Kampala. New and luxury car sales grew in February to Shs1.79b compared to Shs1.47b in January. 
At least 32 units were sold in February, representing some minimal growth from 25 units that were registered in January, according to data obtained from Uganda Revenue Authority. 
The growth, some dealers said, could have been influenced by the ban on cars older than 15 years, which was implemented in July last year. 
Government had given used car dealers up to March 31 to clear all stock of cars older than 15 years.

The ban has pushed up prices of different used cars, some of which are now at the same level with new ones. 
Mr Gilbert Wavamuno, the Spear Motors sales director, told Daily Monitor sales in luxury cars had picked up with the company seeing a growth of between 10 and 15 per cent.

Ban on old cars 
In July last year, the month in which the ban on cars older than 15 years was implemented, only 19 luxury cars worth Shs826.45m were sold. 
However, URA data indicates, sales have been improving with a peak in September, 2018 where 38 units worth Shs1.56b were sold. 
Mr Wavamuno also attributed the increase to the recovery in the economy, which he said had not been performing well since the year started.

However, he noted that the ban on used cars of more than 15 year has created a near match in prices with some buyers opting for brand new cars. According to URA data, a total of 205 brand new cars worth $2.7m (Shs10b) were sold in the period between July 2018 and February 2019. 
September had the highest sales in the period registering sales of 38 units. It was followed by December, which had 35 units worth Shs2b.

I keenly follow your articles in the Daily Monitor. What is the downside of a Pajero second hand car? Why are they so cheap? I want to buy a Pajero short chasis. Can I get a diagnosis /assessment of cars before I pay for it? What is the rate for such a service? Daniel

Hello Daniel, thank you for following. Pajero as a vehicle has no generic problems. It is only dogged by the same challenges that affect poorly maintained used vehicles with Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI Mitsubishi) or Fuel Stratified injection petrol engines (such as VW/Audi FSi or Toyota D4). Failure of the fuel and air intake systems is usually due to lack of maintenance or use of counterfeit filters, bad fuels and engine oil.

The GDi engine fuel delivery system delivers fuel in the right amounts and pressure directly to engine cylinders and is more fuel efficient and provides instant engine power.

However, it is very sensitive to fuel and intake air quality and quantity (fuel pressure/ air volume). It is important to replace the long life fuel filter on time (at 100,000 kms) and ensure that the air filter is kept clean or replaced when you need to. Failure to replace the fuel filter on time will lead to reduced fuel pressure or outright failure of the costly secondary and primary fuel pumps.

Continuous use of a dirty air filter leads to failure of the air flow sensor (which aids engine self-adaptation) and clogging or damage of the costly air intake throttle potentiometer valve. Engine oil grade and quality is an important factor in preventing premature engine failure as well as facilitating efficient performance.

Professional diagnostic inspection and assessment of the used car you want to buy is available and highly recommended. It is an opportunity to identify a vehicle that has damaged fuel and air intake system components or any other hidden mechanical problems such as mileage reversal, major accident concealment, corrosion damage and engine or transmission mechanical damage. This service is available. cost you about Shs100,000.

Source: Daily Monitor

In 2017, Jowet Matsiko started a tour and travel agency with Shs4m. The soft spoken 27-year-old Matsiko reveals that he was able to grow his business and is now valued at Shs50m in less than three years. At 24 years, Matsiko realised his childhood dream when he bought his first car in September, 2016. All he wanted was to fulfill his passion of travelling.

At that time, he was in his second year at Kampala International University (KIU) pursuing a degree in Information Technology.

However, three years down the road, the young and ambitious entrepreneur has nurtured his passion into a successful tour business.

Armed with Shs4m he had saved during his working days in Juba, South Sudan, Matsiko bought his first car, a second hand Ipsum. All he wanted was to travel with friends from campus to the beach for fun during weekends. However, he set a condition for his friends to contribute fuel. But since he only drove the car during weekends. Matsiko decided to hire it out.

“I got a driver who agreed to pay me Shs120,000 for using it six days and I would have my car on Sundays, I would also earn extra income from students since I got a balance on the money contributed for fuel,” he says.

After two months of hiring the car out, Matsiko realised the driver was delivering less money than agreed upon. “The driver started giving excuses. So the money started reducing; when the money dropped below Shs80,000, I decided to get back my car,” Matsiko recounts.

Matsiko realised to keep making money, he had to change strategy.
“When I got the car from him, I decided to drive it myself and would only ply two routes; that is Jinja and the airport. I would also market the business at campus to students and lecturers because for any business to succeed, you start with the people around you,” he says.

Venturing further
Whereas most of the clients Matsiko received travelled to and from the Airport, he got his first major breakthrough in November 2016 when his Indian lecturer gave him a deal.

“I was marketing my business during a lecture, my lecturer got interested and told me that he wanted someone to transport his brothers coming from India to Jinja for a tour. We agreed, and I was paid Shs500,000 for the journey,” Matsiko explains.

From then, Matsiko says he developed love for tour business. Apart from chauffeuring foreign tourists to hotels. He started casting his net in deeper waters mainly targeting tourists travelling to tourist sites such as national parks who paid handsomely.

Jinja still was his first major destination, especially with local tourists and a few foreign tourists. And still he engaged students who would travel to Jinja for fun.

Since he was more conversant with Jinja, he played both roles of a driver and a tour guide; and also charged $150 (about Shs550,000 shillings) for a trip.

Whereas he would get clients, his car started to constantly breakdown leading him into more repair costs which ate into his profits. By January, Matsiko could not withstand the high costs of repair and decided to sell it off.
“I sold it off at loss of Shs2.5m. Then I started to hire cars to ferry my clients which proved expensive and inconvenient,” Matsiko says.

As his interest in the tour business grew, he felt the urge to swim alongside sharks and decided to formalise it by registering Gild Tours and Logistsics Ltd. In February, 2017 he engaged a lawyer who helped him register. That same month, he opened a Facebook page to market the business and also paid for its boosting to reach many people.

But since he was still at university, he lacked the necessary money to open up an office space.
“I would meet my clients at restaurants in the city and other hangouts. I used to lie to them that I was out of office yet in actual sense I had no operating space,” Matsiko explains.

Source: Daily Monitor

Kampala. President Paul Kagame has called for an end to the tension between Uganda and Rwanda that led to closure of Rwanda border on February 28.

Mr Kagame, who was addressing the Africa CEO Forum 2019 in Kigali on Tuesday, said on the official presidential Twitter handle Presidency/Rwanda @Urigwiro Village that Uganda and Rwanda can avoid “quarrels” that might hurt both countries.

“To say the least, if we can’t work together as brothers, sisters, friends, we can decide to give each other peace and forget what we have to do together but above all avoid quarrels that will be destructive because no one will win from any serious quarrel,” he told the summit. 
His reconciliatory tweet is seen as a change from his earlier hardline position when told Rwanda’s local and central government officials on March 16 during a retreat at Rwanda Defence Forces Combat Training Centre, Gabiro in Gatsibo District that no one can bring him to his knees.

However, Mr Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s minister in charge of East African Community Affairs, yesterday told Daily Monitor that Mr Kagame has not softened.

“The President has been clear right from the start and as government, we have given three options. The first option is that we want to work towards normalisation of the relations for economic cooperation. We have said this before. The second option is that if the first option is not possible, we should ignore each other. But that’s not our preferred option. The third option, which is the worst is that if Uganda wants do harm to us, and continues to support our enemies, Rwanda is ready to defend itself,” Mr Nduhungirehe said.

Uganda’s Regional Cooperation Minister Philemon Mateke yesterday said that “there are no quarrels” between both countries. 
In a separate interview, Col Shaban Bantariza, the Uganda Media Centre deputy executive director, last evening said: “That is a positive statement and that has been the policy that nobody benefits from such a situation.”

Rwanda closed the border with Uganda and all the Ugandan cargo trucks have been blocked from entering Rwanda over allegations that Uganda is harassing and arresting Rwandans, an allegation Uganda has denied. 
During the same forum, which was also attended by DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, Mr Kagame also said it was only the people or Rwanda who can remove him from power.

“Whether you like me or not, President Kagame is here as President of Rwanda, it is the business of the people of Rwanda. If they want Kagame, they will have him and if they don’t they will remove him,” he said. 
Rwanda also claims that Uganda harbours the Rwanda National Congress dissidents to undermine the Kigali government.

President Tshisekedi said leaders should not conflict because it’s a waste of time. 
“Our countries will be neighbours forever, as leaders, we are here temporarily but our countries will always be there. Conflict with each other is a waste of time, time that could be used to build our countries,” he said.

9:00pm  |   CORONAVIRUS: Three billion under lockdown

Let me leave you with this five-minute read that should paint for you a picture on what's happening around the world as the United Nations warns that humanity is under threat.

This story is by AFP:

More than three billion people are living under lockdown measures to stem the spread of the killer coronavirus that the United Nations warned Wednesday is threatening all of humanity.

As the global death toll soared past 20,000 Spain joined Italy in seeing its number of fatalities overtake China, where the virus first emerged just three months ago.

"COVID-19 is threatening the whole of humanity -– and the whole of humanity must fight back," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, launching an appeal for $2 billion to help the world's poor.

"Global action and solidarity are crucial. Individual country responses are not going to be enough."

Markets rebounded after Washington vowed to spend $2 trillion to fend off a US economic collapse, while governments elsewhere are still taking ever more dramatic steps to contain the disease.

India's stay-at-home order for its 1.3 billion people is now the biggest, taking the total number of people facing restrictions on their daily lives to more than three billion.

 Indian police personnel stand guard at a traffic light during the first day of a 21-day government-imposed nationwide lockdown

Russia, which announced the death of two patients who tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, is expected to follow suit.

President Vladimir Putin declared next week a public holiday and postponed a public vote on controversial constitutional reforms, urging people to help each other and follow instructions given by medics and the authorities.

In Britain, heir to the throne Prince Charles became the latest high-profile figure to become infected while Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the country's response to tackle the outbreak despite accusations it was slow to act.

The G20 major economies will hold an emergency videoconference summit on Thursday to discuss a global response to the crisis, as will the 27 leaders of the European Union, the outbreak's new epicentre.

China has begun to relax its own draconian restrictions on free movement in the province of Hubei -- the original epicentre of the outbreak -- after the country reported no new cases.

Huge crowds jammed trains and buses as people in the province of 50 million people took their first opportunity to travel.

But Spain saw the number of deaths surge to 3,434 after more than 738 people died in the past 24 hours and the government announced a 432-million-euro ($467 million) deal to buy medical supplies from Beijing.

 A member of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) carries out a general disinfection at the Apanid residence for people with physical and intellectual disabilities in Madrid

'People dying alone'

At La Paz university hospital in Madrid, accident and emergency nurse Guillen del Barrio sounded bereft as he related what happened overnight.

"It is really hard, we had feverish people for many hours in the waiting room," the 30-year-old told AFP.

"Many of my colleagues were crying because there were people who are dying alone, without seeing their family for the last time."

Spain and Italy were joined by France and six more EU countries in urging Germany and the Netherlands to allow the issue of joint European bonds to cut borrowing costs and stabilise the eurozone economy.

This is likely to fall on deaf ears when the 27 leaders talk on Thursday -- with northern members wary of pooling debt with big spenders -- but they will sign off on an "unprecedented" recovery plan.

 Police officers control motorists during an anti-drug operation in Marseille, southern France

Coronavirus cases are also spreading in the Middle East, where Iran's death toll topped 2,000, and in Africa, where Mali declaring its first case and several nations announced states of emergency.

And in Japan, which has postponed this year's Olympic Games, Tokyo's governor urged residents to stay home this weekend, warning of a possible "explosion" of the coronavirus.

The impact of the pandemic is also hitting European football in a big way, with top-flight leagues and tournaments cancelled.

'Wartime level of investment'

The economic damage of the virus -- and the lockdowns -- could also be devastating, with fears of a worldwide recession worse than the financial meltdown more than a decade ago.

But financial markets rose after US leaders agreed a stimulus package worth roughly 10 percent of their economy, an injection Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said represented a "wartime level of investment".

The US Senate was poised to pass the massive relief package for Americans and businesses ravaged by the pandemic as New York hospitals braced for a wave of virus patients,

Meanwhile, nearly 130 million Americans, or 40 percent of the population, are under or will soon come under some lockdown order, including in the largest state of California.

President Donald Trump has voiced hope the US will be "raring to go" by mid-April, but his optimism appeared to stand almost alone among world leaders.

Anxious Indians raced for supplies after the government ordered the world's second-biggest population to stay at home for three weeks from Wednesday.

"To save India, to save its every citizen, you, your family... every street, every neighbourhood is being put under lockdown," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Whether the order will be obeyed in full remained to be seen. Mumbai vegetable trader Rafiq Ansari said his customers were getting angry over shortages and price hikes.

"I don't understand what's going on," the 35-year-old told AFP. "We are going to face major shortages in the days ahead."

Iran announced it would ban intercity travel as it finally got tough with the virus that has killed more than 2,000 people in one of the world's deadliest outbreaks.

Many governments are listening to health experts who warn the only way to slow the epidemic -- and save the lives of the elderly and vulnerable -- is by imposing "social isolation" measures.

 Priest Don Kresimir Busic holds a crucifix and prays with a woman in Manta, near Cuneo, Piedmont, as part of a countryside procession to bless houses against the coronavirus pandemic

 

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8:43pm  |   The President has spoken

President Yoweri Museveni's message is clear, and key among the additional measures are the following:

- Public transport has been suspended for the next two weeks.

- Markets have been limited to selling only foodstuffs.

- Only essential staff to be allowed in government offices.

 

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8:39pm  |   'What we are dealing with has been handled before'


While concluding his speech, the President makes a biblical allusion (Isaiah 26:20) to contexualize what the world is going through at the moment in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The scriptural extraction says (depending on the version of the Bible you are using): "Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by."

"What we are dealing with have been there before and have been handled," says Museveni.

He wraps up his speech by reminded the public that eight of the original nine coronavirus cases in Uganda are recovering steadily. The other one is not steady yet.

"I wish you good luck, I wish you God's protection. Thank you very much," he signs off.

 

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8:35pm  |   Government vehicles to be stationed at district headquarters

Museveni says: "Now that we have got cases in other parts of the country (beyond Kampala and Entebbe), we have a system of getting samples from suspected people all the way to Entebbe for testing. There are teams near villages who do surveillance.

"These inform people who are at the 100 hubs across the country, who in turn take samples [from the suspected people] and send them to Entebbe aboard Posta Buses."

To ease this countrywide surveillance, the President says: "I am directing that all govenrment vehicles in the districts (except the ones for the army and Police) should be centralised at the district headquarters under the command of the district health officer, aided by a Police officer.

"We are going to ensure that [these vehicles] have enough fuel."


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8:27pm  |   Business of boda bodas

"In Kampala, companies will be identified to start doing this business of bodabodas. I hope there won't be corruption and bribery," says Museveni.



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8:27pm  |   Government offices should be rid of non-essential staff

"Each ministry and government department should work out a plan of the essential staff that need to remain on duty," says the President.

This can be done on rotational basis.

"At district level, district officials can identify boda bodas who can deliver food and other cargo to wherever it is needed. This  crisis will teach us other methods of doing business," adds the President.

 

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8:23pm  |   Markets to sell only food - nothing else

After dealing with public transport, the President says the other big problem are the markets, as they bring together many people.

He, however, says he is happy to learn that the people in these markets have tried to adhere to hygiene measures - washing of hands with soap and water. But that is not enough.

Therefore, the  second new additional measure is that the markets should be for selling only food - matooke, sweet potatoes, caassava, rice, beans, peas, chicken, meat, etc.

Save for food, the selling of other items has been suspended.

"We think this will reduce numbers and then they can maintain social distance. We think by removing the non-food items and sellers, it will reduce the numbers," says Museveni.


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8:18pm  |   Ambulances allowed to move

The only other vehicles allowed to move are ambulances, vehicles of security agencies and some institutions as well as vehicles for sanitary services (like KCCA garbage collection trucks).

"This is to cause people to postpone their unsafe journeys from one point to another point. The only people who can move safely are those moving using private cars," says the President.

 

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8:13pm  |   Government suspends public transport

In its latest measures, the government has decided to suspend all public transport - that includes taxis, coasters/minibuses, buses, passenger trains, auto rickshaw (tuk tuks) and all boda bodas.

The suspension is for 14 days.

Why this suspension?

"Because we want to limit movement. The only vehicles to move should be private vehicles, which should carry no more than three people, including the driver," says the President.

But there are a few exceptions.

Trucks and lorries delivering cargo (food and other essentials) are allowed to continue moving.

The President says that boda bodas and tuk tuks can move only if they are carrying cargo. He says boda boda riders should not simply sit back and sulk over the suspension of their services - instead, they should think about using their bikes to transport cargo.


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8:09pm  |   President begins address

The president is speaking to the nation.

He says the original nine cases are in "good condition" and their temperatures are going down - save for one, whose temperature keeps flactuating.

"We are going to get scattered cases across the country. Therefore, we are happy that we took the other big steps in the past - we closed the schools in time and we closed the churches and mosques."

With more coronavirus cases coming up, the President says the country needs to take additional measures.

 

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7:47pm  |   Coronavirus in Uganda: Graphical illustration

To get an idea of what is happening in the country in light of the new coronavirus, this map below from the government information portal shows where the confirmed cases are located and where alerts to the ministry are coming from.

 

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7:43pm  |   'Nothing has caused prices of food to be hiked'

In his fourth address on Tuesday, President Museveni reiterated his call to Ugandans to adhere to his and the health ministry's directives aimed at arresting the spread of the new coronavirus within the population.

In his message, he mentioned that he may call a ban on the usage of public transport in case the situation worsens. In doing so, he would also promote using bicycles as an ideal alternative.

The President also warned "crooks" against hiking the prices of especially foodstuffs, saying he would use spies to catch anyone taking advantage of the situation. If found, a culprit will be arrested and their license revoked.

"Nothing has caused prices of foodstuffs to be hiked. The bananas we had yesterday are the same today, the maize is the same. So the crooks who are taking advantage of coronavirus to hike prices of foodstuffs anywhere in this country will be arrested and their licenses revoked," he reechoed his warning in a tweet.

 

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7:25pm  |   'It is a tough job during such a difficult time'

Also called Ma Yun, the 55-year-old Chinese tycoon sent out a message of thanks to Ethiopian Prime Miniter Abiy Ahmed for "helping us distribute supplies throughout Africa".

The large packages were delivered to the recipient nations using Ethiopian Airlines.

Source: The New Vision