PATRICK BITATURE ... TO ROAR LIKE A SIMBA

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 Across the border in Kenya a cap on bank lending rates has been repealed.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...

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...

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 ...