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The Best Students Account In Uganda

The first time I opened a personal bank account was in my senior three (2009). It was a Stanbic account, on opening, I was told it was the best student account I could ever imagine. I was convinced and was confident I had earned the "bragging rights". Because seriously, which senior three chap owned a Stanbic account in 2009? Six months later my account was in negatives, in fact, I owed the bank more money than I had deposited on opening. That experience marked my "divorce" with Stanbic bank until recent when it launched its student's saving account.

Now I have to point out that Barclays bank has of recent had the best students account in Uganda and I mean the very best. On opening it in 2010, I was charged only 10,000Ush, given an instant free visa debit card, with no monthly, annual, ATM withdraw and deposit charges. It has of recent introduced a 10,000 Ush fee charged annually and free internet banking which gives you access to your bank statement, account balance and money transfer to Barclays accounts. Given that Barclays bank is global and very reputable, I would still think it offers the best student's account but the coming of this Stanbic student's savings account has twisted the wheels of choice.

So what took me back to the same road that disappointed me five years ago?                           

This account has amazing offers which include a low start up minimum deposit charge of 5,000 Ush, a free ATM debit visa card, free internet banking, no monthly, deposit, and ATM withdraw charges. It  charges 5,000Ush bi-annual visa fee.  It also offers interest on money saved, 4-7% per year.

You only need two passport photos, a photo copy of your ID and admission letter. Its that simple! You think  this is too good? Well this is what other “good” banks like Barclays have been offering for years now. 

So, on hearing this I quickly made my inquiries and analysis which I would love to share with you, things the Stanbic marketing team will not tell you.

1. The bank says you will be charged a bi-annual visa fee of 5,000Ush. This in fact is 10,000Ush per year you are losing on a “savings” account. Of course they will tell you that they will be giving you interest on your account for money saved. Let’s say you have 500,000 Ush in savings for a year. At an interest rate of 7% as they confirmed with me will be 35,000 Ush, minus 10,000 Ush you will remain with 25,000Ush after a year’s savings. You think this is a cool thing? Well, I don’t and the reason is simple, if am saving I should not lose even a penny. So let’s imagine you saved 200,000Ush a year at an interest of 5% (because 7% is for savings of 500,000Ush and above) would be 10,000 Ush minus their 10,000 Ush you will remain with only 0Ush interest or rather no interest at all. Your 200,000 Ush would yield no cash inflow. Now let say you save 100,000Ush for a year, your interest at say 4% would be 4,000 Ush. Minus their visa annual fee of 10,000 Ush would mean you are  6,000Ush less on your hard earned savings. Now you get my point. We all know how banks profit when we save money in their banks; they loan it from 19-21% considering all fees and make various investments from buying shares to purchasing Certified Deposits (CDs). So in a way we are financing them. So how can we finance them without losing?

The answer is by demanding for a non visa debit ATM card. You see, the annual charge is branded a “visa fee”. We both know what a visa service is; It’s a service that enables you use your ATM card to withdraw money from other ATMs that are not of your card’s bank. For example you can use your Stanbic visa debit card to withdraw money from a Barclays ATM, but seriously how many people do this? Personally I don’t remember the last time I made such a transaction. Stanbic bank has over 176 ATMs across the country so surely you will hardly find it hard to get a Stanbic ATM unless of course if you live and study in Budduda. (no offense/ update me if Stanbic has opened a branch there of late). 
My last word: If you request for a non visa card it means you can enjoy you interest without any deductions and will be sure never to go in deficits like I did 5 years ago.

2.      2. Other banks that offer student’s accounts cease to operate when you cease to be a student which is logical. But this Stanbic account runs for 30 years. WTF? Yes! I had the customer care advisor repeat it twice so I could be sure I was hearing well. It turned out I was. So when you implore the principle of compound interest (you can do the maths depending on which figures you want to save ) if you save for ten years or better yet 20-30 years you will be having saving way more than the principle. You will also have  unlimited withdrawals both in amount and frequency.

My last word: For a savings account that is entirely “free” for 30 years, to me is a home run. It’s an undisputed opportunity.

3.      3. The account demands no obligations. I know of banks that demand you to make a transaction at least once in every six months, others  have a minimum balance of 50,000 Ush and many other obligations. This Account only requires you to have a minimum balance of 5,000 Ush which should not be a problem since it’s the opening fee.

My last word. Thumbs up. We are now good to go. Plus you are given a free first cheque book! How cool is that!

The very last word: This is a savings account not an investment account. So you don’t have to deposit all your upkeep so you can have an interest to it. It’s an account you can use to put those extra bucks you don’t use or would love to put away for buying or doing something you love and like taking a safari, financing your graduation party, starting your first business after school or paying for your driving lessons in your senior six vacation if you are still in high school.

I hope you will be helped by my insight and as usual, I love it when you leave a comment. Best wishes.www.facebook.com/onesmus.ken

Wake up; it could be now or never.

Have you ever wondered why about 5% of the population earns about 95% of all the money? I asked myself this for close to 5 years and I will share with you my story. 

When I was 12, I had big dreams, I guess most of did actually have big dreams; To drive a big car, own a big house with a big swimming pool, run a successful business, start up a charity organisation, become a successful family man with a happy family and leave a legacy that will be echoed years to follow. Yes, leave a mark on this planet. At the time my mind knew no limitations nor did it know of any real challenges coupled with achieving these dreams, in fact if you told me; boy  keep dreaming, the sky is the limit, I would look you straight in the eye as tell you that the sky was not my point of view. I would regard your words an understatement.

So about 10 years latter I realised that I had no Lamborghini in my parking lot, in fact I had no packing lot because I had no house.(I don't have one as of today). I had no family of my own; I mean wife and kids because I was still young; so for that I would pass but my net worth was in negatives. That's when the Billion dollar question held me captive ; "Am I living my dreams?" You guessed it I was not, because if I was I would have done my studies from Harvard University, authored a best seller, bought myself a big house in the city and tested the good things life has to offer. So what happened to those dreams, did I give up on them, did I just forget all about them or was I "dreaming" as most people put it?

Let me give you a preview on how it all started; I was arguably successful throughout my teenage years, enjoyed a few spells of fame, a national award, a trip to Europe, a top leadership position in a top High School and a good education. After my High School I realised two things.

1: That fame was a betrayer, it put me in a position where I partially believed I had it all yet in essence I had nothing. I had a negative net worth, no practical skills for surviving as an independent man and of-course no cash flow in my account.

2: That conformity is  a betrayer, I acted like the vast majority and where I did not, I acted as I was "expected" to act. In other words, people's expectations determined my goals, my choices and my actions. Let just say; I was a puppet to popular expectation.

You probably have asked your self the question I asked my self in the mid of 2012; "What do I want in life?" To me it come down to this;  "To be financially independent and be able to do the things I love to do". Do you have a similar goal? Do  you yearn for success? Do you desire to have a life of wealth, health and happiness? Then this is the place to be. You are probably asking questions of how, when.....name it but all this will be answered and just like Paul said in the Holy Book(Bible) I quote. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on........" So we are on a journey together. Let me put the record straight that am not "financially wealthy yet, in fact I am still heavy defendant on my loving and caring parents, I stay in a rental; a decent yrt humble residential,  am still in school(Law School) yet I find the subject of success closest to my heart than anything else. Well you may also be right to call me a curious type.

So after this realisation that I was not living my dreams, I finally made up my mind to dare the "impossible"  reach for my dreams. It began with a bold statement that I shared on my Facebook account which was followed by extraordinary events, occurrences, opportunities, challenges, heart breaks, learning and humbling experiences that I will gladly share with you. Lets just say say it was the day I made the DECISION to dare to give my dreams one more try. But first is the bold step about two years ago.

 "Friends, I have reached a point in my growth where the pain of remaining the same has outweighed the pain of change. A point when I can no longer afford to be defined by other people's expectations but rather my own. A time in my growth where the realisation that progress for me is no longer an option by rather the path on which I must trade.A point when the wise counsel of those that have been through it all, traded the path I so much desire to trade make sense. A point in my life when the words of the persons I so much admire, respect and look up to begin to sprout to life. A time when the words encoded on the most ancient of tablets and scrolls begin to manifest. A time when its more reasonable to depend on the light and direction of the stars whose presence guided all the generations before me and ignore the flash lights and flood lights of this present day.It has been an amazing experience working with you guys and my existence owes a lot to yours. But now I have to move on, yes! Today ; because much as you have always been there for me, time is almost due when I will be on my own.Reality has had a grip on me and a look at the inside tells me its not going to be an easy journey. I am confident that this is the time to brand myself with a brand identity that is here to stay, this is a time to prove myself not to the world but to me.Friends the world is easy to deceive, and it doesn't take an educated person to act, talk an live outside his own real self. I have not been this person but for the record, I think my life has largely been shaped, inspired and motivated by public opinion especially of those that I love the most.Friends, I have chosen my path now, deep in my heart am confident this is the direction I want my life to lead. I am probably going to hurt some people, disappoint some whose hopes, faith and trust in me was genuine.My world will go silent for a while, like I have lost the light, like the spark is no more. My world will undergo a reformation, a silent undertaking of a much anticipated realisation. Like I will be ignoring playing the main role, like am choosing to be the background.This is not self discovery, this is not soul searching. This is self definition.For all that have made my journey so far a reality, for those I hold so dear and closely to my heart, for those to whom I have made promises of a better me; THIS is for YOU. I will make you proud, I will not disappoint............for years I've been taught not to compromise my potential, not to play small, not to give up on my dreams, that everything is possible, that grab every opportunity because it only comes once, to live each day of my life like it was my last, to make sacrifices for the things I love and not to worry about tomorrow because it will worry about itself;Well that was then, and though I don't question, doubt or disregard these wise words of counsel, I have through this period learnt most importantly that  "The rest of my life will be spent in the future", therefore the future is a big deal and even though I have been taught not to worry about the future which to a an extent holds some truth, I've also learnt to plan for it.  Not to get into it with apprehension but with expectation.Some of you my friends have already taken the path am yet to follow; and for the record you are my real heroes. You have taught me a priceless lesson; How can I ever repay you? You've taught me  "to live life as it is not as it ought to be". I look up to you, you are my role models, I admire you, may God bless you.  I know one  day, on a beautiful calm and peaceful evening, we, together shall be sited on a round table overseeing the beautiful ocean in some part of the world  treating ourselves to a warm cup of tea. I will be there with u!For you my friends that are starting on this path as I am, I am sorry I have no advice for you because the path you have chosen is only an adventure on my part as of today. I only wish you the BEST. Hopefully we will meet somewhere on the way or better yet at the top."

Its been an exceedingly rewarding journey and today I can say with confidence that Its been worth it. May be the story shared relates so much with your own, maybe you want to know more. Well, part II or this post will include a list of the materials I read, the strategies I have used, the philosophies I've employed and the results I've registered so far. Please leave a comment if you are interested in getting in touch with me, remembered not to comment as  "anonoymous" is you want to get in touch with me. Am still working on my personal Professional Facebook page but in the meantime you can follow this link www.facebook.com/onesmus.ken

The road to the East African Political Federation..........

The move to the political federation of East Africa has taken a big twist in the last 5 years making some of the biggest achievements since its revival in Arusha on 29 April 1997 where the process of upgrading the Agreement establishing the Permanent Tripartite Commission for East African Co-operation into a Treaty started.

With many analysts making predictions of what the future holds for the region. unfortunately for some  who have chosen to take the pessimistic approach based on a shallow review of it history,  I choose to differ and assert that the future of the East African Community is headed for brighter days if  the custodians; in this case the heads of State of member countries are willing to pay the price.

1. Political will. For any federation to stand the test of time, there must be political will from those we uphold in the driving sit. Recent revelations have proved to give hope to this principle with the revival of the East African Court of Justice, the East Ffrican Legislative assembly and the like. But political will has to go just beyond creating organs or systems. it goes as far as how well these organs are run, their influence on the region and their sustainability. This brings in the question of how best the custodians of this big dream will afford to but personal and state interests aside and front a regional agenda. Without sustainable organs, the futurre of the region could be at a heavy risk of collapse.

2. Harmonisation. Harmonisation of both political, social and economic policies of member states. It makes no sense having two fathers as good friends while the children of both are neck to neck, well one may argue that at least the fathers are friends, but that's not enough. The future of the region cannot be built on the shoulders of individuals. It must be built on the harmonisation of the the citizens of the member states. A person from Tanzania for example should not just be comfortable crossing the Ugandan boarder without a passport but also feel he is a welcome guest with a common interest in Ugandan as other Ugandans. The dogma of nationality must cease to surface and we embrace a regional spirit, so instead of saying am a Ugandan, Kenyan or Tanzanian, you will have to be comfortable enough to call yourself an East African.This bring in the question of public reception of the big idea, if they know about it anyway. More than just TV appearances and News Paper feeds must be done to help the ordinary man and woman know, understand and appreciate the idea. With out this our leaders could as well be "urinating in the lake in hopes to make it overflow."If its for the people the federation is for the why keep them in the background?.

3. Developed internal systems. Development of internal systems which when merged can harmonise is key in the final federation.  The East African region is arguably a developing part of the world, developing I mean almost everything is still on the move. It is still in the laboratory stage without any real proven (efficient, effective and up to the standard) system. The education system, transport system, political system, judicial system, fiscal system and the sort are all well underdeveloped to match the world standards. What this means is that, for the East African region to benefit from the federation then these systems must be well developed at least more than they are now so as to make a meaningful union. Ask yourself what would happen if mix water, blood and oil?

The East African Federation is Our future, unifying is the only proven way in the modern age of survival and if you are still second guessing ask yourself why Ukraine is Torn between European Union and Russia if it can alternatively stay alone! We share the same heritage, a similar history and no doubt our destiny should be shared.

Onesmus Mwesigwa Fat Lizard
Perusing Bachelors in LLB
Political analyst 
Believer in the laws of the universe

Ugandan President says studying Humanities is useless: Seriously?

The Future of Uganda and Africa at large at large is inextricably within the ambit of its leaders.

Over time I have heard people complain about the leadership in Uganda and the continent at large. well, that's a  shallow argument that we both agree is quite obvious, maybe for the ordinary man its not because his well being is highly Dependant on what the government or the state has to offer. yes the government.

On many occasions I have interacted with colleagues of mine who subscribe to the belief that every man determines his own destiny and there fore its stupid to blame the government for  one's poor state of living.

Well on the surface yes but an in-depth analysis will invalidate this belief to a total sham. Why? Every one is where he is and is doing what he is doing because he got there through a process not a miracle;  either through learning (education) or by experience and accepted it to be truth or at least compatible to his or her lifestyle. In other words he has had a viable opportunity, explored the opportunity and hence evaluated his potential and ability.

 You are properly a lawyer  because you went to a good school where you were encouraged to be one, had a parent or relative in the profession, got exposed to platforms like debate that gave you a feel of what a lawyer might be like and with time developed the love for the profession which love manifested into the will and then with the passion attached to this whole thing the possibility of you becoming a lawyer became more and more clear.

However we shall all agree that a good education is the basic foundation of such a vision, yes. because without a good foundation  the rest becomes mere wishes.

So how about the poor old man in some village in some district in some corner of this country whose only hope for his son's or daughter's bright future is in the hands of the so called U.P.E and U.S.E. I called it "the so called" because its being called Universal sounds to be an abstract name that seems only to appears good put in practice has no real life to the effect, one may ask; whats universal about it? is it the curriculum?, the teachers?, the subjects? or its "confusion"?
The mere fact that all Ugandans can access this type of education in my opinion doesn't make it Universal. In fact it makes it domestic vehicle to canvas for popular support among the elecorate by the NRM government.

Secondly it should never appear to be an offer by the government which in our case seems like it is and hence the government feels that its not obligated to offer quality after all it was a free gift! The government is wrong and if you were thinking the same then you to are wrong. Education is your right and a constitutional obligation of the government to provide it.

But what does this education provide? Uganda as of today has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world standing at 62% among the youth as of 2013. But amazingly recently the Head of State blamed the Humanities (courses at University) for causing the unemployment but one wondres if its not under his governance that licences are offered to Universities? So why should our head of State whine like his citizens instead of initiating policy to change the status quo? Is it rocket science? Is it asking too much? My argument in this regard is poor government policy towards education that is the core to the unemployment problem.

So with such a poor education though free but poor how can a nation or state expect its citizens to miraculously develop knowledge, expertise and will to develop themselves given that this is a fast changing competitive world and economy not forgetting that today most graduates are unemployed and the few employed are in the informal sector and those in the formal sector are either doing a job way below their qualifications or the pay way below their educational level .

 So would I be wrong to say that the government is to be held accountable? I don't think so. And if you still disagree, ask your self this; why do we need the govt anyway if it can't provide for its citizens basic requirements of life  quality basic education even after taxes have been paid? Not forgeting that a working adult pays 30% PAYE on his salary monthly and remember am not demanding for a spaceship research institution or a rocket engineering institution, just basic quality education.

There fore the best gift that the Ugandan and African Leaders can give its people and the continent is equality education which can only be acquired if there is political will to that effect. The private sector can help boost the education system but its role should be secondary not primary. 

"Without the political will in respect to education, Uganda and the continent at large is headed for a dark intellectual age." 

ONESMUS MWESIGWA 
LLB Student at  Uganda Christian University-
Political Analyst
Uganda- East Africa