The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
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When ordinary citizens are asked to spend less, travel less, and handle rising costs, the public naturally questions how the government spends money, including high administrative costs, expensive official travel, and large operational budgets.
COMMENT | CAROLYNE MUYAMA | In Uganda today, before you look for your car keys and drive off in the morning, you check fuel prices first to decide whether to spend the little money in your wallet on fuel or food. For the average Ugandan, pump prices nearing sh7,000 are no longer just a boring economic figure for the Bank of Uganda to worry about. They are a daily struggle for survival.
As diesel and petrol prices shoot up, taxi fares also rise, and every part of the journey home takes a little more out of a fixed monthly salary. Transport fares have almost doubled for the same distance, forcing many to make long treks to work. This everyday reality reflects a bigger national problem. Global economic shifts, pressure on the shilling, and local supply issues hurt ordinary consumers.
At the heart of this pressure is the foreign money market. The Ugandan shilling’s fall in value against the US dollar, which has recently reached record levels, adds to the stress across an economy that depends heavily on imported goods.
When the dollar becomes more expensive, buying refined fuel, essential factory materials, and merchandise from abroad costs much more in shillings. The shilling’s loss of value is worrying because it significantly affects Christmas sales, which traders always look forward to.
For traders in Kikuubo market and elsewhere, this constant dollar price change creates a tough choice. They must either convert shillings to dollars now to buy holiday stock at higher costs, or wait and risk having even fewer items on their shelves. Ultimately, consumers bear this burden.
Economists have linked the shilling’s depreciation to global financial problems, changes in foreign aid, and a drop in foreign business investment, coupled with local politics.
Consequently, pressure on the fuel pump has quickly spread to agriculture, the backbone of the national economy. In local markets, food prices have already risen, with items such as Irish potatoes doubling. Traders blame this on higher transport costs and changing weather patterns.
Long dry spells in key farming areas have made it harder to harvest good crops. In a country where farm life and town food supplies are closely linked, weather problems create immediate price spikes that hit low-income families living hand to mouth the hardest. Right now, maize prices have risen sharply, making it much more expensive to feed people and livestock.
In Uganda, maize plays a key role in feeding families and institutions like schools, prisons, offices, and hospitals because it is one of the most affordable foods. Farmers also depend on maize to feed animals and poultry. Therefore, rising maize prices are felt at dining tables and at farm gates.
As the festive Christmas season approaches, the situation is likely to worsen. Many people may be unable to take their usual end-of-year trips to their village homes this year. High transport fares mean many families must cancel long-held plans and traditions.
For many families, the holiday season means extra shopping and family gatherings; for traders, it usually means extra income from excited shoppers, but that’s unlikely this year. Anticipating these changes and preparing our families accordingly can help avoid stress during the festivities.
While financial leaders may face real limits on how much they can use the dollar reserves to protect the shilling from global pressures, overreliance on strict tax collection shows the need to spread taxes more fairly, rather than putting the burden solely on registered businesses.
Beyond policy tools, managing an economy depends heavily on people’s feelings and how much they trust their leaders. Public hope and trust depend on everyone sharing the burden during hard times.
When ordinary citizens are asked to spend less, travel less, and handle rising costs, the public naturally questions how the government spends money, including high administrative costs, expensive official travel, and large operational budgets.
A clear shift toward spending less, producing more goods locally, and helping farms prepare for bad weather could put the country on a brighter path forward.
Uganda’s economy still has great potential, with rich soils, a young, energetic population, and hard-working businesspeople. However, getting through this hard time will take more than waiting for foreign markets to improve. It requires careful policy changes, honest choices about public spending, and leaders who manage money well from the top down.
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Carolyne Muyama works with the Uganda Media Centre
