Trader reaps from ethical business practice

Jinja.

He started trading with less than Shs100,000 nearly two decades ago after realising that plumbing, his first job, could not provide him the kind of sustenance he needed.

Mr Henry Mujimba stands out because of his high level-headed leadership and his outstanding entrepreneurial skills.
He is a famous thriving trader, particularly among traders in Busoga sub-region.

But to overcome the cutthroat competition, he realised that he needed to be honest to his customers. This became his niche in a field where many have tried with few businesses surviving beyond their first anniversary.

“Working hard and being honest is something I always pride in for it is my niche. Some traders prefer to do things the lazy way. In most cases this involves cheating or duping potential customers. As for me, I insist on doing things the right way. And it pays,” he says.

In an interview with the Daily Monitor recently, the 46-year old who is also the chairperson of the Central Market Traders Association in Jinja, arguably one of the biggest markets in the country says he bags home nearly Shs6 million every month, an amount not many accomplished professionals make within the given time frame.

The man who trained as a plumber decided to take to trading nearly 20-years ago. And to do that, he realised the need to juggle both.

Assuming leadership to more than 6,000 traders in Busoga sub-region rendered him a fairly significant influence in Jinja District and most part of eastern Uganda.

For his tireless effort over the years, he ensured that he provided the best he can to his family of nine children.
“I am a happily married man, with nine children who are all in good schools. I am able to take care of them well and to employ several people because I am a principled businessman,” he says.
Mr Mujimba owns a hardware shop in Jinja Central Market.

His stall is disputably one of the most popular in town, with most of his customers having a personal relationship with him.
He is a kind of a trader who has a way with people. Had it not been for the bad economy lately, his earnings would have sky-rocketed.

In the recent past, his monthly income has dropped by nearly half. This has been worsened by lack of proper, safe stalls as well as storage to accommodate his abundant supplies.
“My business is still profitable despite the earnings dropping to about Shs3million just within months due to bad economy,” he says.

“Our customers no longer buy as much because of constraint disposable income—money to spend,” he adds.
It emerged during the interview that the same challenges he is grappling with are all the other traders and vendors are struggling to overcome.

Voluntary service
Besides the satisfaction he gets for settling feuds between the traders/vendors and the district/municipal authority in addition to exerting his influence in many ways than one, he says he is not being paid for the leadership role he is rendering.

And he has no problem with that although he thinks that his committee of about eight people should be financially facilitated by the 6,000 members to do their job.
He, however, still battles with a section of his members for acceptance.

He says a section of traders/vendors do not want him as a leader in the most popular town in Busoga sub-region.
As if that is not a handful to deal with, he is compelled to settle fights and cases, some of which involve witchcraft.

Selling identical goods near each other, uncontrolled street vendors and mushrooming shops near the market has also caused tension among traders. Coupled with issues of erratic and high power bills, regular disconnection of piped water and badly flowing toilets, let alone flooding of the market every time it rains and the site of a heap of uncollected garbage, makes him to sometime think twice about his role as a leader.

With all the aforementioned challenges, he remains upbeat, with his resolve growing even stronger every other day.
According to Mr Mujimba, women should be supported with capital and technical competence by the government for they make the bulk of the market membership.

He also wants traders to be represented by their colleagues in the same line of duty right from the village, sub-county, division and district level.

[email protected]