20 years. Instead, it received bids worth Shs272 billion for the three-year bond and Shs838 billion for the 20-year bond. It accepted Shs171 billion for the three-year bond at 13.5% interest annually and Shs354 billion for the 20-year bond at 15%. More than Shs585 billion was not taken so investors may be out there looking for opportunities on the secondary market or for the next auction. As individuals and institutional investors trip themselves to lend to government, businesses are collapsing for lack of money. And the government is telling them, we don’t even need much of your money anyway. Take it elsewhere. But they won’t because treasury bonds and bills give investors a very low risk return for their money. So imagine if you invested Shs1 billion for 20 years and did nothing and at the end of the day earned a gross income of Shs150 million annually (paid twice a year), why would you do anything else? A commercial bank would rather invest its billion in a treasury bond where it is almost guaranteed of a 15% gross return while doing nothing than lending it to a businessperson at 24% without any guarantees that the money will be paid back. The businessperson may have secured a loan with a building or land as a collateral but still commercial banks are not in the real estate business. They largely frown at the hustle of selling people’s assets when they fail to pay back. To avoid the inconvenience of selling people’s assets when they have failed to pay and the cost of loan recovery, they prefer to lend to the government through treasury bonds and bills. Without any hustle, they get their gross 15% annually on their investment. Who wouldn’t want to do that? That pushes the cost of money in Uganda higher because the alternative through the central bank auctions is much better than running after an individual to pay back. And sometimes you even end up in costly legal battles as the borrower claims you didn’t have the legal mandate to lend to him and therefore wouldn’t pay. But this Shs1 billion may not be able to grow the economy as much as that invested in the private sector where many jobs could be created. As a country we need to find solution for affordable capital for the private sector. So instead of the central bank declining nearly Shs600 billion of bids, what about taking it at a lower interest rate and then lend it to businesses at a rate that can enable businesses to grow? That way they would collect more taxes from the growing businesses. Or how do we build the confidence of investors in treasury bonds to instead invest in private sector when their bonds are declined? The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 18, 2023

Infrastructure

#OutToLunch Privatize road rescue services to reduce accidents on our highways

#OutToLunch Privatize road rescue services to reduce accidents on our highways By Denis Jjuuko If you ever pitch rides in vehicles that belong to international organizations operating in Uganda, you will notice at least two things. The first one is that many don’t move beyond 6.00pm especially on the highways. If the time is not enough to cover the distance and be parked by 6.00pm, they reschedule to the next day. The second one is that many drivers don’t usually do speeds beyond 100kph. Yet some of these vehicles are some of the most powerful on the road — V8 or V6 engines and brought in brand new. Not the usual end of life vehicle we gladly import from Japan. The reason they insist on their vehicles moving during day is largely for safety reasons. Regardless of how modern the car headlights get, there is better visibility during the day which enables the driver to make informed decisions fast. It is more likely to find a tired driver during the night than during daytime. The assumption is that the driver would have had enough rest during the night to drive carefully during the day. At night is when you find a crazy driver that has decided to do a return journey from Arua to Kampala on the same day. Driving under the influence of alcohol is more common during the night than during the day. Many people who drink alcohol don’t do so during the day. But in the evening, they grab a bottle or several after which they sit behind the steering and drive, sometimes very long distances. Also at night, there is no traffic police on the road to warn or fine drivers breaking traffic rules. It is one of the reasons vehicles especially trucks that are in dangerous mechanical conditions (DMC) or those that are wrongly loaded tend to move at night. Apart from a police patrol vehicle stopping them occasionally, they make their trips unrestricted. Many such trucks breakdown on the roads and don’t provide enough warning for other road users. Chances are higher to ram into a stationary vehicle at night than during the day. Do road accidents occur during the day? Absolutely. But it is way safer to travel during the day in Uganda than at night. Even if you put road accidents aside, it is still safer to travel during the day as you can easily get help should you have a mechanical issue to deal with. Thugs that stage illegal road blocks also do so during the night. Of course, government should not regulate the time when we can travel on the highways but we could learn a thing or two from international organizations and why they insist that their vehicles and staff should only move during daytime. They are trying to reduce the possibility of avoidable road accidents and other incidents that could put their staff in danger. Road accidents are always in the news either when many people die in a single road incident or when a prominent person dies in one just like businessman Apollo Nyegamehe popularly known as Aponye did two weeks ago. It is not clear what exactly caused the accident that claimed his life but what we know so far is that he was traveling at night and his vehicle rammed into a stationary truck. Although the government may not legislate the time we should be moving, it can make roads safer. The model being used on the Entebbe Expressway could be deployed on all the highways or at least on the busiest ones. This can be done by reinstituting road tolls. So every road user pays a fee and the money is used to maintain the road and most importantly clearing it of any obstacles that could lead to accidents as well as helping those involved in accidents. A private competent company would be hired to provide a road safety service. Once a vehicle gets a mechanical problem or runs out of fuel (like most vehicles in Uganda do), a tow truck would arrive in time to get it off the road to ensure that it doesn’t lead to traffic delays and most importantly accidents. An ambulance would also be deployed to rush those in need of medical attention to nearby health facilities. That would require several tow trucks and ambulances (including a helicopter ambulance) deployed every predetermined distance for them to be effective. Where the need may require heavy lifting cranes, the company managing the highway would be able to put measures in place for drivers to use the road carefully until the obstacle has been cleared. The company would also maintain road signage and such other furniture. This would not end all road accidents but at least it would reduce the carnage on our highways and make them safer than they are today. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 18, 2023

Health

#OutToLunch: Should every newborn baby be subjected to a DNA test?

#OutToLunch: Should every newborn baby be subjected to a DNA test? By Denis Jjuuko In some African cultures, when a baby was born, the parents took it to its paternal grandparents to be given a clan name. It was never a big event even though the birth of a child has always been a cause for celebration in this part of the world. The grandfather of the newborn baby would summon his sisters to come to the naming event. It was the duty of the sisters, the baby’s paternal aunties or ssengas in Luganda to look for body marks that confirmed that the child belonged to their family or not. They checked the ears, the fingers, the toes, any birth marks that would give any clues. They would pass on the results to their brother, the grandfather of the child. If they doubted that the child belonged to their nephew, the grandfather would give the child a universal name that doesn’t necessarily belong to any clan. In some rare cases, grandfathers outrightly refused to give the child any names. But this usually caused havoc so many avoided it. In many families, “paternity doubted” children were known to exist. But divorce was rare so people carried on with their lives and kept what they thought were family secrets. The Baganda even coined a saying that you only knew your biological father after the death of your mother. As long as you mother lived, she could at any one time introduce you to another man as your biological father. And her word was final. Women many times introduced adult children to other men they had had casual or secret sexual relationships with as the biological fathers. In such cases, some children changed names and acquired those of the new clans where they now belonged. Advancements in technology led to DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid), cheekily written in full by many today as Ddala Nze Amuzaala to literally ask if you are the biological parent of the child. In Uganda, the stories started largely by some local TV stations providing this as a service where two men or more claimed to be the fathers of the child. Some of these stations created popular programs where a series of late night shows were done, interviewing the claimants and the mother. The TV stations ended up paying for the samples to be ferried to South Africa to establish the paternity of the child. In one famous example, DNA samples showed that a pair of twins belonged to two brothers. Eventually, technology got here and labs were established in Kampala that offer DNA tests at a fraction of what was being charged by the labs in Johannesburg. Today, many people who doubt the paternity of the children take samples so they could establish whether they are the biological parents or not. But it wasn’t just parents, also siblings in bitter quarrels of how to manage their late parents’ estates frequent these labs. This has led to increased stories of DNA tests and some people have argued that the results will lead to breakdown of families and a dysfunctional society as children are subjected to severe psychological effects. And in a country where psychosocial support is almost alien, one could understand the argument. But decreasing resources also dictate that most people wouldn’t want to take care of other people’s responsibilities. In the years gone by, children especially in rural areas contributed to their school fees by working on their parents’ coffee shambas or matooke gardens. Some elements of social welfare worked. But as Uganda continues to urbanize, it becomes increasingly difficult for many people to look after children. So the burden, the argument goes, should go to the biological parents or people should know which child belongs to them and decide to either look after them or not. Some women on social media platforms have argued that they have been looking after children that aren’t biologically theirs and therefore men shouldn’t complain today. The difference, however, is that women get to know that the children men bring to their homes sired outside marriage aren’t presented as their own. For the men it is different, the children are presented as biological children of the man until doubts either emerge or through some misunderstanding the facts start presenting themselves. DNA tests are then done to confirm or deny the allegations. So if we want to protect the psychological well-being of the children, shouldn’t it be better that every baby born is subjected to a DNA test before the mother is discharged from the maternity ward? This would also help in addressing cases where a baby could accidently be switched by health workers during birth. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 18, 2023

Housing

#OutToLunch: Extended infrastructure will lead to affordable housing in urban areas

OutToLunch: Extended infrastructure will lead to affordable housing in urban areas By Denis Jjuuko The community in Wakiso is stuck with three children whose father abandoned after failing to clear rent for nine months totaling to Shs630,000 or approximately US$160. The father woke up one morning and never returned according to an article that appeared in the New Vision newspaper last week. The eldest of these children is nine years old! When contacted on phone, the father said he couldn’t afford to clear the arrears, the newspaper further reported. As this story was unveiling, the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) posted on its X (formerly Twitter) handle of the ongoing asphalting of the Buwaate-Najjeera Spur as part of the construction of the Kyaliwajjala-Matugga Road. Buwaate had become famous for dust and social media trolling for those who live in this part of the ever-expanding Kampala. Buwaate is about 15km from the main post office in Kampala’s central business district. Since the construction of the road commenced in Buwaate, landlords have been licking their lips with glee in anticipation of increased incomes from their properties. Politicians will claim it is their ability to lobby that led to the construction of the road as they campaign for votes in the 2026 general elections. The construction of a road changes everything in this part of the world, an indicator of how far we need to go to achieve some elusive status as a country. The lack of roads, piped water and electricity is one of the reasons why land is very expensive in greater Kampala and in many other urbanizing areas in Uganda. So, where the roads, electricity and piped water have been extended, property prices go up. In Buwaate, a plot of 50×100 feet or 0.12 decimals is going to nearly double once the road is complete. Landlords will increase rents as people seek to move into this part of the city. So how does that make land expensive? Because few areas have proper infrastructure, areas that end up getting a road become extremely expensive. Areas that have a bitumen standard road, water and electricity make life easy for those living or planning to settle there. They don’t have to pay much to extend electricity to their homes or suffer fetching water due to lack of access to piped water. In an area like Buwaate, if a 50×100 feet plot has been selling for Shs70m, it will go to Shs100m or more by the end of this year if it hasn’t gone up already. This means that people who can’t afford there, will now buy further away. Some will sell in Buwaate and look for land in Kalagi or Busiika thereby creating demand in those area. Simple economics teaches us that increased demand leads to increases in prices. As demand increases in these areas, landlords will increase the price of land and rent too thereby making it difficult for men like that father of Wakiso to afford a decent house for their children. So, if we want decent affordable houses, what do we have to do? Extend asphalt roads, electricity and piped water to every little part of greater Kampala. Have good hospitals and schools that are affordable in those areas too and have a plan on reliable and affordable public transport. If we had those everywhere, asphalting a road would cease to be news. It would stop landlords from smiling every time they see a grader in their area. Electricity and piped water would cease to be part of texts in property adverts and promotion campaigns. If there is a good road everywhere, a compactor in an area wouldn’t lead to increased property prices. Electricity poles or trenching earth for piped water wouldn’t lead to abnormal increases in prices. People would easily live in Kiringente in Mpigi town or Namagunga near Lugazi and still be at their desks at 8.00am on Kampala Road. Greater Kampala isn’t a very big area where the government can’t do this kind of work. The Buwaate-Najeera Spur that is causing all sorts of excitement is just 5km long. The Kulambiro Ring Road that caused much more excitement earlier is approximately 3.5km. Spear Motors to Ntinda is just 2.2km. So, imagine if government constructed just 10km every year in greater Kampala, the price of land would significantly go down thereby making houses affordable. I have seen some social media posts by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and its partners notably Habitat for Humanity promoting the upcoming annual Uganda Housing Symposium and the theme is on affordable housing. I hope that they can look at how extending infrastructure as mentioned above could solve the affordable housing issue especially in urban areas, obviously one of the most significant challenges our country is facing today. Children who are worried of a landlord throwing them out of a house will be affected mentally, denying them the ability to develop to their full potential. In fact, they would also be suffering physically as well. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

September 21, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Extend import duty exemption on electric vehicles and hybrids to assembling parts

#OutToLunch Extend import duty exemption on electric vehicles and hybrids to assembling parts By Denis Jjuuko Taxes paid upon importation of vehicles in Uganda have largely been assessed based on the year of manufacture, engine size of the vehicle, and sometimes the type of vehicle. A tractor, for example, pays less import duty than a luxurious saloon car. A tractor is used for production whereas a saloon car is for ‘eating life.’ What hasn’t been clear is how much tax one would pay if they imported an electric or even hybrid vehicle. Electric vehicles use batteries which are charged from time to time while hybrids may use both internal combustion engines and batteries. Electric vehicles have no engine capacity as they use none so they can’t be assessed based on engine size. May be based on battery size? But that isn’t clear as well. With the new tax amendments that are to be enforced from July 1 as Uganda began yet another financial year is that electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids won’t have to pay any import duty. The same applies to motorcycles. The rationale behind this is to “promote electric vehicles and reduce pollution” according to the document issued by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). Kampala is one of the most polluted cities in the world due largely to old vehicles that we import into the country. We also have narrow roads and lack an effective public transport system thereby leading to heavy traffic jams during peak hours. Also, because a car is a status symbol in Uganda, whoever gets some ka-money or qualifies for a loan, the first thing they think about is a car. They call it literally walking while seated! Many times, the car the majority of these people can afford is about 15 years old and at the end of its life journey. Such cars are heavy polluters of the environment. It is, therefore, commendable that the Ministry of Finance saw it fit to scrap import duty on EVs and hybrids. The world is moving in that direction and electric mobility is the talk everywhere. We are at the cusp of the most significant change in mobility in more than a century even though EVs existed long before internal combustion engines. So if Ugandans embrace EVs and hybrids, new businesses will be created with entrepreneurs investing in charging systems and infrastructure, hopefully at the same level they have done with fuel stations that exist everywhere you turn. Repair and maintenance shops will be set up and even driving schools. Technical schools and universities teaching motor vehicle engineering and such other courses should start paying more attention to EVs and hybrids and the whole electric mobility value chain. Young people seeking careers should do the same too to prepare themselves for a period of complete EV domination. Africa should stop exporting our minerals as raw materials rather as complete products that are geared at enabling electric mobility. We can export automotive glass instead of silica. We can process the rare minerals instead of sending them as raw materials. More than 60 years after independence, we can’t still be doing the same things we did back then. Otherwise, nothing will change. If we only think of importing, we can’t provide the jobs young people need to live meaningful lives. That is why even though I am generally happy with the tax amendment that scraps import duty on EVs and hybrids, it still an incentive to import rather than make in Uganda. So if I import an EV or hybrid vehicle made in Japan or Germany, I would not pay import duty. By importing that car, I would have denied young people jobs and even more money through taxes to the government. The tax amendment should have included knockdown parts required for assembling or manufacturing vehicles here. The government of Uganda buys about 2,000 vehicles every year. If just 1,000 were made or assembled here, we would significantly create jobs and build our capacity and within a few years be able to export to the region. The regional market for cars is almost a million units annually. But car makers won’t be able to do it unless they are forced. If incentives are given for importing, that is what they will do. That defeats Uganda’s aspirations as enshrined in the 2040 Vision and even the president’s swansong of import substitution. You substitute importation by making here and that is where we need to focus. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 5, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch African leaders must solve maize disputes before negotiating peace for Ukraine and Russia

By Denis Jjuuko Six African presidents or their representatives flew to Ukraine and Russia allegedly to broker peace. Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago plunging Europe into another war. They indeed met the leaders of the warring parties but not before some embarrassing moment. The South African president’s security detail and media were stranded in Warsaw when the Polish authorities kept them on the plane for more than 24 hours after landing. An uncalled-for embarrassing moment for Africa’s third biggest economy. If the Poles couldn’t allow security and media to get off their plane for a day, what kind of influence does Cyril Ramaphosa and his counterparts have to negotiate a peaceful agreement with Vladimir Putin? In the high stakes global war that is Russia and Ukraine, it is inconceivable that African leaders could negotiate peace. Perhaps they had gone on holiday. While the six leaders were in Russia being serenaded by Putin’s charm and their delegations enjoying the eastern Europe weather, unknown assailants attacked a secondary school in western Uganda and killed 42 children, seriously wounded many and abducted others. Authorities blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and some people fighting over the meagre funds supplied by Canadian donors to the school. The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo has never known peace. Foreign armies, private militias, rebel groups and even international peacekeepers call this area home. Thousands of people lucky to survive being killed in this endless crisis have ended up in internally displaced people’s camps or as refugees in neighbouring countries or elsewhere. To access Europe, many African leaders avoided the burning airspace of Sudan fearing that their Gulf Stream private jets could be shot down by anti-aircraft missiles that could be fired at any time. Sudan is the epicenter of a senseless war where two erstwhile friends couldn’t agree on who how to share power or steal the country’s resources. It is hard to believe that many Sudanese have fled to Chad, of all places, for safety. Chad can’t govern itself. The president of Senegal who came to power through a peaceful democratic process now doesn’t want to leave leading to demonstrations where security forces killed more than 16 protesters. In Somalia, Al Shabab filmed themselves as they attacked the Ugandan peace keepers, killing more than 50 of them. In Mozambique, it is the Rwanda army maintaining peace in some parts of the country. Libya has been at war since the Arab spring. In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, Boko Haram abducts school going children without anyone stopping them. As the African leaders were talking peace to the Russians and Ukrainians, thousands of Africans were being boarded on rickety boats to cross into Europe. Many don’t make the journey as their overloaded boats capsize. Many of these people don’t want to go to Europe but they have been forced to seek refuge elsewhere. There are no jobs on the continent. You hardly hear African leaders meeting to discuss concrete steps they can take to create real jobs to help their young populations lead meaningful lives. A year ago, some African leaders flew to Europe to beg Russia to allow ships carrying food to leave Ukraine ports. Africa, the continent that considers itself an agricultural one can’t feed its own people. It is Ukraine at war that can ship in food. With the current lack of commitment to agriculture, Africa will be importing food worth USD100 billion annually by 2030 according to the African Development Bank. With a population of 1.4 billion, food imports are expected to significantly rise. With every kilo of food imported, a few jobs are lost. These are the people who will be lured to slaughter innocent kids in dormitories in Kasese. Talking of food, in East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania aren’t allowing each other to import or export maize leading to a long convoy of trucks at the Namanga border. Uganda and Kenya consistently blub over milk and eggs. Tanzania and Uganda squabble periodically over rice. As these non-tariff barriers are being set to deny or delay the movement of food, millions in East Africa starve to death. African leaders can’t sit together to solve these problems. Once in a while, they fly to Addis, get booked into their presidential suites, drive down to the African Union headquarters and give wonderful long speeches. A communique is circulated with deadlines and timelines that everyone knows won’t be met. After they fly to their countries where a party of dancers and a queue of the most potbellied military officers is organized on the airport tarmac to welcome them back. And the circle continues. When will Africa stop joking and get serious? How can people think that they can negotiate peace for Russia and Ukraine when they can’t solve a small border dispute over the importation of powdered milk? The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 5, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch What Uganda’s CEOs can learn from Boda Bodas

By Denis Jjuuko Last week, two companies with operations in the country organised a small event that largely went unnoticed. At the event, the chief executive of the telecom company received a fully electric car from a car dealer. The telecom has joined a few other organizations in Uganda that are starting to green their mobility. A few hotels and recreation centres have been operating fully electric golf carts for a while but like the news event mentioned above, they are largely unnoticed. Does this signal the future of fully electric cars in Uganda? Perhaps it is a starting point. If you believe in symbolism. The telecom may be testing the depth of the river at least with one foot. If plans go well, we could see the company transitioning to green mobility. Already, telecom masts are being powered by solar thereby reducing their carbon footprint. But getting into cars is a big step forward that could make a significant impact on the economy. If companies go into fully electric vehicles, they will reduce their reliance on fossil fuels but also significantly reduce the cost of doing business. Most importantly, fully electric vehicles need the charging infrastructure and professionals to work on them. Mechanics will have to upgrade their skills and so are drivers. Ugandans will have to overcome the fear of the unknown. So electric vehicles will require us to plan our trips better. In many western countries, deadlines have been set for the transition to electric vehicles. Many are looking at 2030 as a deadline to shift to these technologies. Forwarding looking companies are not waiting for 2030 or whatever deadline Africa will set (most likely internal combustion engines will just become obsolete) and then start scrapping around for electric cars. They are starting now to manage the transition so that by the time internal combustion engines become outdated, they are already in a position of strength. The government needs to do the same by starting to switch to electric vehicles so that it isn’t caught up in a race against time to electrify its fleet. I believe that at one stage, aid (or is it called budget support nowadays?) will be tagged on how electrified the government fleet is. For about three years, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority used Kiira Motors’ electric buses transporting its staff between Entebbe and Namboole. The buses were fine. Can’t this be piloted all over Kampala? Yet unbelievable as it may sound, the boda boda industry is shoulders above everyone when it comes to electric mobility. Some entrepreneurs have been turning boda bodas into electric ones and have set up battery exchange centres in many parts of Kampala. What can we learn from the bodas? Uganda entrepreneurs who love setting up fuel stations should be looking at this sector. If telecoms, religious and development organisations are starting to buy fully electric vehicles, who is going to repair and maintain them? Outside their offices, where will they charge from? Who will drive them? Is the Uganda National Road Authority working on roads with electric vehicles in mind? Because of batteries, electric vehicles are heavier than other vehicles which may put a strain on road infrastructure if the transition isn’t planned well. When we discovered oil, our universities rushed to start oil and gas academic programmes. I am not sure how far they are on electric mobility MBAs. Yet the mobility sector is huge in terms of creating and sustaining jobs. Mobility is a big driver of economic growth. As we learn from Bodas and a few forward-thinking organisations, the United States, European Union, and China are positioning themselves for a war on batteries for electric vehicles. The US is providing incentives for battery makers that are unsettling the European Union and China. Meanwhile, China which has built significant capacity in this sector, has acquired more than 40 percent of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cobalt is very crucial in making batteries. Africa has a lot of minerals that are crucial for the automotive industry but we are net importers. As other countries are positioning themselves to take advantage of electric mobility, we are busy giving our minerals away. We are happy to claim that industrialization isn’t our comparative advantage. How did China gain this comparative advantage? They only became serious about 45 years ago. We claim that agriculture is our thing but we go to Russia to beg to allow Ukraine, a country at war, to feed us. Africa again is giving away its resources for others to develop. We have an abundance of rare earth minerals in Busoga yet the region is one of the poorest in the country. We should be dominating electric vehicles and we still have a small window to do so. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 5, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Why children shouldn’t be part of your retirement plan

By Denis Jjuuko For every 100 police officers that retire from the force every year, six die by suicide according to a report attributed to a doctor within the police force. Many of these officers, according to the report, once they are asked to “go home”, they realize they have nowhere to go. Going home is euphemism for retirement. So the Police is now conducting mental health clinics to sensitize their officers. Perhaps, it will help reduce this unwanted number. To be honest, retirement isn’t a problem limited to police officers. Many people struggle to cope once retired and unable to earn any meaningful income. Many others may not die by suicide but lack of a sustainable income accelerates their death. The children, once a retirement plan for many parents, are struggling to sustain themselves. So, parents in retirement are left at the mercy of the children. That is why those policemen kill themselves. But we only talk about them because they are easy to track. The number of retirees dying by suicide may be higher and perhaps we need to track them to find a solution. The solution largely lies with the workers themselves. At university or institutions from where we graduate to employment, we are taught all sorts of things but nobody tells students that planning for retirement starts the day they graduate or find a job. It is easier to save little money over a long period of time than saving huge sums for a short period of time. If you start saving at 25 years old, you won’t have to save as much as somebody who is starting to do so in their 40s. This is because if you start saving at 25 and you retire at 60, that is 35 years of saving. The guy who starts at 40, only has 20 years to save. That would require a significant sum than the guy who starts at 25. I understand that most people earn so little and it is easier for people to say that they can’t save but the thing about life is that most people are capable of adjusting once the road gets tough. The issue is how to do it before the road gets tough and probably impassable. Children are the biggest cost to most parents and indeed many people claim that they spend all their lives educating children and therefore left with nothing. Paying school fees is the biggest hurdle most parents face. If school fees is the biggest challenge most adult Ugandans face, how about producing fewer children or those we can ably look after? But if you move across the country, you see children giving birth to children! A policeman sharing a uniport with several families should be on family planning and not giving birth with reckless abandon! It is important that parents enroll their kids into schools they can afford. There was a story sometime back of a parent an international school took to court for defaulting on fees. Why take a child to a school that you can’t afford? Children, if raised well and get some form of education, they will be fine. In fact, children will have to teach themselves a lot of stuff if they are to survive in this century. A good school is great if you can afford it but there is no need to be indebted to the bone so that Junior can be friends with a minister or an ambassador’s son. Rent is the other issue most people talk about as an impediment to saving for retirement. Indeed, failure to own a house was mentioned by the police doctor as a leading cause of death by suicide by the retired police officers. Again, if one has fewer children, they might afford to build themselves a comfortable home that they can use for retirement. But if you are feeding 10 kids at every meal, it will be difficult to save. Remember, this is Africa. There will always be some other children you are looking after or supporting once in a while. I often see young people especially the so-called corporate class failing to build yet they are earning some income. They don’t want to live anywhere beyond Najjeera claiming it is far to buy in Mpigi, Mukono or Ziroobwe. Yet Najjeera was unlivable by the previous corporate types because it was far. By the time they wake up to acquire land in Ziroobwe, it will be unaffordable and they will now be grappling with school fees and servicing car loans. So, if you don’t want to die by suicide a few years after retirement, you have got to save today. Have as few children as you can look after and plan in time where you will live during retirement so that when you are asked to “go home”, you don’t instead look for a rope and the tallest tree to end your life. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 5, 2023