I hosted the #AFMIndex2022 launch today which is a report on the financial markets of 26 African countries done by @Absa
The first and most impressive detail from the launch is here; a breakdown of the markets by size, liquidity and product diversity. Markets are impressive when measured by GDP but the heat is real when that comes to ‘liquidity’ [Cash is king] #AFMIndex2022
Uganda posts very impressive scores on all pillars except - and this is the heart of the matter - when it comes down to capacity of local investors [call it skin in the game] #AFMIndex2022
Our market is truly ready for take-off and the regulatory infrastructure is amazing [with the exception of the newly raised minimum capital requirements for banks ] but Ugandans/local companies have little access to expensive credit #AFMIndex2022
Our market capitalization as a country is still very low due to a poor savings culture, young financial instruments and low pensions [only 9% of the working class saves] as a result the return on equity is too low. In the figure it’s even hard to see #AFMIndex2022
Our market offers 4 of 6 major financial products but we’ve not allowed green bonds and other sustainable bonds like a municipal bond [I’ll run for Mayor fortportal if we offer a municipal bond that’s decentralized] #AFMIndex2022
Our capacity for local investment is still too low. Our pension funds are low but luckily they are nearly matched in assets to domestically listed assets [Our Capital markets are growing]
This is why the generational debate & approach to @nssfug must be appreciated #AFMIndex2022
To realize how low our pensions are [despite being the best regionally] look at how we compare with established markets on the continent on pension per capita #AFMIndex2022
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There’s a lot of justified anger at the state of affairs in Uganda but anger alone is not enough, it’s possible, even with a change of guard that’s publicly hailed, we could remain in the same state - or worse.
How are we thinking strategically about how to govern Uganda? 🇺🇬
I’ve often asked my friends who are a heartbeat away from the presidency what would the first 100 days of their leadership look like? Because if you cannot imagine them, then you cannot implement them.
A government is a large, interest filled bureaucracy that is not easy to navigate. A new president, for example, cannot sack a PS, and even if they could, they’d need to immediately replace them. So what’s the short term plan for continuity and the long term plan for reform?
The response to a march on parliament, surely, cannot be violent breakup, detentions, arrests and intimidation. It is, counter-productive, unhelpful and dangerous both in the short and long run....
The Ugandan state is the net-loser in corruption. For all the revenue the country collects [25.2 trillion shillings]. Core investment in health & education is still dismal. Investment in health per person is 27,000 shs per person per year & education at 185k per person per year
You cannot prevail over such a low investment in basic public goods with the arrogance, impunity and broad day theft of the political class many of whom are aloof, insensitive, crass and macabre in their ways
We don't talk about wealth as a matter of public policy and yet that is one of the ways in which it represents itself. In our lifetime, ofcourse, some people will have a lot more money than others, that isn't the problem at all.
The rich getting rich isn't a problem - we shouldn't atleast make it a problem. The problem is the poor getting poorer and being unable to afford basic public goods; health & education and being unable to live decent life; free from fear, anxiety and basic human dignity
The chopper and expensive car hiring isn't the problem, it is the manifestation of the problem.
Wealth as a matter of public policy is measured by GNI per capita [Atlas method]. Uganda has had growth in that regard, currently at $930 from $250 in 2002
I see that legislators have now lost all sense of shame about the immoral plunder and legislated corruption of public funds. It’s important that this moment is captured right in Ugandan history
Why?
The stated outcome for legislation globally and nationally is to make law for the good governance, peace and order and development. To do this Uganda’s parliament is parceled into constituencies and the total number of MPs from those are 519 [elected] 38 [elected non-suffrage]
They sit thrice a week; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday and conduct business through either committees or through the house. So the total number of sittings a legislator can have is 780 per term [5yrs] broken down to 156 per annum - some adjustment to these numbers though - nxt
Events like Nyege Nyege aren't where the 'Uganda' project, they are in fact where it thrives. If I sat in a corner office of govt, I'd do the following
1. Have a registration stall at the entrance for taxes, pension [nssf], national ID's and a general QR code survey for gov't services delivery
2. I'd get the DEO, DHO districts in the East to exhibit, register volunteers for teaching, health services and private donations
3. I'd run a small fundraiser for people to drop all the coin change into boxes for renovation of defunct public infra in Jinja, like the library. I'd even run a small paid for quiz on knowledge of Jinja where proceeds go to the city coffers.
Small thread for journalists/journalism students and enthusiasts on managing access, ethical considerations and sourcing from the Rwenzururu story.
I’d always passionately covered the tensions in Rwenzururu from my earlier days at @ugandarn I infact won a grant from @ACME_Uganda to investigate the land conflicts there and during that story I could tell there were deep seated grievances btn the kingdom and govt
Key among these was that Kasese which was the capital of the Rwenzururu kingdom despite being the most populated district outside of the capital had some of the worst indicators on education, health, roads etc.