Uganda 13: August 2004

Bugala Island

Few U.S. companies invest in Uganda, so when Archer Daniels Midland decided to take a small stake in a proposed palm oil plantation, it was a big deal and I went to the opening ceremony. Unfortunately, so did President Museveni. The palm oil plantation is located on Bugala island, in the middle of Lake Victoria. It's a two hour drive on paved road, followed by an hour on a gravel road to get to the boat landing. Next, a 30 minute car ferry and an additional 1.5 hours over a dirt road newly torn out of the jungle. I left Kampala before 6 am to get there for an 11 am ceremony. President Museveni operates on a different schedule and didn't arrive until after 3. After a leisurely tour of the facility, while half his cabinet, 15 Members of Parliament, a host of locals, and (most importantly) I stewed in the heat, the President proceeded to give a 30 minute speech in Luganda, bewildering his Chinese and English speaking hosts. Following the ceremony, there was a mad dash for the car ferry, which could only take 12 cars at a time. Unfortunately, over 60 cars pulled up to the dock. I didn't get on the ferry until after midnight and didn't get home until 3:30 am. Thankfully, I had Liz's calls every 15 minutes to keep me going. The only upside to the lengthy delay was the opportunity to view the Milky Way from an island on the equator, which due to the fact that it did not have electricity, emitted no light to cloud the view.

Nakasongala

Dunavant is another US company recently to invest in Uganda, having purchased several cotton ginneries. Impressively, much of Dunavant's investment is in the war torn north of the country, where no one else has dared to put in money. Along with purchasing and refurbishing the cotton ginneries (Uganda used to be a major cotton exporter with cotton considered to be of the second best quality in the world behind Egypt), Dunavant has spent a lot of money on extension services, teaching rural Ugandans how to use modern techniquest to grow cotton. I drove up to the Dunavant ginnery in Nakasongola, around 90 miles north of Kampala and spent a day meeting local farmers. The road to Nakasongola passes Bombo, the childhood home of Idi Amin. Though a member of the Kakwa tribe from the West Nile region in northwestern Uganda, Amin grew up near the Bombo military barracks where his mother was a camp follower. Many other Nubians moved down to the area as well and as we drove by I noted several women in distinctive Sudanese/Nubian headresses. The region also was the epicenter of the bush war fought by President Museveni from 1980-1986 and my driver, who had fought with the rebels, noted that the fields on the roadside still were littered with bones. (Note to Mom: don't worry, its safe now. or is it?) Anyway, one of the more pleasant parts of my job is to go out and see what a little bit of investment and attention can do to a farmer's life. With hand-held water sprayers, training in weeding and planting techniques, and a few fertilizers and pesticides, they have doubled or tripled cotton production. That has a direct impact on their lives as many now can afford school fees, bikes, radios, and tin roofs for their homes.

Mbarara

With few visitors in from Washington, I've had the opportunity to get out of the office more often and I also managed to head west to Mbarara. Its about a four hour drive on the way to Queen Elizabeth national park. I accompanied a biotech expert the Embassy had brought in to discuss the technology with a variety of audiences. In Mbarara, we spoke to local agricultural officials and students at the local college of science and technology. The west hasn't seen much rain this year and the lands were brown and dusty. Mbarara is the heart of Uganda's banana growing region and on the way we passed several "matooke convoys," three to five men in a row walking bicycles loaded down with several huge bunches of green bananas. The hotel, however, had good chicken and we sipped our drinks watching the sun go down over the hills.

Rouge

Liz and I visited Rouge, Kampala's first cocktail bar. With a decor that would not be out of place in Bangkok or DC, the sleek bar serves martinis, cosmopolitans and other mixed drinks to a crowd of young expats and wealthy Ugandans. A $6 cover charge helps keep out the prostitutes. The martinis aren't great (but, hey, martinis in Kampala), though the bar attracts a large late night crowd. Update: Liz recently made an unescorted second visit to Rouge. I understand her famous dance -- the pit latrine -- was a big hit.

Peter Allen's book

I have been re-reading the diary of Sir Peter Allen, who came to Uganda in 1955 as part of the British constabulary, stayed after independence in 1962 and left Uganda in 1986 having attained the position of Chief Justice. I've been going through the bits set in the 50's and it is sobering. Despite Uganda's remarkable progress over the past decade it is only now approaching the standards of the 1950s. In 1957 Allen traveled the Kampala-Mityana road, which he described as a good, tarmac road. Now, it is one of the worst in the country. Later that year he visited the phosphate mine/factory in the Sekulu Hills. I was just there last month and there is no mine or factory, just the dream to reopen and several thousand squatter subsistence farmers. The newspaper recently noted that Uganda's fuel consumption in 2004 would match that of 1965. Its not as if Ugandans were ahead of the fuel conservation curve -- everything shut down. Kampala in the 1950s had traffic lights (we have a few now, but most don't work) and an effective traffic police (just returning after a two decade hiatus). The courts worked, schools were good and the Asian business community thrived. All of that was destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s. Uganda is returning to pre-independence prosperity. The trick is to see if it can move beyond that and truly begin to develop.

Owino market

Owino market sprawls in the heart of downtown Kampala, where most Ugandans go to shop. A maze of narrow, meandering alleys covering a city block. In some ways, similar to Thai markets. With the tough job market, many Ugandans become traders, hawking clothing, consumer goods, and cosmetics. The market is best known for its wide selection of used clothes, mostly imported from the U.S., Canada, and western Europe. Many of the clothes really are in excellent condition and some Embassy employees have been known to shop there in the past. A variety of styles and tastes. The government of Uganda is considering limiting imports of used clothing, but most Ugandans prefer the prices and quality of American products versus flimsy items from China or low quality products from Uganda. The market also contains a variety of knock-off electronics, including Sonny and Pansonic radios, plus fake batteries, shoe polish etc. Lots of food products, from maize to grains to beans to vegetables to spices and meats. Ugandans are friendly by nature and usually said hello as I passed, some beckoning me to check out their goods. Yet, this isn't Thailand and you are cautioned to watch your wallet as pickpockets thrive in the bustling stalls.