Saving Culture a must have...

Saving culture a must have for all Ugandans in current times

Lately it has dawned on me that Ug.Sh.100,000 can only purchase a few items not enough to last a whole month unlike in the past when with this kind of money, one was considered well off and self sustaining for a reasonable time.

Am very sure by this time all Ugandans are aware that times have changed having inflation still high at 20.3% this month of June 2012 (though i  must say it has reduced from 28% last year same time) and a shilling still struggling against the dollar, prices of every item still high not forgetting escalating and fluctuating transport fairs due to fluctuating fuel prices. Much as we are advocating for the government to step up and reduce prices and taxes on various commodities, citizens must have a role to play in ensuring that the prevailing economic situation doesn’t swallow them alive.

Statistic have it that, Ugandans have a poor saving culture which most people call “Live for today and tomorrow will take care of itself.”

It should be noted that, poor saving culture is one of the major causes of poverty in Uganda where in most homesteads its estimated at 5% of the total income earned the whole year and the average saving rate of individual Ugandans stands at 6.2% which is far below the minimum savings required to eradicate poverty and encourage development in the economy according to the Ministry of Finance statistics.

Its clear that in most situations people end up spending more than they earn and one wonders where the money comes from to sustain this lavish spending. Much as we want the economy to stabilize and put the government on pressure to stabilize the prices, as responsible citizens we need to have a deeply rooted saving culture which will come in handy in times like these when the economy is in a poor state.

There is need for mass awareness on issues of financial literacy since Uganda has been blamed for lagging behind in financial literacy which has been partly blamed for the country’s high level of poverty and slow economic development.

For this culture to be deeply rooted, we need to start with the young generation and equip them with financial tools and skills to save for the future for their benefit.

Our banks can play a role in encouraging a saving culture by creating investment clubs like some have which will encourage most people to have some investments to rely on incase of any unexpected circumstances that can leave us in a crisis.

With a growing population of over 30million people, we cannot rely on the government to feed us at all times. If one has been consuming ten bottles of beer, they can be reduced to five considering the current ailing economic situation in Uganda with all commodity prices inflated.

At this rate all alternatives must be exploited to get liberated from the desperate situation, hence a saving culture is a must have for all Ugandans young and old.