DENIS JJUUKO : Shortchanging each other will only lead to poverty

Somebody who runs a high-profile restaurant and bar in one of Kampala’s leafy suburbs was once looking for an item that would help him reduce costs at his outlet. He wanted to find a locker for one of the consumables that he can’t do away with. Many of the revelers that would pay highly for his food and drinks were also nipping away something. He wanted to lock it so he reduces the cost of replenishment.

Over some time, he had realized that his toilet paper costs were increasingly becoming high yet toilet paper is not one of the most expensive items in Kampala. He wondered why that was the case. He decided to make some observations. He was scandalized to realize that some of the patrons pocketed some rolls of toilet paper. That is why he was looking for a toilet paper roll locker. That would ensure nobody takes away a full roll. They could only use what they needed.

This story, unfortunately, is not isolated. Theft is becoming widespread everywhere. When my friend Anita Ntomi decided to publish a long missive about her experience at the hands of tax collectors, bonded warehouse managers and quality inspectors that stole her merchandise, it sounded like it was a one off. Only that it wasn’t. On many WhatsApp groups, traders narrated similar experiences. Somebody said she had lost 36 rolls of curtains in a similar manner. Another mentioned sports equipment. Somebody else said cosmetics. Another said shoes, bags and children’s clothes.

Supermarket owners do full body searches of their employees before signing out at the end of their shifts as a counter measure to widespread pilferage. Factory owners do the same. Police officers have been arrested before for stealing stolen goods (exhibits) in their custody.

We learned recently that employees of a commercial bank deposited a whopping Shs500m of fake notes in the vaults. They must have taken out the genuine ones and probably hoped to pass on fake notes to the customers. Customers usually don’t suspect a bank to supply them with counterfeit bank notes. The good news was that the bank managed to detect them before money was circulated to hundreds of customers.

At the central bank, according to media reports, US$60m disappeared in 60 seconds. Although originally reported as the handiwork of hackers, some reports claimed it was an inside job.

I think inspired by those reports, some cash in transit personnel of a security firm decided to deliver some Shs1billion to themselves instead of delivering it to a bank. Some of the security guards were arrested while hiding in their villages wondering what to do with the money.

Almost everywhere in Uganda, somebody is trying to shortchange somebody. Stories are told of a famous minister who likes his beer. That whenever he goes out to drink, he keeps every beer bottle top so that when they present the bill, he can be able to reconcile. He can’t trust anyone with his bar bill. Talking of bar bills, many people in bars say they prefer to pay cash to avoid inflated bills but the problem, sometimes many bar tenders disappear with the change.

There is a famous TikTok video of a guy who ordered for a chapati in a restaurant and asked the waiter to cut it into pieces. When the waiter presented the chapati that had been cut into pieces, the customer decided to reconstruct it. Some pieces had been kept away somewhere in the kitchen. The ashamed waiter re-appeared with the missing pieces.

Those who eat roast meat demand that the meat is presented on skewers. That way they can be sure their meat hasn’t been stolen by those serving it.

If you notice at butchers, some people buy many kilos of meat but pack into smaller amounts of 500 grams each or less. The reason some of these people give is that at home, the domestic workers steal the meat claiming they cooked it. When they bring it packed in such packages, they will be able to account for it.

What does this all mean to our country? That we can’t grow and build sustainable businesses. We can’t attract investment. Investors can’t be looking over their shoulders all the time. We need as a country to find a way to instill integrity otherwise we are becoming a den of thieves. And that means abject poverty for the majority of Ugandans.

The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com