PATRICK BITATURE ... TO ROAR LIKE A SIMBA

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...