Gulu
It all started deep in the jungles of South Sudan, when Joseph Kony disclosed his readiness to talk peace during an exclusive interview with Jonah Fisher, a renowned BBC journalist.
“I cannot prick the eye of my own brother. I want peace,” the elusive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader said then, dismissing critics who accused him of killing his own kinsmen.
Kony’s comments made headlines in media houses around the world and were preceded by the Juba peace talks, which for the first time in two decades ushered in a lull of peace across the greater north. In spite of Kony’s repeated failures to sign a final peace accord, northern Uganda is without doubt returning to normalcy.
Business Power has conducted a study of how the newfound peace will impact the local population, focusing on the great influx of banks to the war-battered region since last year.
Property developers, hoteliers, wholesalers, retailers and other service providers have all made their way to the regional capital, Gulu.
The hustle and the bustle is clearly visible as tracks laden with merchandise headed for Southern Sudan roar across the town.
Dinkas from Southern Sudan sip sodas leisurely at a car park nestled along Dr. Aliker Road, as they watch their goods being loaded into the Fuso Lorries almost daily. Banks including Crane, Barclays, DFCU, Standard Chartered, Orient, Fina and KCB have opened branches in Gulu to take advantage of the boom in trade.
“Usually in the aftermath of a war, a lot of money is poured to reconstruct the infrastructure that could have been damaged by the warlords,” said Mr Sam Katwere, assistant communications director for the Bank of Uganda.
Mr Katwere attributes the growing number of banks to the trade now booming along the Juba-Southern Sudan corridor.
“I was at the Standard Charted Bank the other day and I found out that the ATM machine operates in both English and Arabic,” noted Mr Katwere.
Executive director of Kenya Commercial Banks, Nok Bwonditi says his company wants to create a link between the two East African countries.
“Our customers in Southern Sudan have been pressing us to open a branch in Arua, Lira, Kitgum and Gulu. As you know, a lot of money is being poured in Southern Sudan in terms of reconstructions, but all the money finds its way to northern Uganda through trade and people who come to do shopping,” Mr Bwonditi said.
Mr Bwonditi added that there are already dynamic economic activities including small market enterprise institutions and agro-processing activities that companies such as Dunavan and Mukwano are carrying out in partnership with KCB.
But northern communities still face the major challenge of finding start-up capital for businesses and accessing bank loans.
Gulu Resident District Commissioner Col. Walter Ochora says it’s important for district land boards to speed up the process of giving locals land titles, which they could use as collateral for loans.
Ochora said plans are under way to have a vibrant economy in Gulu: “We want the petrol stations, hospitals and other businesses to operate 24 hours to boost the economy.”
Noah Opwonya, chairman of the National Chamber of Commerce, said Gulu is now wide open for business. He estimates that at least 300 to 500 trucks cross the border with Southern Sudan every week, and says he envisions a time when Acholiland may once again become the bread basket of Uganda.
“Upland rice is one of our major crops and with people now going back to the villages I think we can soon be selling it back to the World Food Programme, and why not the Middle East and Europe—it’s organic after all” he said.
Mr Opwonya explains that since most farmers in the region are still rebuilding their homes from the ruin caused by two decades of insurgency, it is important that the financial institutions support them by hiring out farm implements like tractors to facilitate commercial farming.
Francis Agaba, a timber dealer, says the new banks are a relief to him. “When I first came to Gulu in 2006 there were only two banks, but right now I hold three accounts in different banks. When one bank is busy I switch to the next one to save time,” Mr Agaba said.
Mr Agaba, who supplies Kitgum, Gulu and Pader with timber, says business is growing at an impressive rate. “Two years ago, I used to supply 20 or 30 trucks a week, but now I supply 40 to 50 trucks,” he said.
But some of the north’s economic boom is facing controversy. Harsh arguments have broken out between locals, Acholi leaders and the government over plans to establish a sugarcane plantation and factory in the oil-rich Amuru District, home to some of the region’s most fertile land.
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