The most expensive town in Uganda is...

 

 

“Only three organisations called back - one to let me know that, with eight years’ experience as a school bursar, I was overqualified for the job, while the rest said that I had come second in the interviews and would be contacted if anything came up,” she recalls. 

 

Something did come up eventually, in the form of a job in Kampala. Her salary would be no more than sh800,000. Though it still was not much, given her responsibilities as a single mother of two, it was an improvement from her previous salary.

 

Just before she tendered in her acceptance letter, her brother suggested that she finds out the cost of living in Kampala before accepting the job. “This seemingly small exercise saved me from taking a job that would have left me with only sh5,000 as my savings,” she says.

 

Often, people take on new jobs, travel or move to new towns without giving a second thought to the cost of living in those areas. Some go as tourists, only to discover that their budget is too small for a memorable trip.

 

If you plan to travel, work or move to a new area, it is only wise that you consider your cash at hand before you make a move. Sunday vision writers used a questionnaire and sampled 18 towns from different regions to determine how much you would need to survive in any of those towns.  

 

The results were then used to determine the most expensive towns. Kampala was left out because the cost of living in its suburbs depends on many things.

 

For instance, the location, topography, kind of people who live in the suburb and their occupation all have a big impact on its cost of living. As a result, the cost of living in Bwaise differs from the cost of living in neighbouring Kawempe, Makerere, Wandegeya, Mpererwe or even far off Kireka, Kololo and Muyenga. 

  

Jinja and Mbale are some of the most expensive towns anyone can live in, with rent for a three-bedroom house (standard family house) at sh500,000 in Mbale and as high as sh700,000 in Jinja.

 

The average cost in the sampled towns is sh150,000. Moroto is also on the high side with a standard three-bedroom house going for sh450,000 and a two bedroomed house at sh300,000 when compared to Mbale’s sh150,000. Mubende and Mityana are rather cheap when compared to other towns with two bedroomed houses at sh40,000 to 60,000. 

 

Kamuli is one of the cheapest towns with almost all its prices lower than most sampled towns. For instance, traveling 11 kms (one-way) on a boda-boad in Kamuli will cost you only sh3,000 whereas the same distance in towns like Moroto, Hoima and Nebbi will cost you sh10,000. In many towns, transport costs are rather unpredictable because they change with the seasons.

 

Issues like the end and beginning of the school term affect transport costs in many towns. During the rainy season or festive season for instance, a trip to Kamuli can easily double from sh24,000 to sh50,000.

 

As far as food prices are concerned, Moroto, Mbale, Iganga, Jinja, Entebbe, Wakiso, Nebbi and Gulu are rather on the high side while Kamuli is still among the cheapest. Beer costs are almost the same in most towns, with prices depending on where you go to ‘wet your throat’. 

 

If you are a tourist, accommodation rates are as varied as the towns sampled. In a town like Nebbi, for instance, you can find yourself a decent single room at sh25,000, while a similar room will set you back by a good sh180,000 in Hoima.

 

In Mbale, you will have to part with sh100,000 while a good night’s sleep in Ntungamo can cost you sh80,000 in a high-end hotel. Jinja and Entebbe are a different story altogether, given their tourist potential. A room in any of those towns can cost sh300,000. 

 

The construction industry is booming in most Ugandan towns but surprisingly, our sample shows that the cost of construction materials like cement does not differ much. In most sampled places, a bag of cement costs between sh29,000 and sh30,000, although you have isolated cases of Gulu, Ntungamo, Wakiso and Moroto where a bag can go as high as sh32,000. 

 

Land, of course, is costly wherever you go. The rates depend on the location of the piece you are interested in with land near town more expensive than land further away from the town centre. If you are nursing dreams of owning land in Mbale, Lira, Hoima and Jinja, you need a staggering sh200m, sh300m, sh800m and sh600m respectively.

 

If you want to purchase a piece of land in one of these towns but do not have that kind of money, then Moroto, Iganga, Wakiso, Mpigi and Kamuli are good options.

 

For even less money but further from the town center, Kapchorwa, Gulu and Soroti are a good bet. As you check out your investment prospects, do give nightlife a try by visiting any of the nightclubs of your choice. Most are as cheap as they come, though we cannot promise that they will be worth your while.

 

Compiled by Joseph Wanzusi, Godfrey Ojore, George Bita, Benedict Okethwengu, Robert Atuhairwe,  Olandason Wanyama, Juliet Lukwago, Boniface Odongo, Tom Gwebayanga, Rwambuka Mugisha, Charles Juuko, Chris Ocowun, Luke Kagiri, Fredrick Sooma, Jackie Nambogga and Elizabeth Namazzi

 

 

 

 

The key questions asked during the research were the (average) cost of: 

 

Hiring a three bedroomed standard family house

 

Hiring a two-room house 

 

Hiring a boda-boda for an 11 kilometre journey

 

Transport costs by taxi to and from Kampala

 

A kilo of maize flour

 

A kilo of dry beans

 

A kilo of groundnuts 

 

A kilo of rice

 

A kilo of millet 

 

A bunch of matooke (large, medium, small)

 

One single hotel room (low-end, middle end and up-end)

 

One double hotel room (low-end, middle end and up-end)

 

School fees for lower and upper end schools

 

A bottle of beer

 

A bag of cement 

 

Women’s shoes and clothes

 

50x100 plot of land

 

Acre of land

 

Night club entrance charge