Fly high, hawklike, in the twilight sky over Greater Kampala, and you will see a great unspoken migration of small businesses. As the lights dim in the hustling nooks and crannies of the central business district, they flicker into life, following the herds of commuters as they return to their dormitories on the city’s outskirts.
As nightfall brings the curtain down on commerce in the centre, it only pushes it farther out, extending the night economy closer to where the city workers live. Drive through any suburb in Greater Kampala and beyond, and you will see a thriving night economy that defies all odds and has evolved perhaps despite the lack of a deliberate public policy.
It is more than the pubs offering late-night drinks and bands. Shops selling everything from apparel to electrical items are open till late. Want to get a haircut at 2am? You can find an open salon. Feeling peckish at 4 in the morning? You can find a rolex stand or a chicken grill.
Part of this evolution emerged from the pain of electricity loadshedding (something we shall look at before the end of this mini-series). Small businesses carried on later than usual when the power was on to make up for the days when it was off all day, until it became normal to find a welding shack sparking with activity at midnight.
It has since become so entrenched that mobile money service providers struggle to find a quiet window late in the night when they can switch off their servers for maintenance or upgrades.
Mobile money has been one of the enablers of the night economy. While mobile money agents close early to avoid being separated from their takings, digital wallets enable traders to carry on without having to worry about cash and the crime it attracts. Of course, relatively peaceful neighbourhoods help, as does the power of numbers, expanded electricity supply, and cheaper lighting.
Expanding the night economy is key to creating jobs and widening opportunities, especially in the rapidly urbanising parts of the country. Providing security would expand activity and allow bigger transactions, including at agency banking nodes.
At least two major policy changes will have to be considered to support this engine of a 24/7 economy. The first — tax reform — is already underway with recent amendments that introduced income tax exemptions to small local start-ups from this financial year. This needs to be deeper and more intentional, with a larger proportion of tax being paid to local authorities where people and businesses reside.
This would encourage faster and more spending on local infrastructure like roads, schools and streetlights, as well as services like rubbish collection and local amenities. Local councils that make the right investments will attract more businesses and higher-income residents, increasing their tax revenues and the quality of life all around. For this to happen, the tax regime must change to give a bit less to the central government and a lot more to the local governments.
The second reform — reforms in policing — would feed off the first. A significant share of the policing human and other resources today is devoted to the protection of VIPs, with very little left over for old-fashioned policing work. When was the last time you saw the police patrol your street in the absence of a political gathering? Where is the nearest fire brigade station to where you live, and how many fire tenders do they have?
As more money flows into the night and into the outskirts, it will increasingly attract more crime. While private security firms currently fill this void, they cannot be relied upon to detect or investigate crime. We would need more policing resources to be redeployed to neighbourhoods and for a bit more oversight by the elected officials in charge of those areas, as happens in other cities elsewhere.
With more resources, elected local government officials can improve the welfare of police officers, teachers and other service personnel, improving the quality of life and attracting more investment and income.
Small businesses have shown their ability to follow the money, defy the clock and create value in the peri-urban areas. Kampala City has its marabou storks; Greater Kampala can have economic eagles. Those seeking political office can watch, learn and support them, or they can get out of the way.