By Livingstone Mukasa
There is a famous slogan: “There is no hurry in Africa” and if you may prefer let me add “Hakuna Matata” (No problems).
This slogan epitomizes our sluggish time keeping ways and often the accompanying low productivity. For the record, I am different and if you invite me for a meeting at 10am, I will show up at 10am.
However, it troubles me that when it comes to returns on investments, WE WANT IT NOW OR ASAP (As Soon As Possible). We want to get rich now.
We want to drive the great car now. We want to be like so and so now. We want to have lots of followers and likes now.
We want celebs now. We seem unable to understand that great things take time to brew.
Many are unable to hold jobs down because the pay is very little. I worked and stayed on a job paying UGX 75,000 for a year (even in early 2000s, it was little money) but learnt a great lesson in introducing products to the market that I have used to great effect.
It took six years after college before I bought my first car.
When you start a business, give it time. When you get hired, please prove your worth before you complain about the pay.
Yes, life has its own dictums. For investments, every formula you use there will be Time (T) and for better returns you will need lots of it.
If pregnancy takes nine months, there is little you can do about it. You will have to wait it out.
Which brings to the main point of this column today: Making money takes time and sometimes we even have to pay “school fees” for every new investment we get in.
With Patient and persistence you will make economic progress.
So if someone promises to make you rich fast, ask yourself; what is the catch? Often the one that wants to make you rich will send you in the opposite direction!
Maybe we ought to agree that when it comes to making money, there is definitely no hurry in Africa!
Livingstone Mukasa is CEO-Mazima Retirement Plan. Twitter@MukasaMulya FaceBook@Livingstone Mukasa
