Pope Francis visit: Who will gain, who will lose?

KAMPALA- Pope Francis’s imminent visit to Uganda is shaking off benefits for citizens in more ways than one. And so are the downsides.

Although the trip officially is to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the Uganda Catholic Martyrs, Christian converts executed in 1884 on a traditional king’s orders, dividends abound.

Roads in previously ignored poor neighbourhoods have been upgraded to bitumen, side-drain channels constructed and blighted buildings gleam with a fresh coat of pain.
Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo, about 13 kilometres northeast of Kampala, the capital, has undergone the most robust modernisation since its establishment.

The pyramidal heavy steel roofing has been capped with glass, and translucent sheets affixed to usher sunlight into what traditionally was a dimly-lit, dull interior.

The compound has been terraced into amphitheaters for more organised seating, the stagnant holy water substituted with a piped sprinkling while a central choir loft as well as a lectern put in place for the Holy Father to celebrate Mass.

Roko, a private construction firm, snapped up billions of shillings to revamp the shrine as did firms surfacing the roads.

City and suburban authorities have fatefully superintended the removal or destruction of shacks along the Pope’s mapped routes to seclude fabricators, carpenters and the poor, for whom he advocates mercy, from sight.

“All our kiosks have been demolished. They have even chased us from where we had temporarily staged our kiosks as if the Pope is coming for the rich,” said Mr Moses Isabirye, a mechanic in Namugongo, Wakiso District.

In place of the makeshift, from which struggling vendors eked a living by selling groceries, officials concerned about security and aesthetics are planting grass and flower beds on the widened road reserves.

Like in the capital, managers of the neighbouring Kiira Town Council in Wakiso District have ordered property owners to surface the drive-ways into their premises as well as frontage kerbs, according to Martin Ariho, a resident.

Namugongo Local Council I chairman Nassir Nsubuga, citing the upgraded roads, paved sidewalks and well-built drainage channels, says the ongoing preparations have given his constituency “a deserved facelift” and readiness to welcome the Pope.

And leaders of Wakiso, the host district of the main November 28 papal Mass, want all businesses in and around Namugongo shrine shut during the papal visit.

This would be a drawback for residents who every Uganda Martyrs Day, observed on June 3rd, profiteered by selling food and renting out their houses to tourists and pilgrims.

Bar owners would rake in substantial cash from trooping patrons, bringing an ecstatic, if not chaotic, feel to the neighbourhood that otherwise closes early each night.
Not all is gloom, however. Several commercial structures have sprouted and are nearing completion, beautifying the skyline. Their owners hope to cash in on the visit of Pope Francis either by offering rooms out as improvised accommodation or shops, if not meeting venues.

The bitumen surfaced roads mean less dust, enabling shop owners to keep their merchandise spotless, while new roadside-channels drain off torrents from falling El Nino rains and prevent characteristic flooding in the inner city.

Back at the shrine, masons, landscapists and electricians are putting final touches to massive structures and installations already behind their completion timeline.

The site remains boarded-off, with the public getting a first glimpse of the new facilities during a walk that the New Vision Group, a media company in which the government owns majority shares, organised to raise funds to top up the money for the shrines’ renovations.

The company has also cashed in on sale of rosaries procured from Rome, and with the endorsement of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, an apex assembly of catholic leaders in the country.

In downtown Kampala, particularly along the capital’s commercial printing hub along Nasser Road, entrepreneurial citizens are ordering for calendars and other souvenirs with the Pope’s portraits. These mementoes, sold at inflated prices, have enabled individuals enrich themselves out of the papal trip; the third to Uganda fondly called the ‘Pearl of Africa’.

Former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill coined the pleasant label in reference to the East African country’s priceless natural treasure of flora and fauna.
The tourism ministry sought Shs9 billion in supplementary budget to popularise the endowments, hoping hordes of visiting foreigners will call for days at any of the game parks before or after the Pope’s trip.

The ministry’s website, http://tourism.go.ug, has antiquated information including the line minister’s message, factsheet about Uganda and tourism sites but nothing on the home page about the Pope’s impending coming to the land of martyrs.

Uganda has previously spent billions of shillings to advertise its natural endowments, for instance, on Cable News Network (CNN).

The visit by Pope Francis, leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, offers the country of 35 million a gain of an unsolicited positive international publicity.

There are some 15 million Catholics in Uganda or 42 per cent of the country’s population, in tandem with the trend of growing numbers of the faithful in Africa and the developing world.

This trip is also an assurance to skeptics, particularly the prospective Western tourists, that Uganda which lies on the Great Lakes security fault line is safe if the Pope can visit it.

The country has half of the world’s mountain gorilla population, and a snow-capped Mt. Rwenzori that straddles its border with the expansive Democratic Republic of Congo is tempting adventure gem.

Mr Gideon Badagawa, the executive director of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), says “I don’t think” the government has pulled all the strings to make the Holy Father’s visit yield probable foreign exchange windfall.

“Our country will be the focus and centre of attraction once the Pope is here. Therefore, we should present ourselves as the best tourist destination because we have some of the best tourism products. Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) should lead in this,” he said.

Official action has staggered partly because lapses in getting the required infrastructure ready presented a crisis situation that sapped energy and redirected resources to most critical projects.
Mr Badagawa said not so much has been done to develop the countryside infrastructure, market and promote local cultures and wildlife ahead of the Papal visit. This, he said, will make it difficult to consolidate gains that could have been harnessed both during and after the trip.

“We expect UTB to do more promotion, image building and branding. And agriculture should also be part of the package,” Mr Badagawa said, referring to a sector that employs about 80 per cent of Ugandans. UTB officials were not available for a comment.

Uganda has not effectively grabbed the huge opportunity to headline internationally, said Mr Badagawa.
There are at least 70 people expected in the Pope’s official entourage coupled with thousands of foreign priests, bishops and pilgrims --- each of whom will spend on accommodation, feeding, inland travel and other services. Their spending footprint is already manifesting.

For example, rooms in three of the guest houses nearest to Namugongo shrine have all been snapped up. 200 pilgrims from South Sudan also booked all the rooms and conference halls at Asisi Guest House, said Mr Ben Tenywa, a tour guide at the shrine.

A few kilometres away in Kyaliwajjala and Kiira Town Council, owners and managers of apartments and hotels, among them Esella country home, however reported having rooms on offer at between Shs81, 000 ($25)-Shs330, 000 ($100) per night.

Media companies, deeply involved in supporting the papal visit in different ways, are tapping cash from companies advertising their products in welcome messages to the Holy Father.

Pope Francis will fly in on November 27 from Kenya, and stay in Uganda for three days, including the Sunday he departs on a scheduled trip to the restive Central African Republic.