ABAANA & EBYAANA! Will Gen.M7 come to the rescue as UDB moves to ‘kill’ Ndere tycoon Rwangyezi?
When Covid-19 pandemic set in, many Ugandans thought it was a wind passing, but reality soon set in and many businesses now remain at the mercy of lenders, or financial institutions who advanced them loans.
While these businesses continue operating in deficits while others shut down completely, these financial institutions continue operating and thriving.
Banks are now busy harassing Ugandans by attaching their properties, yet the same people haven’t been working. In short, they want to sell the whole country.
Among the properties that have been put on sale include schools, private properties, farms, commercial buildings and residential houses among others.
Instead of helping them recover, banks are now making matters worse by crushing debt-laden businesses that were critically dependent on rollover financing by dragging them into insolvency or receivership.
NDERE CULTURAL CENTRE NOT SPARED
Among those on the verge is legendary actor and performing artist Stephen Rwangyezi’ Ndere Cultural Centre.
Rwangyezi, the founder of the famed Ndere Troupe in 1984, says they are on the brink of losing a cultural heritage facility located in Kisaasi after failing to service a Shs 6.8bn loan from the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) in 2019.
He blames the Covid-19 pandemic for stalling their expansion plans to include a resort in Kisoro as well as a hotel in Bbira along Mityana Road.
“We obtained this loan from UDB. We did not squander the money, but the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Covid-19 killed the troupe, killed the centre’s operations and killed the construction works,” he says.
“However, we have rejuvenated the centre, revitalized the troupe, and successfully completed the construction of the Kisoro resort. Please, Your Excellency, take away this rock around our neck. Please take the loan away. If it is not possible, give us time to reorganize ourselves at the bank. We shall surely fundraise through equity selling, through business operations, through public fundraising, and we shall pay this loan.”
It remains unclear whether Museveni will bail out Rwangyezi as he has done with other businessmen before.
Rwangyezi’s days to rescue Ndere are numbered. It is well known that debt has long been a problem for many Ugandans, but the Covid-19 pandemic spread the misery to tens of millions more including the likes of Rwangyezi.
Health experts aver that the emotional strain of dealing with debt can be almost as damaging as seeing your house being sold to someone else. And this kind of pressure is enough to trigger a number of health complications to Rwangyezi who is almost in his 70’s and may even lead to death.
“Whatever the cost, whatever the cause, debt wreaks emotional havoc on our psyche. Among the negative effects are low self-esteem and impaired cognitive functioning. That means you can’t learn, remember, be attentive or solve problems as well when you’re freaking out over a loan. And get this – debt can hurt. I mean, really hurt. It can even cause death,” one of the health experts said.
Economists are however advising the government to come up with action plans to help Ugandans who were economically bruised by Covid-19 related disruptions, especially loan sharks who are menacingly attaching their property including saucepans.
The government is also being urged to reign in on banks which continue to demand loan repayments menacingly oblivious of the fact that Covid-19 was here.
Economists opine that it is a grave mistake for the government to allow financial institutions to continue operating in that manner.
The bank takeover will automatically ‘kill’ the dreams of Rwangyezi, whose cultural centre if gone; it will rob Ugandans of the grand tourist attraction and heritage centre in Kampala, which serves about 600-1000 tourists on any given weekend.
So, we are just asking, will Gen.Museveni come to rescue as UDB moves to ‘kill’ Ndere Centre tycoon?
ABAANA & EBYAANA DILEMMA
In April 2023, businessman James Tumusiime got what sources say was nearly sh 8bn by selling to the government of Uganda 49 percent shares in his Igongo cultural centre in Mbarara city.
The popular tourist destination, renown for its local cuisine and a museum showcasing Banyankore artifact and other items of culture had been struggling due to a debt reportedly incurred during its construction.
The bailout, sources say, was initiated mainly by the tycoon’s daughter and senior officials in the ministry of finance.
For the bazzukulu who may not know, Tumusiime is an historical member of the NRA/NRM and served on its external wing during exile.
After the NRA took power in 1986, Tumusiime became the first editor of the government newspaper, New Vision, before being replaced by William Pike.
Upon his replacement, Tumusiime became deputy editor in chief and went on to found other businesses such as Fountain Publishers which prints books and Igongo cultural centre plus large scale cattle ranching.
Before the Igongo bailout, the government had bailed out Geoffrey Rugazoora’s Mogas petroleum by taking over his 15 acres of land in Mukono.
In September 2022, Stanbic bank had seized assets of oil company Mogas over a huge debt. But President Museveni in a letter directed PM Nabbanja to rescue Mogas.
Many other struggling businessmen have got bailouts to pay bank loans or to recapitalize. Sudhir Ruparelia has got billions of shillings to invest in his hotels for example. Italian business lady Pinetti got billions to build a specialist hospital in Lubowa. Atiak Sugar factory of business lady Amina Hersi has also got big bucks from the government. Bassajjabalaba’s Hides and Skins business was also once a beneficiary of a government bailout.
Roko construction was also bailed out in 2022.
Last year, President Museveni directed Finance Minister Matia Kasaija to help Dei Pharmaceuticals boss, Mathias Magoola settle a loan of about shs 578bn.
Early this year, the President asked that shs 600bn owed by AYA group to South Africans be taken over by the government while tycoon Patrick Bitature also got a bailout to save his hotels that were being threatened by moneylenders.
In the same breath, other businessmen have begged for bailouts but not been given. These include Sembule steel mills, the Rubaga based pioneer maker of steel and electronic products, Biyinzika poultry breeders in Mukono, Bancafe, Good African coffee, Mukalazi, Zzimwe. The last two were trailblazers in road construction.
This state of affairs has set tongues wagging. What are the criteria for bailing out companies and leaving out others? Do we have Abaana and Ebyaana, some people rhetorically ask. But here is what it takes to get the bail out.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For the uninitiated, every bailout must be signed off by the man himself, the Ssabalwanyi.
But for him to appreciate your problem you must meet him physically and explain your case. Yet the most daunting task in Uganda is to try to meet the President.
It is simply not possible using the official channels. But there are a few people who can take you there.
“These people are so few you can count them on your finger tips and I bet they do not include the president’s Principal Private Secretary,” says a deep state source.
So these people exact a price to allow you access to the Ssabalwanyi. You heard during the State-of-the-Nation address the President saying people were paying huge sums of money in order to see him.
If these brokers don’t take money they ask for shares in the struggling company, a complete take over or a cut of the eventual bailout.
Some even ask for sexual favors.
A wife of a top UPDF General recently asked for 70% shares in a fertilizer firm in order for it to get business from the Government.
A cute daughter of one of the businessmen recently bailed out had to give a senior government official a baby as part of oiling the machine.
So if you don’t know these influential people you will never get the bail out. And even if you know but have nothing to part with, still your company will collapse.
One other time tested way of meeting Ssabalwanyi is by ambushing him tactfully. This is possible if you are a relative and can afford to camp near where he goes like Kisozi or Rwakitura or at a public function when you are given an opportunity to speak.
You saw how an Anglican Bishop of Kitaffe mu Katonda Lubowa asked for a bailout of a car directly from Ssabalwanyi during Heroes Day celebrations in Mpenja Gomba early this year.
You also saw an NRA veteran using the time given to him to narrate which gun he was using during the war to ask and gracefully obtain a bailout of a taxi.
Other bailout seekers ambush Ssabalwanyi at family functions or have an influential member of the family who drags them by the hand to the man himself. That’s how the Rugazooras perhaps come in here.
For people like AYA, there has always been an intriguing relationship between him and elements in government.
When he was first given that prime government land near state house Nakasero, it caused a hullabaloo.
Partly because Uganda Television, which was housed on that land, had to be shifted to give way for AYA to build a hotel. When he had issues paying his workers, a minister of labour called Kabafunzaki tried to extort a few shillings to wet his beak and settle the AYA, employee grievances. The minister was lured into a trap at Paradiso Hotel in Muyenga, given 5M shillings, arrested as he received it and summarily fired from cabinet.
He went on to lose his parliamentary seat. Some sources in the corridors of power claim AYA could be a business partner with some powerful individuals who help him maneuver through and get access to the president.
Because the President is so keen to thrust Uganda into the middle income status he is willing to bail out every struggling but viable business or those with strategic importance like hotels which promote tourism. So once AYA can reach Museveni, a bailout is guaranteed.
Some of those brokers have their own businesses. For them to accept to lead you to the big man they must be sure your business will not compete with theirs.
We shall be naming some of the brokers in our subsequent publications.
DEAR READER,
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