Kayoola EVS – Prime Time Communications

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Give school buses same rights as ambulances

By Denis Jjuuko There is a primary school in Kampala whose bus is seen frequently in towns as far as Mityana picking up kids daily. Another Kampala school bus is seen every day in Entebbe picking up kids. To avoid Kampala’s crippling traffic jams, the buses arrive hours before dawn to pick up the kids so that they are in class on time. Sometimes, the kids are seen dead asleep as the buses maneuver the horrendous traffic jams. In order for teachers to maximise the children’s presence at school, they teach them till late, which means that the buses struggle to clear huge evening rush hour traffic jams to drop the kids at home. This means that the kids arrive very late in the evening yet they have homework to do and hand in the next day, leaving them short of enough time to sleep. This doesn’t only affect kids who live in faraway places from Kampala like Mityana and Entebbe. Those who live in Kampala face a similar problem. Vans pick them pre-dawn so they could do several trips picking up kids and dropping them. It is also common upcountry. I know somebody who lives in Bushenyi but his children attend a day school in Mbarara city. Where the kids are dropped off by the parents or guardians, it isn’t any different. For parents to arrive at work on time, they, too, leave home pre-dawn, drop the kids at school and then proceed to work. And many can’t leave their offices before 5.00pm, which means that they pick up kids late from school. I think it is against that background that the education policy review commission has recommended that schools should close by 3.00pm to enable children be children. It is a welcome idea that will see kids have time to play and most importantly have time to sleep and develop as normal human beings than programmed chips with the sole purpose of passing national exams. However, for this to work, there is a lot that needs to be done that the education policy review commission may not have talked about. The government must be interested in providing high quality education across the country. The only reason a Bushenyi parent may enroll a child in a Mbarara city school is because they are trying to provide the best for their kids. They have looked at what is available in Bushenyi and they think it is not good enough for their children. If the schools in their communities were great, they would have enrolled them there. In the area where I live near Kampala, there isn’t a single public school where I can enroll my kids. If I did, my consciousness wouldn’t enable me sleep at night. Yet in the last 10 years or so, more than five big private schools have been built by entrepreneurs. If individuals can build schools, it means government can build even more. With better public schools near where parents live, government can ban bussing kids across the city or from one town to another because there would be a good public school where kids can be enrolled. A parent living in Naalya would not have to send their kid to Lubowa by bus. However, they could send them there by private cars. This is the norm in some developed countries. In many countries, school buses are distinctively designed and painted yellow. Everyone will notice them from a mile away. They enjoy public transport lanes where such infrastructure exists and where it doesn’t, they are given the same road right of way as ambulances. That saves kids time being on the road for many hours. Distinctive buses would ensure our kids don’t have to be piled in Toyota Ipsums like grasshoppers and being driven dangerously in order to arrive at school on time. Uganda already owns Kiira Motors, which makes buses at their plant just outside Jinja. They can give them the order to make unique school buses and offer them tax free to schools with favourable payment terms. The income from the bus should also not be taxed to make it affordable. If a school doesn’t want to offer this service directly, they could make an arrangement with a third-party service provider. The buses would have to operate within a specific radius of about 5km-10km from the school to which they are attached to avoid the scenario where they pick kids from all over greater Kampala. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

March 27, 2025

Out to Lunch

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

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

October 21, 2024

News

Kiira Motors Announces Uganda’s First e-Mobility Expo

PRESS STATEMENT Kiira Motors Announces Uganda’s First e-Mobility Expo 31st July 2024 – Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) has today announced Uganda’s first e-Mobility Expo and Kiira Vehicle Plant (KVP Open House– which is taking place on Friday 16th August 2024 at the Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja from 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Held under the theme The Future is Green; The Future is Now, the first-of-its-kind event is designed to explore, showcase, and encourage the adoption of electric mobility solutions in Uganda. The Kiira Vehicle Open House and e-Mobility Expo 2024 will gather over 200 industry leaders, potential customer, suppliers, policymakers, investors, innovators, and the public to discuss Uganda’s readiness to adapt to the e-mobility revolution – all towards positioning the nation as a net source of e-mobility solutions in Africa. During a media roundtable held on the all-electric city bus the Kayoola EVS Model 2024, Mr. Paul Isaac Musasizi, the Chief Executive Officer of Kiira Motors Corporation, said, “This expo marks a significant milestone in Uganda’s journey towards embracing electric mobility which offers immense potential for reducing the nation’s carbon footprint and creating new economic opportunities while fostering innovation. We are proud to host this inaugural event and showcase the innovations that will shape the future of mobility in our country.” The expo will feature a series of fireside conversations drawing content experts in the fields of e-financing, carbon trading, energy and e-mobility infrastructure development, and more. Uganda in the recently concluded census recorded a population of 45.9 million people. Thanks to increased urbanisation, the mobility needs of this population have resulted in vehicular emissions which are the leading cause of Kampala’s increased air pollution readings from a dangerous annual averaging at 39.5 micrograms of pollutant matter in each cubic metre in 2019 increasing to 41 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024. This is eight times higher than the 5 micrograms per cubic meter that the World Health Organization defines as the safe limit for air pollution- negatively affecting the health and well-being of citizens epically in the urban centres making the case for e-mobility solutions which also serve to improve the national energy equation considering that with fossil fuels today we import both the energy ~ USD 2Bn annually and the vehicles ~ USD 730 M annually. Allan Muhumuza, the Team Leader of the Mobility Bureau in the Secretariat of Science and Technology in the Office of the President, said, “With a vision to see Uganda transition to e-mobility in public mass transport, motorcycles, and passenger vehicles, the Government is implementing the National e-Mobility Strategy – which looks to build an efficient and self-sustaining ecosystem. This event is a bold step towards further bringing together all the relevant players towards seeing this vision come to life to combat climate change and enhance the quality of life for our citizens.” The expo will draw exhibitors with a wide range of products and services including Innovex, Nexus Green, Green Hub, Karaa, KaCyber Securities Ltd., GoGo and many more. The Open House provides an opportunity to participants tour the state-of-the-art Kiira Vehicle Plant. The Kiira Vehicle Plant has an installed capacity of 2,500 vehicles per annum. This will be tooled up to 5,000 vehicles per annum in the medium term positioning Uganda as a net source of Mobility Solutions in Africa. ENDS

July 31, 2024

Automotive Industry

Kiira Motors unveils the 2024 8-Meter Kayoola EVS Model

6th June 2024 – Kiira Motors Corporation today delivered a batch of eight (8) 8-Meter Kayoola EVS buses produced at Luweero Industries Limited in Nakasongola to the Kiira Vehicle Plant in Jinja, bringing the total stock of Electric Buses produced in Uganda to fifteen (15). This has signalled Kiira Motors’ readiness for delivering bespoke electric mass transit solutions for the African market. The 2024 8-Meter Kayoola EVS is a fully electric city bus with a nominal range of 200 kilometres on a full charger and capacity of 56 passengers. It forms the latest offering from Kiira Motors’ rich portfolio of state-of-the-art Ugandan-made buses. The bus is built to offer the utmost comfort and convenience with features like infotainment systems, CCTV cameras, E-Ticketing & Cashless Payment Systems, Wi-Fi, inclusive design for the elderly and persons with disabilities, USB charging, ample carrying capacity, and the highest quality and safety standards. The convoy of 8 buses caused a stir as they weaved through traffic from Luwero to Kawempe, across the Northern Bypass for a brief stopover at the Kisaasi roundabout before proceeding to Bweyogerere and finally to Jinja covering a distance of 236 kilometres. Hon. Prof. Sandy Stevens Tickodri-Togboa, Kiira Motors’ Executive Chairman, said, “Uganda’s push towards becoming a net source of e-Mobility Solutions in Africa is steadily getting closer and we are proud to be contributing to this agenda. This progress has been made possible by the strategic partnership we have fostered with National Enterprise Corporation and its Luwero Industries Limited subsidiary.” He added that following World Environment Day – which is celebrated internationally on the 5th of June every year – and with the knowledge that Kampala’s air is nine times more polluted than the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommended limit[1] – more Ugandan public and private sector players need to embrace environmentally sustainable means of mass transit for the good of the environment with solutions that offer quality and value for money like the Kiira Motors portfolio of products. The company is also looking to mainstream the deployment and distribution of its fast-charging infrastructure to cater to its customers and other Ugandans who have embraced the electric vehicle transition. Eng. Ian John Kavuma, Kiira Motors’ Quality Inspection and Testing Manager added, “We are in the process of onboarding several partners with whom we shall work to ensure that a robust charging network is established across the country in line with the National E-Mobility Strategy for a seamless electric vehicle ownership experience.” Kiira Motors offers fast-chargers ranging between 60kW and 360kW. The 2024 Kayoola EVS comes in the following variations: 18-meter EV with capacity of 120 passengers; 12-meter EVS with capacity of 90 passengers; 10-meter EVS with capacity of 70 passengers, and 8-meter EVS with capacity of 56 passengers. ENDS For orders, go to: https://bit.ly/kmcproducts For any inquiries, send an email to: sales@kiiramotors.com | info@kiiramotors.com [1] https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/uganda/trouble-breathing-kampala-quite-likely-air/

June 7, 2024

Out to Lunch

#OutToLunch: Government can replicate model of commercial banks

By Denis Jjuuko Uganda’s commercial banks have over the last few days been releasing their annual results, some registering record profits. One of them led the pack with an annual after-tax profit of US$100 million! It must be great time to be a banker! But then if you’re an ardent reader of Ugandan newspapers, you will notice that some dailies carry at least two pages of properties and assets being advertised on forced sale by auctioneers working for the same banks. On Facebook and Instagram, once you get your way past Ugandan authority access restrictions, you will notice many properties are on sale, coerce-fully. In many suburbs, many properties have been, in the boldest of letters, an declared bank properties and are up for sale. Of course, policy makers argued that government had no business running banks and that banking wasn’t profitable so we quickly sold them off for a song. Just like other industries. The private players who bought them simply reorganized them — sold off the fat such as properties and remained with the lean meat. They became a little bit more efficient, cutting off government fat cats and their relatives that were getting loans and not paying them back. Perhaps, that explains the number of properties that are being advertised for failure to pay back. Nobody should begrudge banks for being able to turn a profit. Like all commercial enterprises, they are in it for profit. Having seen what is possible, government is arguing that they made mistakes and they want to put their right foot back in. I must commend them for seeing the light though they would need to still use the same efficiency or better that commercial banks have deployed that have enabled them to become so successful. And the talk that they want to get back in must end so that we see action. However, they should do more than commercial banks. Since they will be using public money to set up, how can they provide affordable loans so businesses can thrive? The most common way of lending in Uganda is through providing a property as security that is higher in value than the loan amount being advanced. This model ensures that people will do everything to pay back so that they don’t lose their valuable assets. This model doesn’t necessarily put into account the actual situation young entrepreneurs face. Young people and even women rarely have assets to mortgage so they are naturally excluded from accessing capital. They are beaming with ideas and have the energy to work but don’t have the means that can lead them to access capital. Banks also know that it is a high risk to lend in Uganda so the rates are naturally high. They also spend a lot of time trying to avoid lending the money (they make more by lending to government where the risk of non-payment is low). So if private banks are making hundreds of millions of dollars, a government commercial bank can also make that money but invest it in its people affordably. Also, government can invest in sectors where commercial banks may not want to do so. Take an example of Kampala. I don’t think there is any proper city anywhere in the world where the major vehicular form of public transport is a matatu — a 14-seat passenger vehicle (that was previously a cargo van in Japan). Cities use bus transport that can carry at least 90 people. Of course, trains, trams and other means of public transport help to ensure that people move easily. A few private players have tried to introduce buses in Kampala. City, Pioneer, Awakula Ennume and now Tondeka. Kalita has been operating electric buses from Kiira Motors on the northern bypass. Kampala is one of the first cities on the continent to have public fully electric buses but they are just too few and only operating on one part of the city. The cost of an electric bus is higher than a diesel or internal combustion engine (ICE) bus of the same size. That perhaps explains why Tondeka is operating ICE buses. If they approached a commercial bank to lend them money, the bank manager would have the experience of Pioneer and City at the back of their mind. With Pioneer buses being eaten by termites around Namboole, a bank manager would think that public transport is not profitable and then stay away. Yet if you want to develop a country, you have to ensure that its population’s cost of living is low or affordable. It is the same issue farmers face. The rains are here. Can they afford inputs? Agriculture which is touted as the sector that can get Africa out of poverty is left to subsistence farmers, whose activities cannot meaningfully change their fortunes. That is why we cry to Ukraine, a country at war, to continue supplying us food when we are largely peaceful and rains dropping from the sky with reckless abandon. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

June 19, 2023

News

Kiira Motors Vehicle Plant Nears Completion

By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Kiira Motors vehicle plant is nearing completion with 75% of the construction work complete. The plant, which sits on 100 acres of land in the Jinja Industrial and Business Park includes the assembly building floor, warehouse area, site circulation roads, water and power reticulations, parking areas, perimeter fence and gate facilities. The construction contractor National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) said during the site visit over the weekend that they will be able to meet the deadline, which is slated for June 2021. Maj. Arthur Kyoffa, the head of electrical works at NEC says the general structural progress is now at 75% and is confident that by June 2021, they will have met the client’s expectations. “At this point, most of the super structural work is almost done. We are now mainly looking at the internal and external finishing to the building. We are sure that the plant is going to be ready by June and we are going to deliver to the expectations of our client,” Maj. Kyoffa said. Upon completion, the plant will be the new home of building buses in Uganda. Allan Muhumuza, the Director Marketing and Sales at Kiira Motors says the plant will have the capacity to build about 22 cars per day and about 5000 cars per annum. Lydia Nakanda Mugoya, the clerk of works at the site, says they had a few setbacks in the beginning of the project but amidst them, they were able to embark on the work. “In 2019, our biggest challenge was the weather. It rained almost every day which slowed us down. In 2020, we were also affected by the COVID-19 lockdown which resulted into delayed some activities. The lockdown also interrupted the importation of some construction materials but we are positive that we shall meet the client’s deadline,” she said. Kiira Motors Corporation is a government owned initiative aimed at creating the automotive industry in the country. The country has so far built three production ready buses with two of them fully electric for city mass transit and an internal combustion one for long distance travel.

March 2, 2021

News

Kiira Motors Set to Produce 1,000 Buses in Uganda

Kiira Motors Corporation is working with reputable strategic partners to produce 30,000 Buses for the regional market, with 65% parts and components localized by 2030. This builds on the successful development of the Kayoola Electric and Diesel Buses built through technology transfer and utilizing the facilities and resources at the UPDF National Enterprise Corporation Luweero Industries in Nakasongola. Kiira Motors and the partners plan to produce and deploy 1,030 Buses by end of 2021, 50 of which will be electric. The initiative is aimed at modernizing public transport in the urban centers in Uganda and beyond, while building the indigenous motor vehicle industry through technology transfer and localization of auto parts manufacturing. Kampala and other Cities in the region have for decades faced challenges of road and traffic congestion, pollution, unemployment and under employment resulting into low fuel economy, poor air quality, low labour productivity, and compromised road safety. This calls for establishment of a robust integrated and inclusive mass transport system based on environmentally friendly transport solutions. Coupled with localization of capabilities to develop, make and sell vehicles and components, this provides an unprecedented opportunity for transforming the economy drawing on the demographic dividend of Uganda. The establishment of Mass Transit Bus Systems supported by the domestic manufacturing of buses and components for the regional market is consistent with Uganda’s aspirations and pathways to Vision 2040 outlined in the National Development Plan III and the NRM Manifesto 2021 – 2026. Specifically, (1) promotion of local manufacturing of motor vehicles; (2) establishment of an efficient, integrated, sustainable, safe and inclusive public transport system; and (3) promotion of environmentally friendly transport solutions. The above developments are projected to create over 30,000 jobs directly, 100,000 job indirectly, and catalyze investments by Micro Small and Medium Enterprise in the manufacture of motor vehicle parts. The strategic and long-term focus on electric buses for the cities further demonstrates Uganda’s commitment to enhance environmental stewardship.

February 15, 2021

News

#OutToLunch Investments in public transport necessary to reduce public health expenditure

By Denis Jjuuko The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) was on a roll last week issuing contracts totalling almost Shs500 billion. They have been doing this for a while only that this time, two major contracts will see the upgrade of two major roads in greater Kampala. The Kira-Kasangati-Matugga road through Buwaate and the Busabaala road have been some of the most talked about roads in Kampala given the state in which they are causing untold suffering to residents and road users. I like using the Kira-Kasangati-Matugga road whenever I am going to the northern region as it shortens the journey since I could easily avoid the traffic nightmare in Bwaise and Kawempe. Some roads in Masaka town (or is it city) that are going to be worked on had become impassable. Recently, I heard that construction commenced on the Mpigi Expressway, which will connect to the Entebbe Expressway and the Northern Bypass. When these projects are complete, they will help in a way to decongest the city and open up areas that are today considered too far for city workers to commute. Mpigi is 40km away, a distance shorter than Kampala to Entebbe Entebbe International Airport but to get there is a hustle. The traffic jam from Nsangi to Busega is for those who have academic qualifications in patience. With the Entebbe Expressway, once you get on the Northern Bypass after Kalerwe, you are at the airport in a matter of minutes. The Kira-Kasangati-Matugga road will make it easier for people to live towards Kapeeka and Bombo while commuting to their workplaces in Namanve or Kampala. These new roads will make housing cheaper as the cost of land is affordable; the further one goes away from Kampala. Buganda Kingdom is already planning a massive affordable housing estate in Mayembegente near Mpigi town. Other investors could start similar projects in areas like Bombo or Luweero. However, the construction of these roads alone won’t make people move into greater Kampala where housing will be much more affordable due to the cost of transport. Kampala’s public and/or mass transport is unreliable and costly. Taxis charge different rates at different times of the day. They are unreliable too. Many people who work in Kampala prefer to live in squalor conditions as long as they are within walking distance to their workplaces. Just stand at Clock Tower or follow Kampala’s railway line in the morning and evening as people either go to work or retire to their homes. The salaries they earn can’t enable them to afford motorised transport hence preferring to walk. When people live in squalor conditions as many Kampala dwellers do, the country spends enormous amounts of money on them in terms of health as many fall sick routinely. The economy loses many working hours as people are sick. In Uganda, when one person falls ill, many other people don’t work — the wife takes leave to attend to a sick husband or child. Sometimes the mother or grandmother also joins in. It is not uncommon to find five relatives looking after one ill person. Even though our country’s population is one of the fastest-growing in the world, there is still a lot of land in greater Kampala, which is affordable where people could live in better conditions. The challenge is transport for people to get to work in the city. The government needs to start planning for affordable and reliable public mass transport so people can live 40km away and still spend a small amount of their monthly earnings on transportation. I believe many people would be delighted to live in a better environment in Mpigi or Bombo than in a slum in Makerere or Makindye if it wasn’t for transport costs. So as we embark on these roads around greater Kampala, we should think of affordable and reliable mass public transport. We can’t leave this just to the private sector. Kiira Motors is already making electric buses that carry 90 passengers. Deploying them on these roads would be smart for the government as it would significantly reduce the cost of living and doing business in Kampala and other cities. The number of people falling sick would also reduce thereby reducing public expenditure on health. The writer is a Communication and Visibility Consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

September 17, 2020

News

#OutToLunch We can’t make face masks and then wear used underpants

By Denis Jjuuko A week ago, seven factories were opened in Namanve near Kampala. The president was there as ever to launch them. As ever, none of these factories which will make stuff such as tarpaulins and gumboots belonged to a Ugandan. It seems foreigners are seeing what we can’t see. What makes foreigners set up factories while we happily board the planes to go to China to import stuff the Chinese are happy to make here? There are many theories I hear one being that the government favours foreigners. I don’t want to agree. Foreigners come from a background where stuff are made and have understood that making things isn’t as difficult as many Ugandans think. The seven factories, according to The New Vision, were worth a mere US$12 million or approximately Shs44.4 billion. Each factory, therefore, cost just Shs6.4 billion. These seven factories will employ more than 2,000 people. This sadly reminded me of the debate some Ugandans love to make about manufacturing and assembling especially when it comes to vehicles. These Ugandans like to argue that you can’t manufacture cars in Uganda (yet 90% of buses on Ugandan roads are made in Kenya). That you can only assemble them and therefore that Uganda has not manufactured a car! Can anyone manufacture a car? An average car has more than 20,000 parts. Carmakers the world over source parts from the global automotive value chain. This value chain is comprised of hundreds of companies majority of which many of us have never heard of. I drive a small Japanese car. At the back of its key, there is a logo of the carmaker and something in small print that reads “Omron Corporation.” Omron Corporation made the key system as well as its automation system that detects many stuff including rain and whether I need a break from driving or not among others. Another company called Takata made its airbags. The music system is from Sony while the tyres are from Bridgestone. I can list many other parts but it will bore you. If you are keen about cars, you will also notice that some vehicles resemble each other even when they carry a different nameplate. Spear Motors sells Fiat Fullback Double Cabin pickups that look exactly like the Mitsubishi Sportero double cabs sold by Victoria Motors. The Tata lorries of the 1980s, if you are above 40 years old, that belonged to your school look exactly like the Mercedes Benz trucks of 40 years ago. South Korea’s Ssangyong Musso has a partnership with Mercedes Benz to use its technology same way Kiira Motors works with China electric car giant CHTC. There are many collaborations when it comes to the production of stuff. Buying parts or technology from the various suppliers is how stuff are made. If you are reading this on iPhone, know that Apple made no single part of what you are holding. Every part comes from somebody in the smartphone value chain. Let us bring this closer to home. Think of Kampala Serena, a 5-star hotel in Kampala. They prepare a buffet every day. The stuff they use to make that buffet comes from various suppliers from the food value chain. They don’t grow matooke or peanuts. They make no cooking oil. They don’t produce cooking gas either. Many suppliers bring the ingredients that Kampala Serena uses to make the buffet. Serena designs the menu and their chefs decide how it tastes and how it is presented to the customer. And ladies and gentlemen, cars are not made any different from the way Kampala Serena makes its food. The foreigners have understood that any product is made by many suppliers. That is how they come here and set up factories to make or assemble TV sets and fridges as we Ugandans fly to Dubai, of all places, to import finished products. We like to argue that something isn’t made in Uganda simply because many of its parts were sourced from suppliers from all over the world. The foreigners simply say this is Ugandan made, walk into Uganda Investment Authority and get tax incentives. In a few years, the foreigners who come here with little money are billionaires while we Ugandans are crying of slow business. We are happy to call them to employ our kids who we were paying Shs2m a term for 19 years. If you have been importing TV sets and fridges, I am sorry but Hisense is going to lead to the closure of your shop. If you used to import ceramic tiles, you know this so well. Ugandan entrepreneurs must think beyond importation, stop arguing that they can’t make anything and line themselves up to become suppliers of parts for the factories that are being launched every day or set up these same factories. Kiira Motors is building a factory in Jinja to make vehicles. Can’t a Ugandan set themselves up to provide nuts and bolts? What is so difficult in making brake pads for vehicles? Why do we still import car wipers and even headlight bulbs? How can we be so happy to replace parts in our cars with the junk that is sold in Kisekka Market? If we have managed to wear new face masks made by Ugandans, why do we still wear used underwear? The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

July 19, 2020

#OutToLunch Invest in electric vehicle charging stations

By Denis Jjuuko Since the lockdown, there has been a lot of talk in Kampala about the future of mass public transport. The construction or renovation of one of the taxi parks in the central business district has been a consistent reminder of transport in the city. The future of boda bodas in the city is another topic with some information from city regulators that all boda bodas must be registered on a mobile app as a form of regulation. The future of public transport in Kampala is always an interesting topic because there are many vested interests. Kampala though needs to think about mass transit systems as the current model has run its course. At four million during the day, the city population has greatly expanded causing traffic jams everywhere. One bus that carries 90 passengers can take 6.4 taxis (14 seats) and 40 private cars off the road. The jobs the taxi business creates today can be moved to buses but also taxis can service areas where they are none today. Most towns outside Kampala depend on saloon cars which are designed to carry five passengers including the driver but end up carrying 14 or more passengers. I think many people who use these saloon taxis end up with broken bones! On normal working days, it takes about two hours to cover a radius of about 10km by car, which is actually slower than walking on foot. The vehicles we drive in Uganda majorly come in extremely old from Japan leading to air population that is perhaps explaining the increase in many diseases that affect people who live and work around Kampala. As the talk on city transport was raging, Kiira Motors sent two of its fully electric buses that have the capacity to carry 90 people on the street. The talk doubled with many people excited about the buses. One of Kiira Motors’ buses called Kayoola EVS was assembled in Nakasongola at the UPDF’s Luweero Industries facility since the carmaker is still constructing its vehicle production plant. On a full charge, the bus covers 300km. But for me, the deployment of the buses on the street on an exhibition drive was significant in many ways one of which I want to talk about today — the possibility of electric vehicles and the opportunities they present. First, by Kiira Motors making electric vehicles, it means that eventually, the technology will become widely available and acceptable. When people are buying cars and indeed other assets, they think about after-sale service. So somebody who may want to buy a Tesla today will ask, will I be able to service it in Uganda? By Uganda making electric vehicles, it means that a significant number of jobs for mechanics will eventually be created to work on such vehicles. If Kampala goes ahead to have electric buses as the preferred mode of mass transport, it means that entrepreneurs can set up garages to provide after-sale service while others can create charging stations. I think charging stations provide very good entrepreneurial opportunities for those who want to dominate the post-COVID-19 market. Imagine if one set up stations in all major areas of greater Kampala like Mukono, Entebbe, Kyengera, Wakiso, Luzira and Ntinda among others, the returns would be good in my view. Eventually, many other Ugandans will start buying electric vehicles thereby creating a massive electric vehicle value chain. If you are thinking of where to work in the future, think about electric cars and go ahead and enrol for a course in such studies. Even the boda bodas will one day all be electric. The internal combustion engine has been on the market for over a century and so its time has come. With Uganda’s electricity generation capacity increasing by the day, this electricity needs to be channelled into one of the key sectors where Uganda has been significantly losing a lot of money. The biggest product imported into the country today is petroleum most of which goes into powering cars. On average, a car takes about two people in Kampala who spend a lot of time burning fuel in traffic jams. The deployment of Kayoola EVS means that entrepreneurs with their eyes on the future now need to move into this sector. The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

May 27, 2020