[Kampala, Uganda]
WOW, I’VE FINALLY made it to Uganda! I’ve always heard that this is the PEARL OF AFRICA. Well, I think those peeps might be correct. After crossing over from Busia, Kenya a few days ago, I’m simply blown away by the green space in this, um, GREEN country.
Food here, there, everywhere…
Heck, EVERYTHING grows here. No shit! Everywhere I go, there’s a banana tree here, a mango tree there. Rice growing over there. Fish from Lake Victoria over thar. Good lords, I doubt peeps starve in this country. LOL. You have to be HERE to SEE it for yourself. And food is a heck of a lot cheaper than even Kenya.
Uganda @ work…
And then there’s the huge investments in the energy sector by the government. You’ve got the massive Bujagali hydro project in Jinja and other hydro projects in the works. {I’ll add more info here l8tr!}
Oh no…OIL!
And don’t forget the oil that was recently discovered in Lake Albert by the DRC (Congo) border. If this country can harness these potentials, god damn it, but look out East Africa! Seriously, if these peeps can use that oil locally to SAVE a big chunk of foreign coin from importing oil, they eventually WILL surpass Kenya in terms of economic development.
Kenya is on fire…
And although Kenya’s humming along economically — Safaricom & its virally innovative & addictive M-PESA mobile money/banking service; Kenya Airways (aka KQ) is flying high; Nakumatt has taken supermarket/department store shopping to a whole new level of convenience (for Africa); The Nation Media Group is king of African media; Kenya Wildlife Service is attracting lots of tourists; Bamburi Cement is a major supplier to a majority of the commercial/residential real estate development projects cropping up all over the country; Equity Bank with James Mwangi as its innovative CEO is hauling ass by ‘out-innovating’ the competition & even has branches in Uganda & Tanzania; Kenya’s tea, coffee & flower farmers are raking in the dough; Nairobi is headquarters for the United Nations in Africa; massive road projects thanks to the Chinese, etc. — politics (ie. post election violence of 2007/2008, hypocritical ICC drama, corruption, etc.) will always be her Achilles’ Heel. I hope I’m wrong though because East Africa has literally taken off like KQ’s brand new Boeing jets. 
Folks, ya heard it from me first: The East African Community (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda & Burundi — maybe Southern Sudan & Somalia in a few years?) is THE place to BE if you wanna see where Africa is heading. And once they harmonize their currency (East African Monetary Union), this region will be untouchable, leaving the rest of Africa in the dust.
Ooops, back to Uganda…
So yeah, I’ve now visited Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania. And I gotta say that each country is supremely unique. I think Uganda’s gonna surprise a lot of peeps though. I was walking down Kampala Road in downtown KAMPALA and I was blown away by all the computer hardware shops selling PCs, laptops, printers & the works. I’m guessing there must’ve been over 50 computer shops I passed by. I hope they’re all making money.
Mountain views everywhere…
Kampala is a hilly city (think San Francisco) and the views are spectacular. Again, trees are everywhere so you feel like you’re in a city that was carved out of a forest. I had the pleasure of taking the boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) everywhere. And their rates are el cheapo, too. I think Kampala is built on 7 hills so you can see fabulous real estate from various vantage points.
Safe Kampala…
I feel so safe when I’m in Uganda. Actually, I’ll have my guard up when I cross back over to Kenya. Sorry, but that’s a fact. Police are everywhere! Yes, I know this is an election year and some shit is hitting the fan with rivals trying to usurp President Museveni’s reign, but it’s so safe in this country compared to Kenya. Seriously! Is this because food literally grows everywhere so bellies are not grumbling? LOL.
To be continued…
Pics coming soon!
