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Away from the law, Dr. Alan Shonubi is a distinguished business and opinion leader. He has either previously or is currently serving as the Chairman for Uganda Breweries Limited and the National Library of Uganda, as well as a Board Director for East African Breweries Limited, Golf Course Holdings, Uganda Baati Limited and AAR Health Services. He also serves as chairperson on the Board of Trustees for the Kampala School for the Physically Disabled, where his law firm provides legal advice, pro bono.
He sat down with CEO East Africa Magazine’s Executive Editor, Muhereza Kyamutetera to tell his incredible story.
Let’s start where it all started. Tell us about yourself⏤ your origins and your younger days. What was your childhood like?
I was born in Namirembe Hospital to Catherine Senkatuka Shonubi. I am a city-born. I was raised in Nakulabye. My mother was a teacher and one of the first black teachers in her generation. She was also the first female to join Makerere University. She joined Makerere University from Kings College Budo. She later became a member of the colonialist government parliament, then called the Legislative Council (LegCo).
I went to Nakasero Primary School. At the time it was still called European Primary School- because it was for children of the Europeans, largely working for the colonial government. Most of the teachers were also European and we were taught pretty well. The problem is that we were taught so much about Europe such as European history and so very little about Uganda. At some point, we almost thought we were European and that was a big mistake.
On the positive side thought, I believe that is where most of us got our values from. We expect that when traffic lights go red, people stop and when they go green, people go. The problem we have today is different. People are like: “How can a mere light stop you?”.
I was one of the first few Ugandans to join the school alongside other kids from prominent families at the time. The others were the Ham Muliras, John Muwanga who is the Auditor General, the Kajubi twins (they were 3 sets of twins), the Jacanas, the Ituris, the Late Dr. Margaret Mungherera and her sister Dr. Lydia Mungherera who chairs our Alumni as well as Andrew Mungherera, Abid Alam and Maria Kiwanuka, the former Finance Minister. That was also during post-independence when indigenous Ugandans were getting ready to replace the white man in government⏤ the Abu Mayanjas, the Ssetalas, the Obotes, the Erisa Kirondes and the Senteza Kajubis.
When my mother passed on in 1970⏤ I was in Primary Six, being an only child to a single mother and still very young, I went to live with my relatives. I was also transferred to Old Kampala Primary School.
At the time, Kampala was divided into different segments/settlements. We had Europeans, in Nakasero, Kololo, some parts of Katalemwa, Kyambogo, Makerere, parts of Muyenga, and top of Makindye and Mbuya. It was so European. For example, in Kyambogo where we lived at some point, had Streets like Edinburgh Avenue, where we lived, and Lancaster Avenue. Kololo had – what we call Malcom X was called Borup Avenue. Everything was Kizungu (European). Old Kampala on the other end was Indian- we had Bombay and Delhi Gardens. Martin Street was the main commercial street.
When I went to Old Kampala Primary School, I discovered that it was predominately Asian students. After being in Nakasero Primary School which was 80% European, I got some kind of culture shock.
For example, I was pleasantly surprised that young Asian/Indian boys who were studying near where their fathers had shops, would leave school, straight to their fathers’ shops to help out, while we went home to play. We always wondered why these Indians trusted the little boys with shops. The boys were proud that they knew where their school fees came from. That occurred to me that was a brilliant thing. I wonder why we didn’t copy it. It was also interesting that while in Nakasero we packed our break time meals in tupperware⏤ usually kizungu things like apples, ham sandwiches and other pastries.
In Old Kampala, we didn’t go with food. We went with some money and bought maybe a bun and there was a packet of milk from the school. Old Kampala Primary School introduced me to the money economy. It taught me that if you work hard, you’ll get some money⏤ that you can’t just wait and say, Daddy, I need money; but rather, you have to be involved in the making of the money for your school fees.
But I tried to fit in because, in a school of 80% Asians, I won an election and became the head prefect. It was quite a miracle to do that. People were surprised. I assimilated well, with the Asians, and made many friends. I was even doing Gujarati classes at one point. I met a couple of people who became lifelong friends, and who are still my friends up to today.
In brief, that is what my childhood was like.
Dr. Alan Senkatuka Shonubi- I have always wanted to ask, where does the name Shonubi come from? It is not a Ugandan name at least.
The name Shonubi has Yoruba origins. My late father was from Ikorodu, Nigeria. They met with my mother when they were at Nottingham University. They got married. My mother came back to Uganda and my father went to Nigeria. That’s how I became an only child of a single mother. It was not common in those days to have single mothers. You could say, I was made in Nottingham, UK, but born in Uganda.
I did not meet my father until I was 24. I however have other brothers and sisters in Nigeria, the UK and Canada with whom we get along very well.
After Primary School- I understand you went to Kings College Budo for your O’Levels and A’Levels between 1972 and 1977. What was it like living under former President Idi Amin’s era, especially as a young student?
True, I joined Kings College Budo in 1972 at the beginning of Idi Amin’s regime.
I remember vividly the 1971 coup that brought him into power. I was in Primary 7 at Old Kampala. I had just lost my mother, and I was starting a new life. We heard some shooting at night and then woke up and headed to school normally, only to be told that President Apollo Milton Obote had been overthrown. We were told to go back home. By this time, people were running all over in panic. Being the head prefect, I had to escort some children home especially the Indian kids who lived in nearby places such as Delhi Gardens and Kisenyi. The Africans, including myself, most of us lived in the Bakuli, Nakulabye, and Kasubi areas. So as the head prefect, I could not leave children abandoned. I escorted most and ensured they got home.
As news settled in, people went to the streets, dancing because Obote had been overthrown. As a child, I couldn’t understand what overthrowing was. I couldn’t understand how a president can be overthrown.
Remember, because of the 1966 Obote’s overthrow of Sir Edward Mutesa I, the Baganda were not happy with Obote. They were bitter. Most Baganda in their homes, including where I used to stay, with my uncle, would pray at night for the removal of Obote. They would be like, “Ai Mukama tuyambe otujjeko aka akasajja ka Obote” (God help us and remove Obote). So I guess they believed that the 1971 coup was an answer to their prayers. They didn’t know they were jumping from a frying pan and entering into the real fire.
In September 1972, there was a failed attempt by attacking forces from Tanzania, to overthrow Idi Amin but was contained in Masaka and Mbarara. But around that time, there was a shooting incident at Budo and we thought that the attackers had reached Budo on the outskirts of Kampala, only to learn later that it was a robbery incident. Our bursar had been shot at Kings College Budo. That’s when most schools started this business of taking money to the bank and taking fee slips to school.
I really worked hard both at school and outside school. I had a cousin who was given a pickup truck for his long vacation, so whenever I was on holiday, I would be a turn boy, loading nails to Wobulenzi. Up to now, I don’t know why there were a lot of nails going to Wobulenzi.
Then came the 1972 expelling of Asians and all hell broke loose. When we came back for the holidays, the town was empty. The shops became empty. There were stock-outs. Ugandans who had inherited the shops didn’t even know the prices. Some thought that the size labels at the back were price tags. They didn’t know the business. The so-called Mafuta Mingis were ushered in.
That’s the time when this thing called the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board started. Up to today, the Custodian Board is a nasty thing. People were using the Custodian Board- if you know someone at the Custodian Board, then you would get allocated a flat or a business. That business of being allocated was used politically so much in the years and governments to come. Whenever someone allocated you a building, you never looked after the building, because it’s not yours, you don’t have the title, it was for the Custodian Board. So that kind of experience- the city getting derelict was because no one owned anything, until much later when repossession started; when the government decided to give back the Asians their property. That is when some sanity came back. That is when people were able to get certificates of purchase. The pride and security of ownership were missing.
It is however disappointing that at the time the Custodian Board should be phasing out, someone is trying to bring it back under the guise that some people didn’t repossess properly, and thus some titles need to be cancelled etc. I can’t believe that after 25 years, someone is trying to cancel a title. Fortunately, I think the government has realised what was going on and is trying to stop that.
Tell us about your University life, especially since Universities of those days were real places of revolutions and burning ideas. How was it operating under Idi Amin? Did you guys do the same things as University students do these days⏤ the strikes, demonstrations and partying?
From Budo, I went to Makerere University for my Bachelor of Law course. I joined Makerere in 1978. The law course was still 3 years. The law class had 60 people then and we still considered it a very big class. It had been expanded on the orders of Idi Amin who said that everyone who had passed and had applied to do law, should be taken in.
By the time we finished and graduated, in 1981, President Idi Amin had been overthrown and Apollo Milton Obote was the president for the second time and Chancellor of Makerere University.
Yes, we did leave a normal university student life⏤ you know youths who have just gotten freedom, but we didn’t strike much because of the heavy military presence, but for the parties, we did our fair share. The then Guild Canteen had cheaper beer, but buying beer there was a struggle because of the general market scarcities. Whenever you got a chance, you would buy a crate and then drink with friends the whole night. Then of course there was corruption. Some guys would buy crates from behind the stores at the canteen and then sell them in Wandegeya, for twice the price. They benefited from the kavuyo (confusion) economy of shortages.
A lot of people during those times thought they were businessmen. Yes, they made a lot of money from the shortages, but they were not businessmen. What they were doing was getting an allocation chit; getting the goods, and then going and selling them downtown in Kikuubo, making a huge difference, and then coming back and posing as businessmen when all their competitive advantage was knowing someone in government. Since they knew they could make that same money the next day, they would blow it immediately. The next day, they would go back to their connections, claim there was a wedding, and get more allocations and so on.
When an orderly system came under Museveni, they were bitter. They got bitter and started saying, Museveni has made us poorer. You could clearly see that they were not used to an organised environment. Why should soda and beer be expensive and later alone, scarce?
Now that order had been restored and most of these companies recapitalised and new players entered the market, market forces took over. Everyone could buy soap, beer or soda whenever they wanted. The soda and beer companies started delivering it to the doorsteps and villages around the country. There was no more need for allocations or chits- and that’s the way it is supposed to be. Some people thought it would forever be a kavuyo economy.
This upset a lot of people who thought they were businessmen. If you are not a businessman; if you haven’t invested; when all you have is political connections, you have no business being in business.
Who are some of your classmates at Law School?
Some of my classmates include Retired Justice Wilson Kwesiga and Justice Benjamin Kabiito who is the Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission. He was my classmate and roommate. Then we have Lydia Ochieng Obbo, Justice Esther Kisakye, the Late Apio Aweri, Honorable Aston Kajala, Didas Nkurunziza, John Kakooza, Sarah Kibuuka, Ketra Tukuratiire, who used to be Registrar of Companies but is now the chairperson of NIC General Insurance and I am the Chairman of NIC Holdings. Prof.Abraham Kiapi (RIP) and Prof. Jjuuko W. Frederick, now at the Faculty of Law at Uganda Martyrs University were our main lecturers.
What was it like when you finished Campus those days? Were there readily available jobs?
There were no jobs unless you were in the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), the ruling party at the time. Then you could easily join all these government companies like Uganda Garments Industries Limited (UGIL), the National Textiles Board and Uganda Fishnet Manufacturers. That’s why I decided to go back into business. I traded in vanilla, coffee etc. I was also playing music because I had learnt the art of playing the guitar, while at Budo. When I finished A Level, I played with Elly Wamala, one of Uganda’s most famous musicians. He had a band called The Mascots where I was a guitarist and backup singer. We used to play at Antler’s Inn, on Bombo Road. It was a very upmarket club. I would also play with Hope Mukasa’s band called Mixed Talents. I also sometimes played for the Afrigo Band. I still play with Afrigo, but now it’s more of a hobby and not a job.
That was before joining LDC while at campus and a little after. I also played with the late Philly Bongoley Lutaaya. He was my bosom buddy. He was from Namirembe Road and I was from across the hill at Namirembe. We played music together.
When did you start practising the law? And how was the private legal practice industry then?
Eventually, at some point, I ended up with a law firm called Ekemu, Kabugo and Advocates, but I was kicked out of the law firm under interesting circumstances. That’s a story for another day. But let’s just say our visions were not aligned and I got kicked out. I joined another law firm, Okumu, Matovu & Co. Advocates owned by Mr. Augustin Matovu and former Judge Okumu Wengi, but I didn’t stay long. I then worked in a company called Sun International Insurance Brokers for some time. They had their offices in the Standard Bank building.
I also got married around the same time. We are blessed with five children.
From Sun International Insurance Broker, an opening came to me in Co-operative Bank as a Senior Legal Officer. Around that time, there was a time when the board removed the whole of the management and put the legal team in charge of running the bank until the issues had been resolved.
I was asked to do a report on what I thought about the sustainability of the bank and I did it. The bank was simply being mismanaged. We for example had more drivers than the vehicles. We had more office messengers than we needed. We had more cleaners than there was space to clean. Company vehicles were not being logged, so you have some cars taking a full fuel tank every two to three days. I recommended that we undertake massive cost-cutting; institute significant cost controls and block all the loopholes in the system.
I told them, that if we are a business, we must be in the business to make a profit. If you cannot make a profit, where is that extra money to run the business coming from? Up to today, that has been my rule of thumb. If you do not make a profit you are not doing business. I warned them that if we didn’t make those changes, we were going to make catastrophic losses and the bank would be closed. They said, “No. It can’t be. The government cannot allow this bank to close”.
Anyway, having seen what was going wrong at Cooperative Bank, I decided I was going to leave the bank.
I therefore wasn’t surprised that many years after I left, the bank was later closed over being insolvent. They kept running for some years because they had funding from the American government and then the Swedish government, but when the aid stopped, the inevitable happened.
Did you just leave Co-Operative Bank without Plan B? And at what point did you decide to start Shonubi, Musoke & Co. Advocates?
By this time, my friend, a businessman Rajni Karia and one of my mentors, Ketan Morjaria of Orient Bank, had identified me. They were running a Forex Bureau at the time and they asked me if I could help them to start a bank. Then I said, let’s start the bank.
I helped start two banks at the time- one was Prime Bank and the other was Orient Bank. I had to do all the operation manuals, accounting manuals and all other paperwork because I already knew how banks run from my experience at Cooperative Bank and my knowledge of the law. Orient Bank went well and is still running and recently changed to I&M Bank of Kenya.
When I left Co-Operative Bank, that’s when I went into private practice. That was in 1987. I partnered up with Peters K. Musoke whom I met at University, but we had known each other in secondary school. That’s how the firm became Shonubi, Musoke & Co. Advocates.
And the first job I had was starting forex bureaus and banks. That then became my forte and area of specialisation. At that time, we also had some repossessions. The government had started returning the assets of the Asians that were lost in 1972. Some of these Asians, I had been with in Old Kampala Primary School. I was their Head Prefect. They looked for me because they were my friends and others knew that I knew those properties because I saw them live in them. That’s when I think I finally realised how useful my move from Nakasero Primary School to Old Kampala was very useful.
There were also some Europeans who repossessed some properties in Nakasero and I helped them. That is how I also cut my teeth in real estate and conveyancing.
When I started my private practice, I really got a lot of support from new clients as well as friends and took off really well.
Uganda Unveils Forestry Compensation Strategy to Tackle Energy Sector EmissionsHow do you compare the legal landscape then and now? Were there as many serious law firms? What has changed then and now?
When we joined the legal profession, there were very few law firms. There were Katende Sempebwa & Co Advocates, and Sebalu & Lule Advocates came later. We also had Ayigihugu & Co Advocates, Kayondo& Co Advocates of Henery Kayondo, and then there was a law firm owned by a Bamuturaki. Largely, in those days, there was not much specialisation. Everyone did everything. Much of the practice was reliant on one or two partners.
I later on realised that, that was not the kind of law practice I wanted. I believed in something a bit different. I wanted a law firm which doesn’t depend on two people- much as it was called Shonubi & Musoke Advocates. You could have more lawyers than that. People with the same thinking. People who think big and are not afraid to share the pie.
Much as we started like that, with only two people and only one letterhead which we would photocopy and had a small office at Baumann House in the basement, we had a vision to grow big. We then quickly grew, brought in a few more lawyers and then eventually we took an entire second floor of a whole wing of Baumann House.
Then clients increased in quality and quality. We then deliberately decided that we needed to service only international clientele and large corporates. We were intentional about positioning ourselves for and looking for big transactions.
That’s how we started getting many international clients and large corporates. They believed in us; we did a big number of private equity and privatisation deals and transactions. We got introduced to companies like Uganda Oxygen Limited where I did a very long and strenuous case- one of the strongest cases in my profession. Eventually, I bought some shares in the company when the struggles were finished, which I then sold back. I handled the privatisation of Uganda Commercial Bank. I represented Westmont LLC the buyer. When the controversy over the acquisition arose, I also represented them before the London International Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation in the UK. We started the litigation here and discovered that we were not going to get anywhere. When I looked at the documentation, and the case against us, I advised Westmont that we better settle here and settle we did. I later advised my client to settle.
That is important because many a lawyer would rather go for long litigation. After all, that’s where the big fees are. But it is important to be honest with your client. Why tell a client he will win a case when you very well know the odds are not in their favour? You should tell them the truth and then advise them on the best way to get out.
So we ended up settling with the government.
Speaking of honesty and integrity, the law profession has been in the news for the wrong reasons. There seem to be a lot of lawyers and law firms getting on the wrong side of the law, especially for defrauding clients. What went wrong?
I can’t quite point a finger on what the exact issue is but certainly one of the issues has to do with the increased numbers of law students and not enough resources dedicated to ensuring quality.
During our times, there was only one university; they were not as many as they are today. With increasing numbers, there are repercussions, that include reduced quality of graduates. We had one University and one Law Development Centre. We now have many other Universities where people doing very many subject combinations at A-Level, apply to do Law, and we do not have a proper sieve to see that these are the right people.
At some point some lawyers did instigate something, led by Mr. Andrew Kasirye, if I recall well, to start some kind of method to sieve the quality but that, was I think challenged and removed.
But it is important to gate-keep the quality of lawyers because when you become a lawyer, it is not about making money⏤ if the fundamentals are not gotten right, you can become a terror to society. See, a lawyer is in a position of trust. It is a very big position of trust. A client will come and put in your trust, UGX200 million and tell you that if so and so brings you the title to their land, do pay them the UGX200 million. But then some shady lawyers will use the money and start paying in bits and pieces. Using clients’ money for other purposes other than the intended is wrong. It is not your money. That is a position of trust that you are abusing.
As a lawyer, you are among other responsibilities in a position where you are a custodian of Funds or an escrow account and you are not supposed to use that money. That is part of the ethic that you have been taught.
I don’t know how much time is put into ethics at law school these days, but looking at the wickedest of things being done by some rotten apples in our profession, I guess not enough. That is beginning to permeate even in the lower courts.
Other than the transactions named above, what would you say are some of the key transactions that form the highlight of your 35+ years’ professional career?
We handled almost every big transaction those days. We handled Rwenzori House, the sale of East African Distillers to International Distillers Uganda; we made many rights issues on the stock exchange, as well as some acquisitions and mergers and financing deals e.g for the Madhvani Group. We also did Kasese Cobalt Company Limited, which was the biggest project in Uganda, at the time since independence. Before that, Owen Falls Dam was the biggest. We handled Celtel Uganda’s (now Airtel Uganda) entry into the Ugandan market and a couple of financing deals for MTN Uganda. We also did the Umeme concession and entry into Uganda which went on to become one of the most successful IPOs in Uganda.
I’ve seen so many other stories and speculation about you and your other businesses outside the law. Other than the law firm, what else are you up to? What other businesses are you into outside Shonubi, Musoke & Co. Advocates?
As I said earlier, I also have a history of doing business.
My mother had bought shares in a company called Lake Victoria Bottling Company, which was eventually privatised to Crown Beverages Limited, the franchisee bottlers of PepsiCo International in Uganda. But I didn’t get to know this until later. During the time the government was selling the company in the early 90s, some of the shareholders like the Aga Khan, the Sam Odakas and the Senteza Kajubis went to court wondering why the government was selling their company without involving them. That’s when someone rang me and said, by the way, do you know that you have shares in this company? I went and checked and my name was there. They were substantial shares. They had been transferred into my name when I was in P.6 or P.7. So I joined the other shareholders in court. The government had already decided, what they were selling the company, so they decided to compensate us. It was quite a substantial amount.
I am now kind of semi-retired from legal practice⏤ I am taking a backseat. I prefer to take it easy. My body has taken what it can; it has taken a lot of bashings.
I was the Chairman of Uganda Breweries for nine years. I left at the end of my contract because Kenyan laws don’t allow independent directors to go for more than nine years. You have a maximum of three contracts of three years each and beyond that you can stay but you will no longer be an Independent Director
I am also the Chairman of Uganda Baati where I am the biggest Ugandan shareholder.
Over the years, I have also been investing in real estate and I have other companies. I am also in a company called UGACOF; NIC Holdings I am the Chairman and a couple of others you are going to hear over the next few months. That’s the work I do.
I am also invested in the stock exchange.
How much of the Asian traits⏤ doing business with family⏤ did you learn from your ‘Indian’ background? Are you doing business with your Children? How many are picking after you as lawyers and are they working with you in your firm?
Yes, I do business with my kids, because they have to know where their school fees come or came from⏤ they shouldn’t just show up and say there is this course, bring money. One of my children has worked at my law firm but is now working elsewhere, in another international law firm and is building experience. Perhaps he will be able to bring that legacy to Shonubi, Musoke & Co Advocates in the future.
Most of my mentors have been of Asian origin, especially Rajni Karia (RIP) who influenced me a lot. He was a good man. He was always ready to help, not just me, but many other people. When he saw me in Co-operative Bank, he said, “What are you doing in Co-operative Bank? You have so much potential. Why don’t you go out and start your practice?”
So I started it.
My wife panicked for about six months. She was worried about how we were going to get food, but in the end, it paid off. We grew it from a firm of 2 to 34 lawyers and sitting in our building.
I think we are one of the first law firms to own our office building. We realised that our landlord at Baumann House was giving us a raw deal. So we first bought that building that now houses the Government Media Centre and moved our offices there. We subsequently acquired our current offices.
When I calculated, I realised that for a law firm, the greatest overheads were staff, followed by rent, and telephones. By buying our own offices, we would have fixed the rent part. Soon than later, we ran out of space, and that’s when we bought the current building, SM Chambers, where we are now. It was semi-finished, and we finished it. That’s where we are still up to today.
My friend Martin Aliker has also been a mentor and very supportive. The late Flavian Kyambadde and Charles Kabugo were my mentors in the profession and my days at the Law Development Centre.
Looking at the legal landscape from then, through the 90s and the early 2000s today, how has it changed and where do you see it in the future?
It’s changing rapidly, especially that now we have a lot of other things at play. The scope of clients has increased⏤ for example in the 1990s it used to be the breweries, the soda companies, fuel companies and BAT Uganda. But the 2000s widened the scope to include telecoms and tech companies, financial services and most recently fintech. Even the scale and quantity of manufacturing companies increased. As such, the legal practice, especially the corporate and commercial practice has changed in that direction. That means that lawyers and law firms have to enhance their grip on the law in that direction as well.
The landscape has also been widened by the oil and gas sector which has opened up a new world of opportunities, both in government and the private sector. Again, this has meant that a lot of our lawyers who wanted to partake of those opportunities had to do some learning and equip themselves with new knowledge.
Of course, in the recent past, we have had a challenge of integrity in the profession. We have a crop of lawyers, and other people who are not afraid to go to prison; people who can do anything, provided they get rich very quickly. That is very dangerous. That is not what we were trained for in our times⏤ morality, and integrity came first.
If you ask me, I think this has come from what I could call a ‘boda-boda’ culture⏤ People who pass on the wrong side of the road, drive through the red lights, people who resist lawful arrests etc. There is so much impunity.
Then we also have a lot of young people who don’t believe in working hard. Our work ethic is lacking. They want to drive a Mercedes or a Range Rover without working for it. They want to be like someone who has been working for 35 years.
I think part of the solution would lie in going back to the basics- but it is difficult because the system is so embedded.
Borrowing from your experience on boards and other companies you work for, in terms of corporate governance, do you get a feeling that Ugandan-owned companies are advancing?
It would be possible if there was enough corporate governance education on the ground. Most of the most pronounced Ugandan companies that are making great progress are because there is a vision-bearing patriarch. But many times the patriarch is not well-educated. They are self-made. A self-made person is very difficult to bring into the corporate governance space. The only company that has managed the corporate governance bit, is of course the Mulwana Group, the Sekalalas and a few others.
How do you start telling a man who started as a wheelbarrow pusher to have a board, bring on board people who don’t have money, give them places on your board and pay them to teach you how to run the business? They will ask you, “If they had the kind of brains that you say they have, where is their money?”
That is going to be a very difficult lesson to teach various people, but it is something good. Something worth learning.
Then we also have a taxman who is myopic. They look at any small thing for taxing. It almost feels like a punishment, made worse by penalties here and there. The Ugandan businessman is not prepared for that. The government needs to make taxation simple so that compliance is easy.
For example, how do you ask someone to bring their returns for 2010 in 2023? They are not supposed to go that far. And when you show them that, then they get disappointed. The system favours the tax man and doesn’t take into account the inevitable imponderables business people face especially the illiterate ones.
The Ugandan investor is not cared about. Very many Ugandans are doing this and that from scratch and need to be supported. Unless you are in a place where you can demand and get a bailout, most Ugandans are stuck. They are on their own. No one cares about them.
When you clock 60 years, and you are in business, most people start seriously thinking about retirement and continuity, in the form of succession planning: I know you have a lot of your peers who are in that stage. When you talk to them, what are some of the challenges they say they are facing? Is it working out so well? Are the children interested and ready enough?
I really don’t think a lot of people have planned for and or are planning for their succession or retirement. It kind of falls on them and they realise perhaps a little too late.
I recently went with my children to a party and I asked them why they weren’t dancing and they said: “Daddy, people are a bit shy to dance because there are Bazeeyis (old people) around”. I asked them who, which bazeeyi and they pointed at me.
Then I suddenly realised that they were right.
These days you go to the bar and they are like, “Mzee, tukuwe ki?” (Mzee, what can we give you?)
And I am like which Mzee? It is then that you realise that we have reached that retirement age. We are the bazeeyi. Many people are retiring unprepared and they are panicking, trying to start businesses etc.
But yes, succession planning is a good thing that should be started way too early by interesting the children in the business.