I can imagine there is no better feeling than driving by a huge building named after you. The mere thought of seeing your name in bold gigantic letters sitting atop of a tower is simply humbling. It is a testimony of someone’s journey, a mark of achievement. You find rich jamas with many buildings enjoying the skylines of Kampala yet you hardly own a kiosk back home.
Kirumira Towers, Nabukera Plaza and so many others. While people’s names are on buildings, yours can only be found on a Coca Cola bottle and that is if you are even lucky to find it there. Your name only makes it to lists of liabilities and is even spelled wrongly.
If you are handing me a bill of water, have the decency to at least spell my name correctly. Being an ordinary mortal, nothing you say or do matters. The rich seem to control their destiny.
A rich chap is not just holding a steering wheel of a sleek Mercedes Benz, but also holding opportunities. How about you? You are at the back of an old taxi holding your phone jealously, scared of thieves who might grab it. The rich chap on the other side isn’t bothered; I mean, what’s a phone to him? He can lose one and replace it immediately. You dream that maybe one day it will be your turn to become this tycoon that enjoys the finest things the world has to offer.
Now you get to hear about these so called tycoons seeking a bail out from gavo for businesses gone bad. What? Billionaires on their knees rallying for help? It does not add up. Where do the swanky mansions or expensive rides come from? Anti they be telling us how they started with a stall of three tomatoes. As a child who believes in fairytale endings, this is the stuff I want to hear all my life, stories of triumph, not a gaddam billionaire begging.
What’s the point of waking up early every morning to go to a pitiful job to tolerate an annoying boss? The extra hours of work we put in after work, what are they for? If the Basajjabalabas can swim in pools of debt, what will be our end story? And what about the small business owners, who bails them out? The ones who work honestly but are hard pressed by the heavy taxes. It’s all confusing. Guess who will bail our tycoons out? You with your ka 500k-a-month salo. Such is life!
It is normal to look up to people because we would be hopeless if we did not. We are all looking for success stories to draw inspiration from. Let’s pick these wisely. There are many companies whose rise to the top is questionable. More so, the ones who treat workers harshly and do business in a shady way. These ones should forget any bail out. The ones who have been honest in their dealings should be heard. All in all, this bail out has got me thinking about the people we call tycoons in this country. They are a bunch of scammers. Mpozi, how much did Ham splash on his mansion in Bunga? Hmmm!
