It is a joke. It is a marketing gimmick. Airtel’s highly advertised Airtel one network across Africa, does not work or is not yet working as advertised. My company recently got an assignment in Zambia, and my colleague travelled to Lusaka to expedite. On reaching on Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, on 20th January 2014, at about 12:15pm (Zambian time) he tried calling our client in Zambia who is also on Airtel Zambia network using his Airtel Uganda line, 0753072xxx in vain. The call could not go through. My colleagues tried several times to make a voice call to our client,…

Who is a powerful question as it helps you to identify the person responsible the current situation. On the other hand, “why” helps you understand the factors or conditions or events responsible for the current situation whether good or bad. My experience is that bad leaders tend to ask the question “who” instead of “why” more often, especially during challenges or difficulties. According to Fr. John Mungereza, many Ugandans are fond of the question “who” instead of “why.” They end up fighting each other instead of understanding the underlying factors responsible for the problems they are facing. The question “why”…

This is a continuation of the countdown of the top 5 high-tech frauds in 2013. Click here to read part 1. This is about a reckless IT manager and Ugx 1bn (US $ 400,000) fraud at the reckless Bank A, located in Dodoma, Tanzania. We uncovered the fraud during a white box penetration testing on the bank’s core banking application, after noticing weak controls over management of the banks database. The bank’s core banking application had been supplied by a given vendor, who insisted on having a service level agreement (SLA). Under the agreement, the bank would call the vendor…

Classified information is that Vodafone plans to acquire Orange Uganda Ltd operations and plans are underway at the group level for an initial due diligence aimed at a high-level business case. Vodafone has presence in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific. Vodafone’s biggest challenge is data. Of the British Pound Sterling 9,885 million they plan to make in 2013/14 quarter 2, only 1,887m Pound Sterling will come from data (table 1 below). That is just 20%, which is not rosy considering telecoms are moving to value added services. Acquiring Orange in Uganda represents the best strategy as the company…

Consultant turned English teacher, this is a story of how a big manufacturing company collapsed by a guy calling himself, “I’ve a ‘PhD’ from London.” It started in 2010, when I was asked to do a due diligence in Kigali on a manufacturing company, that my client was interested in acquiring some 45% equity shareholding.  Article in summary: Man with a ‘PhD’ fails to manage a company; leading to its liquidation Instead of focusing on strategic issues, keeps correcting people’s English oblivious that they are non-English speakers. Kigali is a French colony. Makes decisions based on hearsay instead of facts…

Following my most popular article, “Boardroom politics killing institutions in Uganda”, below are four signs of poor governance, I learnt from Sam F. Owori, CEO at the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda (ICGU). Sam F. Owori is a former banker and seasoned Rotarian. Aware of the need to lead by example, he ensures that all new ICGU council members get inducted at the first sitting following their appointment. The induction features presentation by Sam about the ICGU and the responsibilities of the board. At our recent induction, Sam shared his experiences of the qualities of a good board, and…