Can George Inholo solve the Kamonkoli gridlock and permanently keep Uganda Clays on a growth path?
Although George Inholo grew Uganda Clays turnover by 36.2% from UGX22.1 billion in 2014 to UGX30.1 billion in 2018 and in the process returning the company to profitability and earning dividend-starved shareholders 3-years of straight dividends, his failure to steady profit growth even when significant concessions had been made on the company’s debt, was his ouster. Not even the perennial excuse of high costs of operation could save him.
When George Inholo arrived at Uganda Clays Limited (UCL) at the fold of 2014 - August to be exact, it was literally a company with a feet of clay.
A new $15m Kamonkoli plant, on the outskirts of Mbale town (now Budaka District), which was opened in April 2009 amidst fanfare and mega optimism, had become a problem child, threatening to sink the entire company.
Although UCL’s turnover in t