Stop criticizing booze biz, it drives our economy-Tweheyo

Amos Tayebwa

Mbarara

The senior presidential Advisor, James Tweheyo has condemned the negative aspect that the public has against alcohol saying this is an informal / night economy that forms about 80% of the businesses that drive the major part of Uganda’s economy.

While addressing the representatives of workers from Ankore Region and the members of Workers in Informal Economy Network Uganda (WIENU), Tweheyo said that people must stop the tendency of under looking alcohol business as an evil business.

He mentioned that in the informal economy in Uganda, the people in the alcohol business must be recognised as the major source of revenue for this country.

“I don’t want anybody to blind himself from reality, personally I don’t take alcohol but I will tell you without fear or favor that alcohol in this country drives the night economy that contributes about 80%. It is the same business where people go and work to sell beer, the bar owners, the bar tenants and the bar revelries go in and drink.

“Secondly, these boda boda riders, which people say they drive at night. It is the people who attend the bars to drink, those who work there. These young girls `who are suffering without any recourse or support, even those who sell themselves, they are selling themselves to those who drink.

“Not quite often do these people who are sober go there, those who play disco, those who do special hire, and all those survive because of the alcohol. By the way, very many people went to school because of alcohol, some of them married because of alcohol.

“And therefore, we need to look at it realistically and we should stop looking at it as a bad thing, we should look at how we can contain it and use it to our best for survival in terms of economy and we should even add value to it,” said Tweheyo.

He added: “Do you know how much Uganda Waragi costs in Sweden or Switzerland? Do you know what these tourists do when they come here, they are actually coming here to drink Nile beer and to drink Uganda Waragi, nothing more. You go to Jinja where they talk of Nyege Nyege and see what is happening there. So this alcohol should not be looked at only as a negative aspect. Do you know how much revenue we get from it in terms of taxation alone? Alcohol is one of the biggest revenue sources; it forms part of the economy not only at night but even during the day.”

Tweheyo said this during the launch of Hass avocado tree planting for economic transformation and social protection scheme. This was held at New Pearl Hotel in Mbarara which was organised by WIENU led by its initiator Jesca Mwijuka, Councilor representing workers in Mbarara City Council.

**Demonstration for the Hass Avocado tree planting**

It was encouraged that the people in the alcohol business should be included in the informal economy due to the fact that they are the major revenue source in the night economy.

Mwijuka said that WEINU which was registered in 2019 as CBO first before advanced as a national organisation was therefore aiming at economic transformation through planting improved Hass avocado that will help the local farmer to have income for savings and for survival. She implored the public, especially the workers who are self-employed to start saving for social protection.