Sirina Change Syndrome –Kills Time and Resources

On one Monday afternoon, Eliud found himself in town with only 40 minutes to catch a political science lecture at Makerere. He hurriedly got himself a taxi to campus. He hypothesized that in at most 30 minutes, he would be in for lecture. However he was in for a rude shock.
When they approached Wandegeya, the conductor asked for his dues. He pulled a twenty thousand shilling note and passed to the conductor.
The conductor started grumbling in luganda that Eliud hardly picked a word apart from “naye sebbo sirina change ….ulina noti nene….’. He was taken aback since he expected the conductor to be ready with loose money to give balance having in business since morning.
When they reached the Faculty of Social Sciences, he shouted Maasao (stop!) but the conductor shot back to inform him he hadn’t found his balance yet. He had to stick in the taxi up to the JIKA-ISAE round-about. All the other passengers left him held hostage. He couldn’t dare get out of the vehicle and lose his Ush19200.
Frantic efforts to get loose money from the fellow motorists were futile. When he finally got the balance, it was ten minutes into the lecture. He feared going in and be thrown out for being late.
David an auditor in Kampala had experiences on this. He had been asked to give back a ½ kilo of meat at Wandegeya, when he produced a ten thousands note to pay for it. He demanded for a reason. The butcher in reply asked with disgust written on his face, “Why are you buying a small piece of meat and then give me a big note that I can’t get change for? Sirina change ssebo! Fearing further provocation, he went with no meat.

Sirina change tech to fleece

I appreciate that the photocopier business in Makerere University and other places is fleecing people of money courtesy of Sirina change. I remember when I was broke and had to pick a hand-out at Ush 400. The photocopier operator denied me to get it on credit. I recalled that each of the three owned me at least Ush200 from the fifty shillings I had left with them on several occasions since they always don’t have change. Fortunately none of them denied having my balance.
I reasoned with them, “how is it I can trust you with my balance, but you can’t photocopy for me on credit even when my balance can cover part of it? If I would be losing fifty hundred shillings a photocopier every day I would have to part with at least Ush 1,500 every month and Ush 6,000 per semester”. With the skyrocketing food prices it’s a colossal un-guaranteed investment. Eventually one of them offered to photocopy it for free as the others a remained dumb-shaken by the lecture. Other students started to ask for their un-refunded balance. I had to ask them why they weren’t driving since they get too much from unconscious customers
It earned scornful looks from them (up to date) however they are the frog that can’t stop a cow from drinking from a river. I term it as necessary premiums I have to pay to be covered of financial troubles.
My business education back in P6 taught me that courtesy in business is costless but effective means of advertising your business yet it costs nothing. However Ugandan traders are doing the opposite. Being ready with loose money to give you customers is essential in keeping customers and getting new ones.
David hasn’t had it all; he alighted from a Taxi in Kampala after he produced a 50,000 shillings note. He had to look for change before he walked back to the taxi park. He notes it is unwise for a trader to sit and comfortably watch as customers move to other shops.
He attributes it to laziness, lack of courtesy and lack of business education. He warns that customers will feel uneasy to go back to the same shop they were blasted from thus spelling doom for the business.
Opio a shopkeeper in Nakulabye attributed this to many starting business because they want to be like others without studying what it takes. He added by having your customer in mind as your employer you will do everything possible to please them.
From a Christian’s point, I looked at it as fulfillment of Jesus prophecy in Mathew 24. He said in the last days love for money will cool off. Mankind doesn’t give a damn about others. He keeps their interest first, others follows.

Way to go

Recently Uganda Taxi Operators Association (UTODA) banned the use of fifty thousand shilling note claiming that they receive fake money. The Bank of Uganda (BOU) has outlawed this directive saying that the note is a legal tender. They were healing the symptoms instead of addressing the sickness. The traders and taxi operators are simply lazy coupled by the reluctance of banks and forex bureaus to offer change. It’s the poor public transport users who will continue suffering while the BOU’s officials are driving themselves or chauffer driven in private vehicles. Uganda
It the high time that traders think of re-diversifying their approach to this issue before it weighs on their profits and sales. They need to appreciate that it’s the customer who struggles to get money to spend on the goods they have in stock and not ready to go struggle to get goods with money in the pocket. They need to do just a little favour for them by having ready balance. The traders association needs to organize a refresher course with appreciation that this happens only in Uganda in the whole of East Africa.

Macharia Muriuki