Legendary actor and performing artist Stephen Rwangyezi has appealed for President Yoweri Museveni's intervention to save Ndere Cultural Centre from going under the hammer over an accumulated debt of Shs 10.5bn.
Rwangyezi, the founder of the famed Ndere Troupe in 1984, says they are on the brink of losing a cultural heritage facility located in Kisaasi after failing to service a Shs 6.8bn loan from the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) in 2019.
He blames the Covid-19 pandemic for stalling their expansion plans to include a resort in Kisoro as well as a hotel in Bbira along Mityana Road.
"We obtained this loan from UDB. We did not squander the money, but the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Covid-19 killed the troupe, killed the centre's operations and killed the construction works," he says.
"However, we have rejuvenated the centre, revitalized the troupe, and successfully completed the construction of the Kisoro resort. Please, Your Excellency, take away this rock around our neck. Please take the loan away. If it is not possible, give us time to reorganize ourselves at the bank. We shall surely fundraise through equity selling, through business operations, through public fundraising, and we shall pay this loan."
It remains unclear whether Museveni will bail out Rwangyezi as he has done with other businessmen before, but there is a looming fear that if the cultural centre goes, it will rob Ugandans of the grand tourist attraction and heritage centre in Kampala, which serves about 600-1000 tourists on any given weekend.
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