Bar owners across Uganda are ecstatic about getting ready to open their doors again on December 1, 2020 for the first time since closure in March.
Under their umbrella Uganda Bar Owners Association, the owners on Thursday converged at Serena Hotel to discuss way forward including where to source capital to replenish stock and also support their crumbling businesses.
Since closure, President Yoweri Museveni said bars are a huge threat to human life since transmission of the Coronavirus will be quick as “drunkards” don’t observe social distancing while other talk as they spit on each other.
As he relaxed some restrictions on the lockdown in August like reopening schools, churches and public transport, the President insisted that bars must remain closed citing similar reasons.
Efforts by the bar owners to lobby for reopening had been unsuccessful for over time.
But this website has learnt that a group of bar proprietors led by their chairman Patrick Morino met with Equity Bank and Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) officials at Serena.
These businessmen engaged Equity Bank to offer them loans at a very low interest rate of 2- 3% while UBL should offer them stock at a cheaper price or fairly enough on a debt so as they able to start business when they reopen.
Bar owners say the pandemic has hit their businesses harder and several of their colleagues have since closed shop and therefore need financial empowerment to be able to resume.
This group of around 186 members across Uganda were asked to deposit shs 500,000 as registration fee for a program on how to access the funds from Equity bank.
However, only 20 members have afforded to pay this amount.
“We have good news. Let us prepare for reopening which will take place on December 1,” Mr Patrick the chairman announced on whatsapp group on Thursday.
His announcement aroused ecstasy among members who wished that the information is true, since such message had come in October that bars would open on November 1 but in vain.
This website couldn’t independently confirm whether government will reopen bars on 1st December.