PATRICK BITATURE ... TO ROAR LIKE A SIMBA

I read with a mixture of horror and sympathy for the victims of the latest Ponzi scheme gone bad in town. Last week a company, Global Cryptocurrencies Ltd, collapsed and along with it went billions of shillings, by police estimates, of their clients’ money. The company working out of an obscure office on Namirembe road, managed to rope in all manner of clients with the promise of magical returns – 40% a week! I have been in business for most of my life, if I could be guaranteed 40% week I would sell everything I own and jump in with both feet. Or maybe not. And this is why. They say if anything is too good to be true, it is. If you can get an annual return of 40% on your investment you will be doing extremely well. So if you put in a million shillings in your business and walk away at the end of the year with sh400,000 after taxes you have found a good thing, and I would like to be your friend. I have seen my share of scam artists and con men. Below are my fast an...

In recent weeks the issues of financing for business has been in the news, in one form or the other. We have seen the challenge a past minister is facing with having to hang onto his home. The case is in court, so we can’t discuss its merits and demerits, just to say he may have fallen prey to some predatory practices, with the lender skirting dangerously on the edge of the law. Across the border in Kenya a cap on bank lending rates has been repealed. Three years ago Kenya’s parliament passed a law restricting lending rates to two percentage points above the rate at which the central bank lent money. In reaction banks pulled back their lending to businesses, depressing the economy and prompting the reversal. So now banks can “properly” price their loans, often to the discomfort of small and medium sized businesses. The two incidents are related and speak to the availability and cost of credit. In my business career I have benefitted immensely from credit. It is next...

Like everybody else I know, my spirit was lifted by the success of our athletes at the World Athletics Championships last week. The diminutive Halima Nakaayi showed the heart of a lion, sprinting over the last 100m of the women’s 800m event to snatch victory from a more favoured American runner. It was so uplifting to watch. Subsequent stories about the challenges she has had to overcome to get where she is now were testament to the determination of the woman. Joshua Cheptegei’s victory, while no less inspiring, had a different quality to it. Cheptegei was the man to watch going into the event. He won previously at the Commonwealth Games last year and the in the just concluded Golden League. He was a silver medalist in the 10,000m at the last World Championships in London, pipped to the tape by the now retired Mo Farah. Cheptgei still had to battle the Kenyans and the Ethiopians all the way. But as a favourite he lived up to expectations, which sometimes is more diffic...

Last week Afrexim Bank opened its regional offices here in Kampala in an event that I think should have had much more play in the media. The Afrexim Bank has as its stated mission the desire to stimulate trade, primarily within the continent but also improve Africa’s trade with the rest of the world. Worthy goals and we should sit up and take notice. The bank’s coming to Uganda is not by chance. A lot of work was done and supported by President Yoweri Museveni to win it away from neighbouring Kenya. The Ugandan businessman is bound to benefit from the proximity to the bank if we get organized. "Of course the bank will be dealing with big deals, but one can hope their expertise in trade financing and the other products they bring to the table, can trickle down through the financial sector and improve our dealings.... But just to give a perspective of what our businessmen suffer because of the gaps in trade facilitation in our economy. Say I want to import...

We have lost the greatest Ugandan entrepreneur of our time, Mr Amirali Karmali, more popularly known as Mzee Mukwano. I have known Mzee Mukwano for more than 40 years and most of what I am today is due to him. And I am not alone. "He has helped countless people through school – as he did me. Helped countless more in business – as he did me. And he has been a steadfast friend and source of support to countless more – as he was to me.... I first met Mukwano around about 1977. My mother was the secretary for the chief of operations at Uganda Airlines, a man I knew only as Hamid. Mukwano had come to charter the Uganda Airlines’ Hercules plane and I happened to be around the office then. He was a short man, an unassuming man, but clearly a serious businessman who would charter the plane to bring in goods that were in high demand here. He run a popular whole sale shop in Nakasero – Egesa Commercial Agencies, a beehive of activity and the go-to place for anythin...

Recently I was at Makerere University to attend a wedding ceremony. I hadn’t been on the university’s grounds in a while. I was shocked at how run down Mary Stuart and Lumumba Halls were. They are in need of serious work. These thoughts were reawakened with the recent launch of the coffee table book “Beyond the Reeds and Bricks” promoted by the tourism ministry, the cross cultural foundation of Uganda and the European Union Delegation. The book which is aimed at the protection of historical sites and buildings in Kampala, Entebbe and Jinja, is a moving collection of pictures of buildings and sites we know, but probably take for granted when we pass them as we go about our business. "Entebe za Mugula in Entebbe, Mackay’s Cave, the post office in Entebbe, the Stanbic Bank Branch in Jinja, Hamu Mukasa’s house in Mengo, the main building at Makerere , the Bahai Temple, Kibuli mosque and many other sites have pride of place among the 60 pictures in this book, which is ...

Recently there was a horrific crash between a passenger bus and sand laden Isuzu truck on the Masaka-Kampala highway. To look at the pictures of the aftermath it is a miracle that only two were killed and 20 injured in the accident, which it is reported was a head-on collision between the two vehicles. We don’t go a week without news of a major accident on our trunk roads. I suspect that a combination of poorly maintained vehicles, improperly trained or inexperienced drivers, driving at break neck speeds are to blame. "A few months ago, there was a suggestion that the new paved roads were not properly designed and therefore causing the accidents, but I think that is a case of poor workmen blaming their tools.... If one was to buy this argument, what about the argument that we had fewer accidents when our roads were pot holed and it would take whole days travelling journeys that now take a few hours? So, we should we go back to our potholed roads? "Accord...

I prefer to speak about business. But it is obvious to me as it should be to everybody, that the fruits of business can’t be enjoyed without good health. As we progress in age we need to take care of our health more than before, focus on prevention because our bodies can no longer bounce back from illness as fast as they used to. The other day I happened upon a Facebook video from Dr Luke Coutinho, an Indian doctor who treats cancer patients. He made a wonderful video that moved me -- “Four things people with cancer have in common.” Look it up. Coutinho, in the video said that when he looked at the data from hundreds of patients, from all over the world, that had been treated at his facility he found four commonalities. The first one he said was chronic constipation. He explained that constipation, infrequent bowel movement, means the body is retaining toxins that should not be there. These toxins then find their way back into our bodies and provide the environment fo...

In the last few decades in Uganda we have seen the currency become so worthless a large part of the population resorted to barter trade – exchanging goods for goods. Then the currency stabilized and we enjoyed having money in our pockets. Our money habits continue to evolve. Increasingly we don’t need physical cash to do our business.  Debit cards, mobile money and e-banking services are pushing us fast towards a cashless society. And now we are moving into a more intangible space – cryptocurrency. "As I understand them these are digital currencies, generated using encryption techniques, that also verify fund transfers. Also that no central bank is involved in creating or regulating these currencies... The more widely known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin was launched in July 2010 and its fate has been at best back ground noise to many of us, if at all. it has registered some limited attention but mainly for   speculative gains. In recent years it has seen ju...

On the weekend President Yoweri Museveni commissioned the Soroti Fruit Factory, which promises to change the fortunes of fruit farmers in the Teso region. "According to reports, the factory can process 129,000 tons of fruit annually or the equivalent of 3,225 trailer loads of fruit. There are 8.2 million fruit trees in the region, if each tree produces 80kg, the 656,000 tonnes resultant production will be more than sufficient to keep the factory running well into the future. Upgrades of the plant’s capacity is foreseeable very soon.... The factory’s products – packed juices, are to be sold locally and to the region. The Teso Tropical Fruit Farmers’ Co-operative has complained that they have been receiving sh200 a kg for their produce but have seen a doubling of the price to sh500 a kg by the factory. The cooperative is a 20 percent partner in the enterprise. Government through Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) owns the remainder. The factory is a $10.2mln...

I have been around long enough to see real estate development, or maldevelopment, lead to the sprawl that is Kampala today. From atop the Skyz Hotel in Naguru, one can see as far as Mukono to the east, Entebbe to the South and Bombo to the north. At night the lights from traffic, streetlights and from residences makes it a sight to behold. But we were here in 1986 when Kampala’s outer limits were Kibuye roundabout, Rubaga, Wandegeya, Ntinda and Nakawa. The NRM did the smart thing and removed restrictions – rent controls, on real estate and spawned a real estate boom that has led to the dramatic expansion of the capital city’s boundaries to what they are today. During the same period the government’s National Housing & Construction Company (NHCC) has not kept pace with private developers, be they individuals or companies developing a few dozen units. "Official statistics suggest that there is a 550,000 deficit of acceptable quality housing in Uganda of ...

I have fond memories of the Old Uganda Airlines. As a secondary school child, I took advantage of ticket concessions (my mother worked for Uganda Airlines) to fly to the UK to buy clothes and other goods for sale to my friends at school. These trips were a great adventure and served as a good foundation for the businessman I am today. It has been reported that the first two planes of the revived Uganda Airlines will be landing in the country within the month. The finance ministry has been presenting to parliament their needs to pay off deposits on the first two of six planes they are to take possession of in coming months. The project has its equal share of supporters and critics. I am a qualified supporter of the project. In business nothing is certain. We deal in probabilities. When getting into a venture we often must weigh the risks versus the returns of a project. If the risk of failure outweighs the potential profit we stay away, otherwise you are gambling...

Over the weekend President Yoweri Museveni commissioned the new head office of the Uganda Revenue Authority, an imposing structure that is set to dominate the Nakawa skyline for some time to come. Congratulations are in order to URA for the construction of such an aesthetically appealing building, which I hope wills set the pace for other developments not only in the area but in Kampala and even Uganda as a whole. I know the pride that comes with having completed such a massive build for the initiators and implementors. The new 22-story structure has allowed the tax man to fold back all his offices from around the city back to the head office, a move they estimate will save them sh7b annually. Using simple math the sh140b will pay for itself in 20 years. The move is seen as precursor to a government move to build a ministerial compound in Bwebajja, where all ministries will be relocated sometime in the future. I have seen comments that such actions are evidence that...

The situation is never so dire that it can not be turned around, I don't think so, I know so! A good start is to try and look at your situation from another perspective. A trusted friend would be useful.

Thousands of students will be graduating from their respective universities in coming days and months. Makerere, our country’s oldest university will kick off its ceremonies on January 15th and the other universities will follow. The graduates have already had a taste of the real life, having finished their studies mid last year and tried to get employed. Many know by now that the world can be harsh and unforgiving. I hope many are tightening their belts in readiness for the struggle ahead. Some may have decided to kick the tin down the road by continuing with school. And others may have given up altogether. My prayer is that there are more of the first and less of the last kind. In talking to young people, I find that what is needed is a reorientation of their minds – a mindset change. Let me share with you certain facts to help manage their expectations of the world and how they can fulfil their potential in our context. First of all, the world owes you ...