Time for Kampala’s  traders to think outside the city

Once bitten, twice shy. The second lockdown to stave off the spread of the Covid-19 virus has been eased.

Just like the case was with the first in 2020, the traders in the central business district and downtown Kampala are counting huge losses.

When the shops are closed almost everything comes to a halt. The exception is the payment of interest on loans and the fixed cost, that is rent. The lending financial institution and the landlord as we say in Ugandan speak, ‘don’t want to know’ - about the excuse called the global pandemic. They need their money.

Not that they live in another world, but that is the reality. Money making in this way is their lifeline.

Due to this, many have gone out of business already and many will follow. What is worrying though is that; want it or not, there will be another lockdown and may be another and another.

The experts have told us that for Uganda to fully open up to pre-Covid-19 state, at least 21 million people will need to be fully vaccinated.

So far about 200,000 people have completed both doses of their vaccines while another 900,000 are through with the first. That is 16 months with the pandemic!

The Health minister says the developed countries that produce the vaccines are hoarding them despite the fact that Uganda has allegedly paid upfront.

In many developing countries mobile vaccination centres traverse the streets asking people to choose from a variety of Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech etc.

The hoarding nations are releasing to begging African countries one pallet at a time. These small consignments are received, gleefully at colorful ceremonies by hordes of government officials who stay awake all night at airports, and this makes news.

Apparently, survival at the moment depends on the magnanimity of the donors. They are using this pandemic as an opportunity to re-emphasize the existing power relationship of donor and beggar, boss and servant.

In the extreme, should they decide otherwise, many will die and have died. The best weapon countries like Uganda have in their arsenals is what they can do on their own. Unfortunately, we have not demonstrated a viable scientific solution besides some contested herbal concoctions and other rudimentary methods.

We are talking Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which include wearing of masks, hand hygiene and social distancing to avoid catching the airborne virus.  Paramount among these measures is hiding away from the virus which is the other name for a total lockdown.

Ordinarily, locking down should be a stop-gap measure to help in sealing the loopholes and enhancing preparedness to confront the virus and its effects.  The country increases testing facilities. Increases bed capacity. Trains, equips, and motivates health workers. But above all concentrate on mass vaccination.  On most of these we are short at the moment. The priorities of the government seem to be elsewhere in this emergency.  For instance, members of Parliament during this emergency are walking away with Shs200 million each to buy luxury vehicles totaling to over Shs100 billion. We can begrudgingly accept that it is their right but should wait as we buy vaccines and equip hospitals, then people get back to work and MPs may then ride.

There is a fund that is currently dishing out money to musicians and artistes because they have not worked for 16 months. On the other hand, doctors and nurses; the frontline workers risking their lives to save us all, are pleading for their lunch allowances and in some cases personal protective gear. Then over Shs20 billion generously donated by the public was used to purchase pickups which will end up as comfortable rides for bureaucrats.

So the total lockdown is now seemingly the last and best resort. Unfortunately, this is a zero sum game.

While the infection rates go down, the country is left with an economic, political, social and security disaster on its hands. Businesses fail due to closure. There are job loses to size up to the prevailing circumstances as demand shrinks. Children don’t go to school. Some must resort to crime to make ends meet. Many die of diseases because they can’t access hospitals due to movement restrictions etc.

If people are not able to fend for themselves in the absence of a social safety net, then we are postponing the day of judgment.

Our greatest challenge perhaps is that the wise technocrats and experts have never run a clean business and are out of touch with reality. Many do not know or have forgotten what it means to live from hand to mouth – which is what most who work in the Ugandan economy are doing.  Many of the well-to-do have invested either in real estate and continue to earn even in a lockdown or have fixed deposits.

Besides people falling sick and going to inadequate health facilities in which the government has allegedly been investing for years exposes some bitter truths or falsehoods. They would rather keep the people locked away.

You can safely say that what we have now as the gradual opening up is only a  temporary measure to ease the pressure that was mounting due to people being stuck at home without an income.   It is a commercial break before normal lockdown transmission continues. This will be the wont whenever the SARS Cov 2 virus mutates and gives off a new variant. That is why the traders in downtown Kampala should now think outside the city, cut their losses and run.

Mr Sengoba is a commentator on political and social issues

Twitter: @nsengoba