Refusing Corruption

Uganda is a lot of things; it holds beautiful scenery, wonderful people, it is cheap, it is dirty, and it is also corrupt. Throughout my experiences in Uganda and with corruption I have come to believe it begins on the top political levels, and has trickled down to all levels of society. Those with power have led by example, and decades of influence have certainly left their impression.

My first experience has been recurring every day: Muzungu Pricing. How can a business charge different prices based on skin color? Because they expect that I have money do they deserve to take more? At first I was amused but no more. While visiting Rwanda (due to visa complications and the need for a mini vacation) we experienced minimal muzungu pricing, and we especially noticed the difference in the organization of the transportation system. The bodas (moto taxis in Rwanda) were required to carry helmets for their passengers, and thus could only carry one person. Yesterday I saw three adults and two children on a boda in Jinja. Also it is so not okay to bribe your way onto a taxi bus. Bribery in general is a big no-no. ... Of course once we were back in Uganda we may or may not have bribed the bus driver to get us from Kampala to Jinja.

A Rwandan described the unorganized transportation chaos as corruption. I was relieved to hear him say this, as I was having trouble accounting these problems as corruption, thinking I was being too critical.

Other experiences that have reached me personally include having the electricity cut, for various reasons, for over a week at both my home and at work. My family did not want to report the man who conned them. They explained two reasons for not reporting; he is the friend of a friend, and revenge is very common. With David going off to school, he fears the man would come after their home to harm the family for costing him his job. They also say he is conning other people so someone else will report him… probably.

The final experience I will share here has been one of poor leadership. A Sacco under ORUDE has been having trouble with the treasurer not turning in the money he collects from members. Another intern with FSD faced similar challenges of a chairperson using the funds they raised to buy goat feed for his farm. I am amazed and confused as to how people can remain in their positions after raising such distrust. And how can they walk around their community, around their friends and colleagues when everyone knows what they have done?

These challenges and more have been frustrating throughout the summer as I acclimated to the business cultures here. I have high hopes for Uganda’s future, that someone will decide to sacrifice and lead by example, refuse the corruption, and bring along the slow and tedious process of raising Uganda’s standards.

A Newsworthy Weekend

Saturday, South Sudan seceded and became the 54^th country in Africa. That was a time of celebration – the end of a civil war in a nation divided by ethnicity. Many people were happy for peace. I asked many Ugandans what they thought of this event, most agreed it would be better for them to be united, but everyone declared how good it will be for them to have peace. Peace is a quality understood severely by Ugandans, still cleaning up from their own civil war. What if the US civil war had ended with the division of our nation? How much different would our lives be if we considered the challenges between two races reason to separate? Another intern claims they are sliding into feudalism, and some say that is what Africa needs. I don't think I really agree with them; but I am optimistic and hopeful South Sudan's oil riches may lead to peace, greater equality and economic benefits for the undeveloped south.

As the live feed from Juba faded, stories of Remembering 7/11 flooded the news. Last July, during the world cup games, Uganda was hit by twin bombing terrorist attacks in Kampala. The news has recommended citizens be cautious of another attack. We have made it half way through the day, so far so good. Other Ugandans remark about how the news seemed to forgot until last month about the attacks and added security installed last July and August suddenly reappeared. Sound familiar? They are not per say living in fear of another attack, some are almost indifferent, feeling “that we are all at God’s mercy.” Although I must say – the taxi strike restricting traffic in Kampala today is rather convenient for keeping people in today.

And so, the world keeps turning.

A Healthy Dose of Competition

I apologize for my blog absence - but getting through this midterm week of my internship has been insane!

I submitted my grant proposal to FSD earlier this week and we held our first brand managers training. Hopefully in the next week I will hear back about the grant so we can start planning for the expansion of our Pilot Brand Development Program through a seminar in August. I wish I had three more months to spend here to really educate these women on the importance of upholding a professional brand image, even in their small businesses. My strategy in all this is a training of trainers. It is best this way, as it becomes more and more likely that I will be leaving Uganda before the program is complete. Our goal is to shower information on newly elected brand managers and then allow the integration of training into their respective savings groups at a more appropriate pace. Luckily/thankfully/every other emotion of relief, after our training the brand managers responded that they are confident in their abilities to educate fellow members on branding.

We are also working to clarify what levels of the Sacco we are branding. Marusacco’s brand is our main focus – attempting to increase their marketing capacity to new members and communities, while empowering members to repay their loans because we mean business!

ORUDE is also working to empower their seven Saccos to function independently, which is burdened majorly by not following policies and low loan recovery. They decided these Saccos are growing beyond ORUDE, and invited the District Commercial Officer (DCO) to their Quarterly Manager Meeting yesterday. I was pleased to settle into a corner of the room to take minutes behind 28 managers, treasurers, and chairpersons.

The DCO spoke about ownership and responsibility throughout his report on three recent audits of ORUDE Saccos. It was definitely interesting, inspiring, and shocking. He repeatedly called for ORUDE to sack one of the secretary managers throughout the 6 hour event. Later I found out I had been sitting by that manager the entire time. I asked my colleagues about it and they just laughed. I still don’t understand if that was appropriate, embarrassing, or just to inspire competition – but they heartily agreed about the manager’s incompetence.

I was proud that Marusacco (my Sacco in Mafubira!) was constantly referenced as an example of good banking practices. Most of all though I think it was eye opening to see how to inspire healthy competition. I have wanted to avoid offending members, but that was exactly the purpose of the Quarterly Meeting. They were publicly compared in a way that removed their individual advantages of claiming that ORUDE was hiding something, or that they are being treated differently.

Inspired, we have taken a more aggressive approach to mobilize members. I am so curious to see how the women of Mafubira respond to their now public group loan repayment rates. Maybe that will inspire the group returning only 8% to pay up.

Let's Talk Politics

I feel more plugged into political issues here within one week, than I did in the United States. News is everyones business, and don't fret if you don't get a hold of a news station via television or radio, because everyone will be talking about it the next day.

Recently Ugandan elections left many suspicious, but in short, the majority party remained in power. The 9th parliament (of 375 members) was sworn in this week, and President Museveni gave his State of the Nation Address speech yesterday. He began two hours late, on typical Africa time, and spoke for over two hours. I have seen the appreciation of Ugandans when I can contribute to their conversations, and am making a point to check the news when I get to work too!

The top print news sources in Uganda are the government run New Vision and independently run Daily Monitor; definitely check these out if you have a moment of curiosity!