Last Updated on: 3rd August 2023, 01:45 pm
View | By Sharon Oyat Arach
Kampala | Police reports have continued to witness a number of violent robberies across the country with the worst victims being mobile money operators who are regularly attacked violently and huge amounts of money robbed at gun-point, which is likely to affect the economy.
The mobile money business in some places had broken ground for almost a 24-hour service which was seeing a rapid extension to rural and regional areas of East, Central and Southern Africa thus creating more job opportunities for both the youth and unemployed people.
Banking Agencies are partnering with Commercial Banks and as of now, our economies are going into a digitalisation phase of payments for goods and services like water and electricity bills, and school fees among other things which is not only saving the public from long queues in the banks, but also offering real-time service as well as reducing the backlogs in banks.
With these rising violent robberies and attacks on Mobile Money Operators and Banking Agency Agents, the operation costs are going to increase as special security has to be employed or contracted.
This is going to threaten a number of entrepreneurs from venturing or continuing with the business that has benefited our people and government as she collects revenue thus affecting our economy.
Therefore, these rising violent robberies may hugely stifle this rapidly expanding business that has broadened and created more opportunities in the country.
Similarly, the Boda Boda industry is also a victim of violent robberies which target motorcycles and, in the process, lives are lost or bodily damage inflicted on the rider. It should be noted that most of these Boda Boda are still on loan repayment. So, it affects many people.
UPC is very much concerned about that situation and urges the government to step up a watertight security apparatus and offer effective protection to the people and their property.
Arach is the UPC spokesperson.