Who is misinforming foreigners about Ugandans?

For so many years, a common fallacy has been paraded that Ugandans are lazy, corrupt and untrustworthy people.

Let us take a closer look at the laziness label.  It is no secret that most corporate companies in Uganda fill their middle and top managerial positions with foreigners from as near as Kenya, our immediate neighbors.  I admit their recruitment could be based purely on merit. However, we cannot fail to underscore the likelihood that these decisions are informed by bias: the perception that few Ugandans can efficiently head departments or institutions owing to misconstrued laziness or unprofessionalism.

Three years ago, I had an opportunity to work in a neighbouring country. As a rule of thumb, most of its native labour force is regarded as hardworking. The reality is far from that. I can fairly say that I have interacted with many hardworking Ugandans, who put in every ounce of diligence into their work, far outweighing our perceived top notch neighbours.  Indeed, each institution or nation has an ensemble of people who will satisfy both extremes on the studious scale. It is hence unfair to band around stereotypes on the whole population.

It is indisputable that Ugandans have special attributes that are an envy of the rest of the world. We might easily be the friendliest and hospitable people in the world, an attribute that has endeared us to many. Ugandans love comfort and the joys of life, and that alone makes us very hardworking.

Needless to say, we are trustworthy. Stories are told of people who entrust bags full of money with boda-boda couriers, and the latter get the job done! That can only happen in Uganda.  

Through experience, I have noted that when foreigners are dealing with Ugandans, there is often an air of mistrust from the outset. They could double check the authenticity of the person by soliciting for background information from other foreigners who have previously dealt with the subject.  Of course background checks are common practice and vital to confirm identity, minimize fraud and mitigate dealing with persons who have a tainted history.

In this case though, mistrust spreads to otherwise trivial circumstances such as grocery purchases. In professional circles, procurement is marred by demands to meet both suppliers and business owners because clients may have hitherto developed a mindset that Ugandans inflate actual rate cards or quotations. Without doubt, this wariness is backed by credible information sources.

Who then, is providing this self-inflicting information? The answer to this damning question may not be kind to many of us. Let us draw a trajectory illustrated by fictitious, yet common scenarios.  A new foreign CEO arrives at Entebbe airport, and the company driver is at hand to pick him. "How is Uganda?" the CEO pops the golden question.

"All is not well….we are doing badly, we would be better but the system, the pay, the HR manager does not review our pay, this government is really draining us yada yada..", the driver posts.

Unknown to him, he has just painted a grave picture of the state of affairs in the country, which will forever shape the opinion of the CEO. When the CEO enters his office and  meets the critical management personnel, majority will be quick to point out  how the company would be doing better  but some individuals are not doing their jobs well.

The new boss will even be told how some of the employees are crafty and to be watched out for. Intrigue is common place, and these stories are not imagined. Some employees will go an extra mile of falsely pleading for anonymity so as not to affect their relationships at work.

In so doing, they make themselves vulnerable to their new boss. Step forward the issue of third party partners like consultants and suppliers who have previously dealt with the company. Some honchos   will inform the new boss of how these partners need to be put under strict control, with the prime aim of self-anointing as supervisors.

All these scenarios are true in politics, management and businesses. As a result, the only people responsible for the negative branding of Uganda are Ugandans themselves.  If we don't arrest this sordid culture, our opportunities will keep stunted in comparison to our peers.

We need to change now.

Joshua Kamugabirwe

The writer is a social observer and a member of Leadership Square Africa. A non- profit organization mentoring future leaders.