As Ugandans continue to relax, a Monday Times investigation has found that sixty percent of the businesses on the Kampala Gaba Road are now owned by Eritrea and Ethiopian business people.
The shrewd businessmen emerged here after the war broke out in South Sudan. Many of their businesses in Juba and other regions were forced to shut down as the war raged on followed by an unprecedented economic crisis.
Seven out of ten businesses counted in Bunga, Soya and Kansanga in the past week was owned by an Eritrean or Ethiopian.
Unlike Chinese businesses which were looked at with suspicion as they began to emerge, Eritrean and Ethiopian businesses have sneaked in almost unnoticed.
“We have no problem with them. They do not mistreat people here, and they employ Ugandans easily, although they are not easy to mix with, partly because of language barrier,” an LC1 chairperson in the Kansanga area told this reporter.
A review of their businesses however showed that the Eritreans and Ethiopians focused more on entertainment and leisure businesses, with the bulk of them owning either bars, lodges or restaurants.
In order to establish if Eritreans and Ethiopians were lawful residents, we visited Ministry of Internal Affairs, where an official told us they were indeed bonafide residents.
“We have never had any problems with Eritreans and Ethiopians.They always follow the right channels of becoming residents in Uganda,” Peter Isingoma, an official we met at the ministry said.
Some of their Ugandan workers we talked to told us that Ugandans can learn a great deal from Eritreans and Ethiopians.
“They are very hard working, systematic and watch their money flows carefully. They are very good business people,” Ritah Nantenge a waitress at a bar owned by Eritreans and Ethiopians told this reporter.
