Ugandans missing out on somalia business

Sep 08, 2011

A chance for Ugandan farmers to supply AMISOM forces in Mogadishu was lost because the samples were too good — far above the required and expected quality.

By Joshua Kato

A chance for Ugandan farmers to supply AMISOM forces in Mogadishu was lost because the samples were too good — far above the required and expected quality.

“This is a complete waste,” one of the evaluators of the food said after testing a sample of Uganda’s finest flour.

Sources in Mogadishu said the Ugandan suppliers took the first-class (super) flour yet the soldiers are fed on ‘whole grain’ flour, which is half-refined or known as Grade 3.

The sweet potato samples also failed to meet the requirements. They were found to be very low in calories and yet this was the major nutrient the evaluators wanted.

At the end of the day, only Fresh Dairy clinched a deal to supply milk to the 9,000-strong force every day.

“They wanted milk produced by cows that are fed on fresh grass,” the source in Mogadishu said.

The bread is provided by a subsidiary company of Hared Petroleum Company which set up a bakery in Mogadishu.

Subsequently, the flour comes from Kenya and the potatoes Australia. Meat too is supplied by a Kenyan company, Farmers Choice.

“We did not get to learn about the supply of meat otherwise I think we had the capacity to supply the forces,” said Dr. Godfrey Bigirwa, the business manager of the Uganda Meat Producers Co-operative Union, who are the leading suppliers of meat on the Ugandan market.

Other business opportunities
Despite the failure to feed the troops, Ugandans can exploit other business ventures in Mogadishu, thanks to the current peace.

Ugandan businesspeople made a killing in both the DRC and Sudan, two countries that were previously assisted by the Ugandan army.
Most of the cargo can be sent through the seaport, after being transported through Mombasa port in Kenya.

“On average, we have at least four huge ships docking here every week,” said one of the AMISOM soldiers at the port, who is in charge of an AMISOM unit that maintains security at the port.

These are in addition to tens of smaller boats that come from around the region. Until three years ago, before AMISOM forces landed in Mogadishu, the sea-port was desolate.

When this reporter visited the port, there were three ships, one from Athens (Greece), another India and another from Latin America.

When returning to their destinations, the ships take back charcoal, fruits, goats and sheep.

“Had it not been for the wars, we had a very good source for goats and sheep,” says Omar Ousman, who owns a truck for hire at the seaport.

It takes at least a week to unload each of the huge ships.
Somalis, like their Middle Eastern neighbours enjoy eating goat and mutton.

Certainly, with Ugandan forces having a foothold in the city, this is an opportunity that Ugandan farmers can start looking at.

“We also need eggs, rice and wheat,” Ousman says. Since Ugandans produce eggs, this is another business opportunity. Somalis also like fruits, flour and rice.

The seaport brings in imports too, including both new and second-hand cars, fuel tanks, vehicle tyres, water drums, all kinds of cereals, clothes, timber, sugar and even shark meat.

“Things like mobile phones and electrical gadgets like TVs and radios are cheaper here than in any other city in the region,” says Ousman.

The reason is that there is no tax policy here. So without taxation, they are obviously cheap.

“However, many of them are fake and this is largely because we do not have a standards authority here,” Ousman says.

Most of the goods that pass through Mogadishu port ended up five miles away to the north of the city, a place with many tall buildings. This is the famous Bakara market. Bakara is not your conventional market - like St. Balikuddembe. It covers over 2.5km of land and is housed in nice storeyed buildings.

“That is the centre of business in Mogadishu. For example, all telecommunications companies in Mogadishu are based there,” explains AMISOM spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda.

In Mogadishu, almost every person has got a link to Bakara and the seaport. One can also say that it is the largest centre of fake merchandise in the region.

Somalia has got some of the cheapest call rates in the region and world.

“You can make phone calls over a period of three months on just five dollars,” says an AMISOM soldier. The Internet link operated in Mogadishu is one of the fastest in the world too.

There are several bakeries and confectioneries located in people’s homes in Mogadishu. There is also a mineral water factory. It is this company that got the tender to supply the AMISOM forces with water.

All these economic activities explain the perseverance of a population despite the war.

“All we need is to give hope to our people and things will be okay. We need to provide them with security for their businesses and homes,” says the new Somali prime minister, Mohammed Abdiwelli Ali.

Mohammed said he has already talked to Ugandan business people, including Ugandans of Somali origin and they have promised to invest in Mogadishu.

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