Census night, floating population and why Kampala traders are being stubborn for nothing

Op-Ed: Buliisa, unverified news is circulating that an enumerator escaped being beaten during the census night when he went to count the floating population at a local bar and lodge.

It is alleged that the guy in the room mistook him for the owner of the woman he had invited to censure on census night. That is Uganda for us and full of occupational hazards.

By sending enumerators to intercept such people in the night without any identification, not even an apron, UBOS and generally the government of Uganda risked the lives of our gallant sons and daughters, whose resilience is something admirable as of now.

I have seen enumerators here; most of them, if not all, have not received a single coin for facilitation despite spending nine days for the training. Yet they still have to walk long distances in villages and ask Wanaichi those bulky questions.

Guys are yawning on people’s doors. It is common sense that the government should have thought about moderate enumeration for enumerators.

These guys are going to the field hungry and angry, and they will meet a hungry and angry population. The situation will get out of order, like what we witnessed last week when the president met Kampala traders at Kololo independence grounds, and they ended up exchanging bitter words.

Kampala traders are being stubborn for nothing. As if they don’t know that for the last 40 years, the affairs of planning for taxes have never been a concern for traders. Traders should pay taxes. VAT is not a new tax. They don’t even pay for it. It is paid by the good citizens who buy those things.

If consumers are not complaining, why are traders yapping? Just calculate your enjahulo and put a good price on the things you sell. You will remove your share and give URA the government’s share. That’s how things work. Ugandans have money. They will buy. In my village, people have already received PDM. Just put that bar of soap at 10,000 shillings.

It was totally wrong and morally unacceptable to threaten the president. You need to listen to the fountain of honor. Why would you say Sabasajjaawangale at the end of your presentation in a meeting with the president? That is blasphemy. Instead, you should thank Sabalwanyi, who has brought peace and prosperity.

Are you not enjoying the middle-income status that comes with shifts? If it has not arrived in your area, the next shift is coming, so don’t worry. Be patient. The NRM vision is very clear. Prosperity for all. What you need to do is start factories.

Those that collapsed lacked vision. Look at the ones located in swamps; they are doing very well even in rainy seasons. In fact, Chinese ones are doing better. The Chinese manufacture products and hawk them in villages. Those are all job opportunities. So the problem for Uganda is not unemployment. The problem is the lack of vision.

Like the president said, traders should start factories. We have enough electricity. But because traders bring foreign things here, we are forced to export our electricity, and other countries are using it to manufacture goods.

I hear some people say that our electricity in Uganda is expensive, and countries that import it give it cheaply to their citizens. That is a lie.  People should do research about first- and second-class services. Our electricity here is usually first-class, straight from the source to your house. Our units last longer.

When we start manufacturing, our citizens will consume a lot of first-class things, not emibimba. Didn’t you see during COVID? Our factory in Jinja manufactures radios for all learners. We are also manufacturing COVID vaccines, but the scientific rats are taking a long to grow in our laboratories. We need such big factories.

We gave land to Akon for Akon City, and all those are international people who will buy products manufactured here.

The author is Nelson Byaruhanga, an indigenous journalist, writer, and filmmaker.

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