Have you seen the fuel prices in Kampala lately? Can you believe how high they have risen? Ushs.2,620 – 2,640 for a litre of petrol is about $ 6.50 for a gallon! Owning a car has never made financial sense to me, given my very average salary, the handful of kilometers I drive every week and the convinient public transport between my home and my workplace. It is a luxury more than anything and right now my bank balance is laughing at me for being a fool. So, I have parked old vanny and will not touch her until fuel prices come down, I get a rich Sugar Daddy or I hit the jackpot.
Two
In case you missed it, Khaled Hosseini of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns fame was on the BBC World Book Club this week. If you were as moved as I was by Hosseini’s work and you can download the 30-minute podcast of the show right here. I think you may still be able to download the podcast from the World Book Club interview with Sebastian Faulks at the same page. Do not expect him to speak about his latest James Bond book though. A tight lid was kept on it until yesterday.
Three
Today the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will present the World Agricultural Outlook. The World Agriculture Outlook 2008-2017 is expected to predict high food prices for at least one more year and will investigate the prospects of reintroducing the debate on GM crops and alternative fuel sources. You can download the report here.
At home, the Uganda Commodities Exchange reports of stabilizing prices of maize flour at Ushs.950 for a kilogram and the increase of rice to between Ushs.2,000 and Ushs.4,000 for a kilogram. The price of groundnuts has declined slightly to Ushs.2,400 thanks to the supply of produce from Tanzania, but simsim remains at an all time high of Ushs.3,700 for one kilogram.
A sample of other open market food prices from the Uganda Commodities Exchange:
Millet grain Ushs.800/kg
Sweet potato Ushs.1,500/kg
Beans Ushs.1,500/kg
Soya Ushs.1,900/kg
Ginger Ushs.2,000/kg
Cassava flour Ushs.600/kg
Dry fish Ushs.5,000
@ Comrade
(shock) which is 8 and O 
which is :,oops and :
