IF YOU ARE A YOUNG BUDDING ENTREPRENEUR, NEVER MIX BUSINESS WITH POLITICS.

By Stephen Sembuya

Having been a Councilor at KCCA representing Kololo, I wanted to take a step forward and go to Parliament to assume civil responsibility because I believed I could make a difference in my community in Buikwe South.

To say I was an instant hit could be an understatement as I gathered more crowds than all my opponents combined and also bigger crowds than those of President Museveni, Kizza Besigye and others when they came down here.

This did not guarantee me victory but rather a whole 2 years wasted in Campaigns, loss of money that was used in my entire campaigns. I pray my account can help many young people not to get destructed or tempted to mix business with politics.

Some close friends that included my Father, my mentor General Salim Saleh and the NRM vice Chairman Alhajji Moses Kigongo heavily discouraged me from going into politics and they were so right.

There has only been one huge positive I got out of it, which is, politics got me close to the people that I would later return to mobilize to get involved in cocoa farming. In fact, most of the cocoa beans we use at our factory is bought from these farmer groups in SSI, Ngogwe among others. Next week we will be taking a team from RABOBANK, DFCU, Agribusiness Development Centre to extend credit to them.

The first point to make here is that business people are also citizens with political rights and responsibilities. And as part of the broader community they are affected by constraints in the public service. I’m all for freedom of speech. I’m all for being active in politics.

But If you are a budding entrepreneur, its not a great idea to limit your potential by unnecessarily declaring where to stand on controversial issues, unless of course you do not mind losing half the opportunities available to you in the already highly competitive world.

When it comes to being an entrepreneur, you really need to think twice before making that poster, leaflet or announcing your political inclinations.

Because in many circles, business and politics don’t mix, and if you are not sure when and where they do, you may be putting your business reputation and company at risk by taking too strong of a stand.

Here are some things to think about before shouting your political affiliation from the rooftops: You could lose a client. Politics – like religion – is a very personal choice and that choice can say a lot about a person. What if you top client is for a rival candidate or feels strongly about an issue but is on the opposite side as you?

Who is right? Who is wrong? And what if that difference gets in the way of doing business? Sure, you might not let it, but what if they do? What if it costs you a contract? You could receive bad press. If you are pro-this or anti-that, you need to think long and hard if you want your company to be behind the same issues.

While it is noble to think that your company represents you, if you have clients, it also reflects on them. If you have staff. All you need is someone in your community to write a letter to the editor of any news papers denouncing you for your political views and if they can rally others who feel the same way, you’re now doing crisis management instead of focusing on your company.

You could receive death threats. I’m not kidding about this – it happens. I’m also not saying to hide your political affiliation because of fear of reprisals. But as a business owner, you need to realize that some people out there get very angry with people who do not agree with them, particularly about political issues. By using your company as a platform for your personal political beliefs, you could invite trouble.

Your candidate could lose. Not every candidate wins. If you affiliate your company with a losing candidate, what does that say for your company’s judgment? This is why a lot of business owners prefer to keep their political affiliations private – because of the fallout after an election. Who wants to be connected with the losing side?

It isn’t the farm that makes the farmer. It’s the love, hard work and character. The wealthiest men in Uganda are into farming, Mehta, Madhvan, Mukwano, Mulwana lets also embrace it, through Operation Wealth Creation activations in your area.