President
Museveni’s efforts to get investors to Uganda have a number of
shortcomings. The 1st one,
his wish to be in office for life is not incentive enough to attract investors
to the country. Opposition is being
mistreated and the expenditure on tear gas and related logistics to disburse
riots is a case in point of instability or a police state Uganda is. The power in Uganda is more expensive as
compared to the tariff in the neighbouring countries. The mistreatment of investors already in
Uganda is no news to potential investors.
A case that can be cited here is that of Pioneer Bus Company. From the outlook, these buses were received
well by the public whose transport they were able to ease. As of now (May 2014) these buses have been
off the road for over 14 months. It is
public knowledge that the over 90 buses were got on loan and other terms. Can it be good business to spend over a year
with no business yet such investment has to meet obligations? The arrogance of some people in Uganda among
other things is reason why investors may not come to the country. Many people are complaining about the tapping
of their phones, at times the communication just fails and one has to ring
again. Business personalities have been
trailed and some killed as they moved with cash. There is no way one can entrust Ugandans with
such information when they can make a kill simply by knowing the deal between
people. Today, it is very possible for
ones communication to be intercepted and it may not get to where it is supposed
to. Given all these among other
disincentives which include a constantly depreciating shilling, it may only be
politically strategic investors that may venture into Uganda.
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