Government of Uganda . – Page 5 – Prime Time Communications

#OutToLunch. What we could learn from Kenya’s China Square

By Denis Jjuuko If you are an ardent follower of regional news, you have most likely come across China Square, a popular retailer located inside Kenyatta University’s Unicity Shopping Mall in Nairobi. China Square has been in the news for committing a heinous crime of selling its wares way cheaper than Kenyan traders prompting action from Kenya’s cabinet secretary for trade. The secretary said foreigners should be involved in manufacturing not running retail outlets in glitzy shopping malls. One Kenyan distributor had even petitioned the country’s standards bureau to complain about the quality of some of the products on China Square’s shelves. The standards bureau found the product to be genuine from the same manufacturer. The Kenyan distributor was selling them at a very high price compared to China Square. Buoyed by the revelations of the standards authority, many Kenyans like they usually do, turned to Twitter to argue that Kenyan traders were charging so much for the same product and they had no problem buying from China Square. Back home in Uganda, many foreign traders particularly from Asia have set up shop in every little building known as an arcade or mall. Ugandan traders too complain about the Indians and the Chinese and how they are undercutting them with cheaper prices though being Uganda, these complaints haven’t received the attention of a minister or permanent secretary. But what makes products of Ugandan traders from the same manufacturers expensive? There is the issue of high interest rates on bank loans. It is inconceivable how a trader borrowing money at highs of 25% can be able to trade and survive. Some even go to informal money lenders who charge as much as 10% per a month or 120% annually. Unless you are selling contraband, it is not possible to do business where the loan interest rate is 5-10% per a month. It is a license to fail. The foreigners are usually coming in with loans at under 3% annually. Many actually don’t even have loans, they are using supplier’s credit where suppliers and manufacturers give them goods on credit to pay back in a particular period long after goods have been sold off. Many Ugandans also have access to the supplier’s credit though we are good at abusing it. Many Ugandans once they get goods on credit once or twice, they change numbers and location. Eventually, they become endlessly broke and blame everyone but themselves. If you think this isn’t the case, how many people have borrowed money from you and paid it back? Or even paid it on time? If people complain if you send them money on their mobile phone before asking them which number where they don’t have a credit they don’t want to pay back, what about a supplier in the far east? So we end up all the time looking for money to pay new suppliers instead of cementing lasting relationships with one who has been extending goods on credit. Then the cost of doing business. In downtown Kampala, you will find four traders or more renting one shop but each is suspicious of the others. So, each of these four traders flies to China, Dubai or Turkey to bring the same product. That is four air tickets, four hotel rooms (or some shanty digs in Deira) instead of one. The foreigners would send one person to do the shopping. In fact, they wouldn’t even send, they would simply send an email and goods are shipped in. A foreigner who will save four air tickets and accommodation for a week will certainly sell their merchandise at a cheaper rate. Ugandan traders must create lasting collaborations with suppliers and also embrace technology. And then of course our other weaknesses such as diverting money for self-actualization projects. A house in the village in which we spend less than 10 nights a year, a wedding deserving a top member of the royal family, a residential house in the city the size (and even shape) of a midsize shopping mall, a fancy but old SUV, a mistress in each corner of Kampala (for men), and a long line of children. As many Kenya traders are building and buying fancy apartments, the China Square people are most likely renting one in a walkable distance to their shop and only having a few children. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

June 19, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Western Uganda milk model could save Karamoja from cheap iron sheets

By Denis Jjuuko Although it is not uncommon to support people facing calamities with relief items such as food, clothing and shelter, it shouldn’t be the modus operandi all the time. After the storm has calmed down, people affected by natural and even man-made disasters should instead be helped to rise again. If we continue feeding them, they will become comfortable to put in the hard work necessary for their development. It is not sustainable too. Karamoja has been a story of relief for as long as Uganda has existed despite its massive potential in animal husbandry and of recent mineral exploration. With large swatches of land, and a culture around cattle keeping or pastoralism, how can people in the area be helped to move from holding cattle for bragging rights into a commercial activity? The world has never been short of demand for beef and other animal byproducts. However, it seems we have always looked at Karamoja as a place that deserves pity hence the massive plan to donate cheap iron sheets that we hear didn’t even reach those who needed them. A 28-guage galvanized iron sheet on average costs Shs30,000 which is approximately US$8 and if a family was to get 10 sheets, that would still be less than a price of an emaciated calf. But like the popular Chinese proverb urges, you need to teach people how to fish instead of giving them fish. If we are giving Karamoja people iron sheets, we are denying them an opportunity to shift into decent and meaningful work that is sustainable. If anyone wants to build an iron sheet roofed house, how can they be enabled to afford it on their own? The idea is to empower them and introduce animal husbandry that is geared at turning a profit. That one can sell some of their cows and don’t necessarily have to raid a neighbor’s and with some profit made, they can be able to build these houses on their own. Milk could be another area that can enable people in Karamoja get decent sustainable incomes. Cows in whatever form produce some bit of milk which the farmers or pastoralists can be able to sell and get sustainable income. In the western Uganda milk shed, government and indeed some development partners have supported the installation of milk coolers in every single trading centre. What farmers now do is to deliver the milk every morning to a trading centre where a cooler has been installed. The farmers formed associations and SACCOs that own the coolers. So once they got themselves into these associations, development partners such as Agricultural Business Initiative (aBi) offered farmers grants where they only paid back 50 percent and fully owned the cooler. A cooler came with a standby generator and a lab kit to test that the milk being delivered is of the required quality. Farmers also got aluminum cans to transport the milk. That has significantly changed the fortunes of farmers in the western Uganda milk shed. People no longer move long distances to transport milk to major towns such as Mbarara where many times they would find coolers full to capacity hence pouring the milk. You heard that milk flows in Mbarara, it was because of lack of cooling capacity. Today, there is no milk being poured on the streets of Mbarara because of these coolers. Milk factories and indeed some traders simply pick from these cooling centres. Farmers are paid every month by their SACCOs. But these SACCOs have gone ahead and expanded creating credit and even food facilities. A farmer who needs money simply gets a low interest loan from the SACCO where they supply milk and then the money is deducted at the end of the month. Also the SACCOs have established drug shops and food stores. A farmer who wants rice or salt simply gets it from the shop and money is deducted at the end of the month. Some of these groups like Abesigika and the one in Ntungamo collect thousands of litres of milk per a day. To ensure they get more from every litre, many SACCOS have bought their own trucks so they transport the milk to the factories. In areas like Rushere, SACCO managers told me that even banks like Uganda Development Bank enable them borrow billions of shillings collectively to improve their farms with water and pasture. Women who were previously excluded from the milk industry are now involved with many forming additional groupings to make ghee, yoghurt, butter and such other things from their milk. Nobody I believe in the western milk shed needs a few iron sheets to roof their houses. What is so difficult in replicating this model in Karamoja? The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

June 19, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch 2023 resolutions had I been the government

My 2023 resolutions had I been the government By Denis Jjuuko We are already deep into 2023 and many people are working on their annual resolutions. Imagine if the government was an individual, what resolutions would they make? Here are mine, had I been the government. Lake Victoria – Following the maiden voyage of MT Kabaka Mutebi II to Kisumu in Kenya and returning with 4.5 million litres of fuel, I commit to utilize Lake Victoria more. One vessel alone was able to bring in fuel that is usually carried by 150 trucks. I have decided to create public transport from Jinja to Kampala to Entebbe to Masaka using Lake Victoria. This will enable me reduce road accidents and injuries, create new more sustainable jobs and reduce my costs in maintaining roads. To achieve this, I commit to protect the lake so that it continues to serve this purpose. Kampala metropolitan roads – I get the biggest percentage of my taxes from the Kampala metropolitan area as it is the most developed part of the country. It is no longer sustainable that I neglect the road infrastructure in Kampala metropolitan area. People can’t spend two hours everyday to get to work and another two to go back home. I will fix the roads so that my people spend less time in traffic jams. I hate traffic jams myself that is why I have a lead car but since everyone can’t have such a car, fixing roads should help me achieve this. Public transport – Related to the above, somebody told me that young people and even businesses spend a lot of money on transport. I hear some young people only work for transport. I have decided that, starting with Kampala, I will ensure enough buses are on the roads and charge standard fees regardless of the distance. These buses won’t increase transport fare as they wish and they will move on time regardless of whether they are full of passengers or not. To protect the environment, I will ensure that these buses are fully electric. In the years ahead, I will work on a train to form a ring around the expanding Kampala and then trams in some areas. Protect high voltage electricity infrastructure – Towards the end of last year, I realized that many people were vandalizing our high voltage electricity infrastructure. I have already resolved to work tooth and nail to introduce electric buses to ease transport, so electricity infrastructure is key. I will also reduce the electricity tariffs as well because this year, my people at Ministry of Energy have told me that Karuma Dam will come online thereby increasing our installed capacity by a whopping 600MW. Enable more young people to build houses – Ugandans love building, which is a good thing but the costs are high. First, my resolution to increase road infrastructure and make public transport more efficient will lower the cost of land as people will be able to live in Mpigi or Lugazi and work in Kampala. But also when people have a house, they have a stake in their country so they will ensure that the country is safe to live in for them and their children and even grandchildren. So I will provide incentives to companies involved in building materials, make acquiring land safe and easier, and provide solutions to banks so that they can lower the rate of mortgages. Education – I will work on public schools so that they can compete with the private ones and you as a parent you will decide whether to take your child to a public school or to a private one. Unlike today, you will have a choice. I will make high quality education affordable for all at all levels. Education will also be more relevant so that we can use it to solve the challenges of our time. Health – Nairobi and New Delhi will stop being Uganda’s referral hospitals. I will equip our public hospitals with everything they need to treat our people here. I am stopping the archaic scheme where civil servants go to India or Nairobi for even mundane things such as annual medical checkups on public funds. I will put that money in our health system so that we stop donating money to these foreigners. Ease procurement – The people in the private sector have told me that government spends a lot of time procuring goods and services and then a lot of time to pay the companies for their goods and services. I have resolved to change the laws regarding procurement so that we are more efficient. The technology is available to ease procurement and make it transparent. Widen the tax base – We have very few people paying taxes leading to them paying a lot more. If more people pay taxes, everyone will pay little. From this month, your national identity number will be your tax identity number for anyone 18 years old and above. For companies, the registration number will be the TIN. I have instructed the Ministry of Finance to reduce taxes such as Pay as You Earn (PAYE), VAT and others. Watch out for the national budget in June. Agriculture – Many of my people work in this sector but bring in little for themselves and to the national treasury. I am going to have a qualified extension officer in each parish to enable people grow more food but also sell it or add value. If they practice agriculture as it should be, they will start getting rewards. I will create markets for their produce. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

April 14, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Road toll technology can halve accidents on our roads

Road toll technology can halve accidents on our roads By Denis Jjuuko On many of our roads in Uganda, it is not uncommon to find a vehicle moving at high speed in the evening or early morning with lights off. Lights don’t consume any fuel or batteries (for electric vehicles) when a car is in motion but many Ugandan drivers delay as much as possible to switch them on. Then, many others switch off the lights as soon as they think they can see a bit of the road in the early morning. When it’s dark enough that they can’t see, many beam their headlights high enough to blind oncoming motorists. Yet many others have one headlight, giving an impression of a motorcycle to other road users. Many others don’t even have taillights at all making themselves invisible to others. Other times you find a tractor or truck using a torch at night. It is such negligence that has led to many international organizations to ban their staff from traveling at night. But accidents don’t happen only at night. Police attributes many of these accidents to reckless driving. During the festive season, like we have just seen, many people die in road accidents causing nightmares for families and loved ones. Nearly 4,000 people die every year in road accidents in Uganda — a number bigger than the deaths attributed to Covid-19 but we don’t put the same emphasis on roads as we do with other some other health issues. Although road accidents can’t be entirely eliminated, many can be avoided. As a country, we need a serious discussion on this. Halving road accident deaths and injuries is one of the Social Development Goals (SDGs) as detailed by the United Nations. But what are we doing to reach this target by 2030? We need to train our drivers and ensure that they are competent. This would require changing the way drivers’ licenses are issued by ensuring that people have requisite training to drive. The current model where someone gets a very old car and then starts teaching others to drive needs to be reconsidered. The mechanical condition of vehicles is another important issue. One, we need to stop the importation of very old cars. We can start by only importing vehicles that are eight years or newer. The government can slash import duty to ensure more people can afford these vehicles and this should include commercial vehicles especially trucks. Trucks can also be made here. During the festive season, news trickled in that the government had acquired more than 1,300 acres in Bbaale in Kayuga to establish an automotive industrial park. The Kayunga District Local Government has also promptly approved the physical plan paving way for the development of the park. However, we shouldn’t follow the Namanve model where we just allocate land and wait for investors. The automotive industry is highly competitive and requires significant resources. So the government can do more to lower the cost of entry for investors. What government needs to do is to establish the necessary infrastructure in Bbaale such as bitumen standard roads, high voltage electricity (Isimba Dam is nearby so transmission and distribution shouldn’t be difficult), piped water (again River Nile and Lake Kyoga are in the vicinity), high speed internet, security and even start up facilities such as warehouses and recreation facilities. A ring road covering the two square mile piece of land could be used as a test track and may be even establish some car racing of sorts at one stage. I know that Kiira Motors is already building testing facilities in Jinja for their vehicles but Kayunga can be another centre. The inspector of vehicles within the Uganda police can establish a proper high-tech branch where each car is tested either annually or once every two years. Only vehicles that pass the test should be allowed on the road. Some of the money vehicle owners pay should be used to set up road toll-like systems on all the major highways that detect whether a vehicle has been tested and passed the test or not. UNRA can use the experience on the Entebbe Expressway (albeit with better technology) to handle this in partnership with private sector players. The Uganda Investment Authority, the Science, Technology and Innovation secretariat among other government ministries, departments and agencies need to aggressively attract the right investors. Not all investors need to be car makers because that is not how the industry works. Some can make brake pads, others nuts and bolts, automotive steel, car lights and glass (we have a lot of silica in Uganda), and plastics among others. If we worked hard and smart, we can achieve the SDG target of halving road accident deaths and injuries by 2030. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

April 14, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Protecting electricity infrastructure is a national security issue

#OutToLunch Protecting electricity infrastructure is a national security issue By Denis Jjuuko A friend always prefers to support small businesses in his neighborhood near Kampala. He shops from the small shops and kiosks. Many times, he patronizes the small bar near his home. When a somewhat modern salon opened up in his neighborhood, he ditched the guys who had cut his hair for more than 10 years. So recently, as they were cutting his hair, electricity like it is becoming a norm these days, went off. He remained in his reclining chair for a while thinking that they are going to switch to a generator. He saw the barber unbothered and busy on his phone. When asked what was going on, the barber said they were waiting for the electricity to ‘return’ so they could continue working on him. The generator, the barber told him, had ‘died’ and the boss hadn’t repaired or replaced it. My friend has decided, in the meantime, to return to the barber he had abandoned in the name of supporting neighborhood small businesses. That is one loyal customer lost. His animated narration of this episode reminded me of the 1990s and noughties when load shedding in urban areas was the order of the day. The issue at the time was lack of electricity. We didn’t generate that much yet the demand was growing. The government and indeed the private sector spared no effort in addressing this challenge, investing significantly to generate 1,346 megawatts by 2021 according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). And that is before Karuma with an estimated 600MW comes on line. Some sources say that of the 1,346MW we generate, the country only takes 800MW so electricity at the moment shouldn’t be a problem but it is. Of recent, we have seen increased vandalism of the towers through which bulk electricity is supplied to stations from which it further reaches the final consumer. The now consistent loadshedding or power failure isn’t blamed on insufficient electricity but vandalism of these high voltage lines. Small businesses are now not sure whether they will keep customers. Costs of running generators are so high. A small salon will need to invest in buying a generator and then fuel. The salon my friend was going to charged Shs8,000 for his haircut. If they run a generator for 30 minutes to cut his hair, how much money will they make off his head to be able to pay workers, rent and all the stuff required to run his operation? It won’t be much and if many people are running away from him, he will simply close. The few young people he employs will be back on the unemployment street. The municipality will miss revenue in form of a trading license, the property owner will lose a customer and eventually Uganda won’t be making money in form of taxes. The economy already strained by runaway inflation and effects of Covid-19 and Ebola pandemics will simply not be able to survive. Investors who want to set up large businesses that could employ many people will think twice as they keep an eye on their operation costs. If a business owner is going to operate a 100kva generator a few times a week, he may think of investing elsewhere so he doesn’t have to incur excessive costs in running his business. Uganda has put a lot of emphasis in kickstarting its automotive industry, a sector that is now in transition to electric vehicles. Electric vehicles use batteries which are charged by electricity. Some countries in Europe have even provided roadmaps to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles. In Kampala, boda bodas are increasingly switching to electric motorcycles. Already, electric buses are providing public services on the Kampala Northern Bypass and Uganda Airlines has electric buses too just like many hotels which are using electric golf carts in their operations. Kiira Motors’ vehicle plant in Jinja is nearing completion and installation of assembly lines is said to commence soon. Unreliable power distribution will push back these small achievements. Protecting our electricity supply and distribution lines can’t be the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. Protecting these installations should now be considered a national security issue. Our intelligence services need to show what they are made of by ensuring that they stop the people vandalizing high voltage lines before they even get near to the electric towers and poles. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

January 10, 2023

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch with rising inflation, government priority should be on paying local suppliers

#OutToLunch Even with rising inflation, government priority should be on paying local suppliers By Denis Jjuuko Somebody who had spent half the year planning for an event with many visitors expected in the country told me that most of his delegates had decided not to come for health reasons. They feared the outbreak of Ebola in the country and decided that they would attend by Zoom. I couldn’t blame them! My thoughts ran back to the lockdowns of the past years due to Covid-19. But imagined how many people were going to lose money over this. The airline, the airport, the taxi guys, the hotel and the entire hospitality value chain. Imagine if you had pegged your business performance on this conference and perhaps many others. It could end up in tears or what we call “going back to the village,” euphemism for a business that has burst. Living in Kampala or urban areas is expensive so for the majority of people, once business fails, they return to their villages. If you are a regular reader of Ugandan newspapers, you would have come across many properties on sale. That wouldn’t be a problem if the properties on sale were not being auctioned for failure to pay back loans. In just six months (January to June 2022), Daily Monitor reported that 2,076 properties were advertised for forced sale in its newspaper alone. There are a few other newspapers which could be having similar numbers. The properties advertised in newspapers are those largely by formal lenders such as commercial banks. Many people borrow informally and their properties are sold without the necessity to advertise first. There are many reasons why people fail to pay bank loans. Sometimes money comes in too late and too little to do the business (banks take their time to disburse business loans) while some borrowers misuse the money spending it on luxury than the intended purpose. Others invest in get rich schemes, like we saw last week, that promise unrealistic returns. Many others invest the money in the business they aren’t yet familiar with leading to losses. Sometimes money is invested in new businesses that need a lot of time to break even and be able to pay back the debt. Businesses take time to grow and there are always unexpected eventualities. For example, if you borrow money and buy machinery to make some products, it may take you months before the actual installation is done. The testing of the machinery and then so many other stuff you need in place. The lender won’t be waiting for your business to turn a profit. They will need their money. The interest rates are very high as well even when the business is profitable. The economy hasn’t fully recovered from the effects of Covid-19 and today we have another crisis—Ebola on our hands. Like the guy who was organizing the conference, investors and even international NGOs will wait and see before they make decisions to bring in the money. In the meantime, more people will continue to struggle to pay back their loan obligations. So government should prioritize paying its public debt especially to local suppliers. Many Ugandan companies are in debt because they supplied government with goods and/or services and they have resorted to begging bureaucrats to pay them. Either invoices are deliberately misplaced or the people responsible for making payments have zero interest in settling invoices. Accounting officers of government ministries, departments and agencies or MDAs must see to it that people are paid on time once they have fulfilled all the contractual terms. There shouldn’t be a reason why MDAs procure goods and services and then make suppliers and providers “dance on a needle” before they are paid. The concept of “kiwato” which means that you pay half the money you are demanding to those officers who are supposed to be doing their job must be completely dealt with. Corruption must be nipped in the bud if businesses are to survive. There should be no reason why anyone should pay half the money they are demanding so that an invoice that had been deliberately misplaced is all of the sudden available and moving through the payment processes. The Uganda Development Bank should also further slash on the interest rates they charge and make it easier for small businesses to borrow. Bank of Uganda should also come up with more innovative ways of taming inflation than always raising the central bank rate (CBR), which always means hikes in commercial bank interest rates. The CBR may work in Europe, but is it the only solution for developing countries like Uganda? The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

November 17, 2022

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Uganda at 60: What if Uganda was a human being

#OutToLunch Uganda at 60: What if Uganda was a human being By Denis Jjuuko On Sunday, Uganda turned 60 years old having received its independence from the British on 9 October 1962. Had Uganda been a person, he would have received his full NSSF pay out five years earlier. If he worked in the Uganda public service, he would either be retired or on contract depending on the agency that employed him. He would have seen a few of his children graduate from university, start marriages and dropping off grandchildren over the weekend or as often as they needed a willing nanny at no pay! And like most Ugandans, he would be begging his children that haven’t given birth to hurry up so he could have a chance to see some of his grandchildren before he dies. And again like most Ugandans he would be considering relocating to his country home, leaving the city to the young and furious. Had he made some money, he would have set up a home somewhere else, and rent out the other house in preparation for retirement where once in a while he would invite friends for drinks and reminisce about the good old days. He would start a farm somewhere and plant a few trees. Build some rentals and join a few boards as a non-executive director. Life would be good. He would be proud of his accomplishments, the policies and project he initiated. And how they changed the world even though those achievements may be invisible to many others. He would be quick to mention where his children are especially those who live and work in London, Johannesburg or Boston, those practicing as doctors and engineers or on their post graduate courses in elite universities. But there is also a Ugandan who would be calling everyone they know right now, as he turns 60, and facing retirement contemplating on what to do to remain on the job. A letter to his superior to extend his stay on the job or copying the former Chief Justice by swearing an affidavit to lower his age would be on the cards. Another Ugandan would become captive to his children who are now his ‘retirement investment.’ The children will decide when he sees a doctor or whether the young offspring he got with his mistress would go to school. He would feel abandoned and terrified and only name dropping the bigwigs he used to chill out with in the cities but who no longer answer their phones whenever he calls pretending to be too busy. He would mention the flight to New York or Tokyo for a conference and how good life was in Toronto when he visited. Unable to buy waragi for his new friends, their attention would quickly turn to the young man preparing for his 2026 bid for parliament. He can after all buy beer. And for those below 60, parliament and elective office has become one of the most lucrative forms of employment competing at the same time with those who retired. If they don’t fight over votes in parliament to represent the country in the East African assembly, they are laying out strategies to become councilors at all levels. Not to be like their retiring parents, those in employment, spend all their time looking for every possible way to have rental income. Buildings are going up in all sorts of suburbs but on salaries that can barely pay school fees for just one child in an average school. Those who aren’t ‘lucky’ enough to be building rentals are surviving by the grace of God having mortgaged themselves to the bones. Salary advance is the order of the day. Those who had invested in businesses, Covid-19 disrupted their plans. The restructured loans have matured again and banks are foreclosing on them. As Uganda celebrates its 60th anniversary, 12,000 schools according to the government owned newspaper are on forced sale. It is plausible that in the next few years, nobody will be investing in schools anymore. So where will those who will be 60 in the year 2082 have studied? Without a functioning education system that is affordable for all, even the poorest of policies wouldn’t be put on the table for debate. There will be no debate actualy. Everyone will be for themselves. So if government wants to create impact for the next 60 years, it must start by fixing the education system—a catalyst for growth of all the other sectors. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 25, 2022

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch MPs could give their ‘maiden speeches’ in the languages they understand

#OutToLunch MPs could give their ‘maiden speeches’ in the languages they understand By Denis Jjuuko Sometime back, I was invited to an official meeting at a certain district’s headquarters. The room was full of officials from education and health departments. These were largely civil service officers with only one secretary of something, a councilor, being addressed as a Minister attending from the political side. Some people made presentations and the chairperson opened up the meeting for comments on the issues that had been raised by the presenters. A few hands were raised and they made their comments. A few issues, nothing serious at all. Then, as the chairperson was about to close the meeting, somebody raised their hand. The person chose to speak in a local language. All of a sudden, those who had kept quiet started raising their hands and making their contributions. Another two hours or so were spent debating. The speakers were animated and passionate about the issues they were raising and English was relegated to the back corner. I kept on wondering whether it was English stopping people from debating the issues they were now raising in their local language. Two things happened in quick succession that reminded me of this district meeting. First, some people sat somewhere over some oversized snacks most likely samosas, tinned black powder disguised as coffee, and some milk and water branded as African tea and decided that Swahili is now an official language in Uganda. They even said kids must take compulsory lessons in school. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people learning Swahili or whatever language they choose. Learning different languages is actually a good thing. But how many people actually speak it? How many teachers in Uganda can teach Swahili beyond the kamata, karibu and asante sana? Even in the Uganda military where Swahili enjoys some form of officialdom, many soldiers simply speak a word or two. A friend who teaches at one of Uganda’s universities and works in broadcasting was once asked to get a Swahili news reader. She called the university’s Swahili lecturer who recommended his best student for the job. The candidate failed an oral Swahili interview! He only knew how to read and write it! Not to speak it! Strange things still happen. Anyway, the second thing was about the Member of Parliament from my home town (or is it city?) of Masaka. Armed with a written text, she moved to the centre of parliament to give what the Deputy Speaker called her “maiden speech.” She couldn’t read coherently what was written on the paper she was holding. She couldn’t also pronounce certain words correctly. Was it stage flight? Maybe “maiden speeches” could be that tough! I believe this MP campaigned for the job and she was considered worthy. Obviously, she campaigned in the language her constituents understand. And the language she too understands. After her “maiden speech” went viral on social media, I highly doubt she will ever speak again in parliament. She will become like the majority of her colleagues who simply sit and WhatsApp and wake up to vote for their party’s positions. Had this been in Cape Town, with the MP representing one of those constituencies in South Africa, the honorable member would simply have walked to the dais, pressed a button and spoke in any of the republic’s 11 official languages. Those who don’t speak her language, would simply have ear plugged themselves to follow the proceedings through an interpreter. So instead of some committee only going for Swahili as another official language, they could have chosen a few others languages as well, learning from the South African example. MPs wouldn’t be embarrassed to debate in a language they don’t understand. Some district officials would plan better for their communities. Recommending indigenous languages as official languages wouldn’t make some regions or languages superior, it would give people options to fully understand and appreciate the issues at hand. Some people argue that Swahili is the most dominant language in the region and understanding it would enable us trade better. Perhaps true but how many Ugandan traders who frequent to China speak Mandarin? They have never failed to get whatever they want because they don’t speak Madarin. Trading starts at home. You can’t trade with Kenyans or Tanzanians before you get to understand the local market. Luganda for example is the dominant trade business in Uganda even outside Buganda. It can become an official language just like Runyakitara, Acholi, Ateso, and Lusoga among others. No MPs would be embarrassed while giving their “maiden speeches” thereby ensuring inclusive representation. Small time traders wouldn’t fear to bid for government jobs because they could present their proposals in a language they understand thereby leading to their growth. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

October 21, 2022

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch Training bus drivers as a business opportunity

#OutToLunch Training bus drivers as a business opportunity By Denis Jjuuko Sometime back, while on a trip to northern Uganda, in a vehicle that belongs to some agency, I noticed that the driver waved at each bus we found along the way. Midway the journey, we stopped for a break to refill our coffee cups and such other things. We found many buses at the place we stopped. My driver, I will call him my driver, went to greet all the bus drivers that were parked there. He seemed excited to see them and they were also happy to greet him as they embraced and had animated conversations. When we resumed the journey, I asked him how he knew all these bus drivers. He told me he started out as a conductor in a taxi that was owned by his elder brother. His brother was the driver. Eventually, his brother bought another taxi. By this time, my driver had learnt how to drive and started driving one of the taxis. After buying several taxis, he got an opportunity to buy a used bus that plied some routes between some major towns in northern Uganda. This growth was financed by him selling the taxis so my driver became a conductor again. But my driver’s brother always wanted to play big and his dream was to ply the Kampala route. He eventually bought a newer bus that would allow him to live his dream. After one bus, he bought another one. My driver became a bus driver as well plying the Kampala route. Today, my driver’s brother company has several buses hence the excitement he always had whenever he saw one of the buses. His brother of course stopped driving buses to concentrate on management, acquisition of buses and the expansion of his company. By this time, I had one burning question. Why did he leave his brother to get a job in an agency in Kampala? He said he was being paid per a trip to Kampala. He would earn Shs100,000 per a trip. If he made a return trip, he would earn Shs200,000. So, making more trips came at the expense of his wellbeing. He had no leave days; he had no weekend. If he had decided to take a day off, and another driver was sick, he would be called in. To make ends meet, he wasn’t resting enough. As he became older, he could no longer make many trips a month. He started looking for a much more stable job that allowed him recuperation time and landed one in the agency as a driver. I asked him why many buses are driven badly, he said many drivers want to make return journeys so that they are paid double in a day so they tend to move faster. So they disable speed governors, but where they can’t, they put the car in neutral gear during downhill and the bus just moves freely at an unbelievable speed. He also told me that the most important skill a bus driver must have is anticipation — euphemism for the ability to judge that you can take a corner or overtake without braking. Buses, he told me, don’t break like small cars and because they are big, you can’t simply swing it as you wish in case you realized a problem ahead. So to “anticipate” what lies ahead is key, he said. Anticipation is a recipe for disaster and one of the reasons for many accidents because one can’t always tell what lies ahead. I must confess that I don’t know whether that is the case with all bus drivers but ever since my driver told me that, I have noticed that is how many bus drivers behave on the road. It points to a lack of bus driver training. My driver never told me that he had been to any school that taught him how to drive a bus. He simply graduated from a taxi to a bus driver. So, where do bus drivers train? I don’t know of any school that offers bus drivers training but I might be wrong. Many companies that sell buses, do some orientation of bus drivers especially when some new technology has been introduced. Indeed, some even have simulators but many times, guys who have just been driving taxis and lorries are simply graduated to bus driving. Isn’t this a business opportunity? A track can easily be built and simulators installed in Kayunga where Kiira Motors plans to establish an automotive industrial park. I believe they are open to this kind of collaboration. Government can give the right incentives for the interested qualified investor. Also, Uganda can ban buses built on lorry chassis. Buses as built as buses today have technology that doesn’t allow the roofs to curve in during accidents and have other safety measures meant for protecting passengers. Unlike buses built on lorry chassis. A bus costs on average USD150,000 (approximately Shs530 million) so why don’t bus owners think about this cost by providing better employment terms for their drivers? A bus can have a flat bed at the back where one of the drivers can sleep and half the way the journey, another driver having rested enough can complete the journey. This is the case in many countries. Bus owners can use that as a start but also ensure that their most prized asset isn’t driven by guys devoid of sleep. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com *The Kayoola Coach by Kiira Motors

October 21, 2022