Humanist

“What we need is deep transformational change and the end of capitalism, not minor tweaks to this insanely destructive murderous global order – blind, selfish individualism and willingness to sacrifice almost anything for short term profit.”

This critique of capitalism I quote above came to mind as I read a post by Bart Kakooza on Facebook; which post with his permission I republish herein:

“How I was fleeced by a Chinese Company

For a long time, I have been wanting to expose this Chinese company that is selling very fake products here in Uganda. Five years ago, I walked into this China North Machine, located on Jinja Road in Kampala and bought a walking tractor. I was issued a receipt with a one-year warranty.

When I delivered the machine to my farm, it malfunctioned on that very first day. When I took it back the next day, they tried to work on it and asked me to pay for the job. I told them it was still under warranty. They said it does not apply here.

Filled with much chagrin, I carried the machine back to my farm and attempted to use it but it malfunctioned again. Filled with anger and frustration I went back and tried to talk to their Chinese boss but he feigned ignorance of the English language. My desperate attempts to seek help from the African employees was met with deafening indifference.

I went back to my farm and junked the tractor. My $2,000 went down the junk yard.

Last May, five years later, I was desperately looking for a spray pump. My friend, a fellow farmer convinced me to get one from China North Machine. Since, I had failed to get the particular machine anywhere, I went back thinking these guys had improved. I bought the machine and was issued a receipt with a one-year warranty.

Photo @ Bart Kakooza

When I took it to the farm, it malfunctioned. I took it back and complained. They sort of fixed it and asked me to pay. My pleas to the fact that the machine was still under warranty was met with the ‘I-don’t-care attitude’. I painfully paid and left with the Machine. I tried using it again but it still malfunctioned.

I bundled it up and took it back. They told me they needed money from me to buy parts. I left the machine with them hoping they would work on it and find it ready when I come to pick it. When I returned, they had not fixed it.

Charged with anger, I demanded it be given back to me in its state unfixed. They complied. When I got to the farm, on close scrutiny, I found they had canibalised the machine with most parts missing.

Another of my $200 went down the drain.

Photo @ Bart Kakooza

I know many farmers are victims of this scamming China North Machine and are silent. For me, I am not going to take this lying down. I am involving my lawyers and I am calling upon whoever has been fleeced this way to come up and seek justice.”

Which begs the questions:

• Is this the kind of corruption case that should be brought to the attention of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU)?
• In this case who will SHIPU view as the investor, China North Machine and or the farmer, Kakooza, needing its projection?
• Or should the corrupt practices of China North Machine be brought to the attention of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS)?
• And why doesn’t UNBS know this already?
• How is it that China North Company is brazenly fleecing Ugandans by selling them fake machines and UNBS doesn’t know about it?
• Or, if they know, how is that UNBS has not done anything about it?
• Should UNBS also be the focus of the SHIPU investigation into the activities of China North Machine?
• Or are the corrupt dealings of China North Machines a matter for the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to handle?

Are Ugandans to be left to struggle on their own to hold rogue and corrupt investors accountable through courts of law? If this be the case, this is extremely unfair and a dereliction of duties by the State.

As Kakooza points out, many farmers are victims of this scamming China North Machine; what are duty bearer, the State, going to do about it?