Africa-Press – Uganda. About 1,300 bar outlets are needed to register for Bell’s raising the bar campaign which seeks to showcase the alcohol sellers’ ability to observe standards of operations(SOPs) in hopes of government reopening the industry.
Mr Edgar Kihumuro, project manager, raising the bar campaign said the target under the campaign is to register 1,600 bar outlets in Kampala.
However, the process has been slow, partly due to the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN).“When we launched we expected people to take it up but it has been quite slow but we have faced some challenges there.
People are registering using their phones yet they are using VPN because when you use VPN it shows you are not in Uganda yet the program is only for Uganda,” he said noting that the company had so far registered 300 outlets.It should be noted that there are over 80,000 bar outlets in Kampala alone.
Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) last month unveiled the raising the bar campaign to raise awareness amongst bar owners and workers on how to operate bars professionally despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Kihumuro, the other goal of the campaign is to use the 1,600 bar outlets as a model to show the government that bars can operate while maintaining SOPs in a bid to have the industry reopened.
Due to the slag in registration, UBL has now shifted model to approach nearby bars for registration in addition to the website to draw even more numbers to the campaign.
However, no success has been registered since last year.
Bar owners optimistic
Bar owners, under their umbrella body, Legit bar, entertainment and restaurant owners association (LEBRA), however, are optimistic that government will soon reopen the industry.
Diana Ajuna, a bar owner from Signal bar on Salama road believes President Museveni will reopen the industry after his inauguration.
Peter Lwanga, a bar owner from Hilltop Naguru said, “I believe they will open because if we meet all the set standards they want, they will eventually work for the industry. It isn’t in anyone’s favour to keep it closed down.”
