Kakira: The town of many trades
IF you visit Kakira today, you will be treated to something which resembles a town. Before Madhvani Group of Companies started developing the area, many people had deserted it due to tsetse fly infestation.
BY OYET OKWERA
IF you visit Kakira today, you will be treated to something which resembles a town. Before Madhvani Group of Companies started developing the area, many people had deserted it due to tsetse fly infestation.
Charles Otim, a resident, says almost all those who live in the area depend on Kakira Sugar Works for their livelihood. He adds that Kakira used to be a small rural trading centre on the way to Namulesa in Kamuli district.
Today, Polota, near Busoga College Mwiri, is the main business centre of Kakira. The main activity in Polota is trading in molasses used to brew waragi (local gin).
Jessica Akot, says she has taken her children through school from selling waragi. She adds that most of her customers come from the factory after work.
“Some of them pay for the brew a week in advance,†she says. According to John Kamau, the LC III chairman, the number of people in Kakira is on the rise. Many people are buying plots of land and constructing houses.
Kamau says Kakira grew into a cosmopolitan town with diverse tribes, including the Iteso, Lugbara and Acholi.
Kakira employs people from Arua, Gulu and Soroti to cut sugarcane. Kamau recalls that way back, Kakira did not have enough clean water. Some residents in Polota would go to Madhvani staff quarters to fetch water.
However, courtesy of Madhvani, Polota can now access clean water and has electricity, which runs the small businesses in the area.
He says the road networks have improved, although more planning is still required, as Kakira has moved from sub-county status to town council.
Kamau says most people in Kakira are sugarcane out growers, who supply Kakira Sugar Works. Samson Bagole, a resident, says nowadays business flourishes.
Before, people would travel to Jinja town to access banking services but now they have them from Kakira. Currently, a one-roomed house in Kakira goes for sh30,000, while an ordinary double-roomed house goes for about sh60,000, depending on the location.
IF you visit Kakira today, you will be treated to something which resembles a town. Before Madhvani Group of Companies started developing the area, many people had deserted it due to tsetse fly infestation.
Charles Otim, a resident, says almost all those who live in the area depend on Kakira Sugar Works for their livelihood. He adds that Kakira used to be a small rural trading centre on the way to Namulesa in Kamuli district.
Today, Polota, near Busoga College Mwiri, is the main business centre of Kakira. The main activity in Polota is trading in molasses used to brew waragi (local gin).
Jessica Akot, says she has taken her children through school from selling waragi. She adds that most of her customers come from the factory after work.
“Some of them pay for the brew a week in advance,†she says. According to John Kamau, the LC III chairman, the number of people in Kakira is on the rise. Many people are buying plots of land and constructing houses.
Kamau says Kakira grew into a cosmopolitan town with diverse tribes, including the Iteso, Lugbara and Acholi.
Kakira employs people from Arua, Gulu and Soroti to cut sugarcane. Kamau recalls that way back, Kakira did not have enough clean water. Some residents in Polota would go to Madhvani staff quarters to fetch water.
However, courtesy of Madhvani, Polota can now access clean water and has electricity, which runs the small businesses in the area.
He says the road networks have improved, although more planning is still required, as Kakira has moved from sub-county status to town council.
Kamau says most people in Kakira are sugarcane out growers, who supply Kakira Sugar Works. Samson Bagole, a resident, says nowadays business flourishes.
Before, people would travel to Jinja town to access banking services but now they have them from Kakira. Currently, a one-roomed house in Kakira goes for sh30,000, while an ordinary double-roomed house goes for about sh60,000, depending on the location.