Defence Forces Shop Pledges Affordable Goods For Soldiers

The General Manager of Defence Forces Shop Uganda Limited, Colonel Deus Taremwa, has pledged to provide quality and affordable products to improve the welfare of veterans, officers, soldiers and civilian staff of the defence forces.

He made the pledge during the shop’s first symposium at the Land Force Headquarters in Bombo, held under the theme, “Learning from International Best Practices for the Best Management of Defence Forces Shop Uganda Limited.”

“The Army Shop is looking forward to improving the welfare of veterans, officers, soldiers and civilian defence workers… Management is also benchmarking similar military retail outlets in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda,” he said.

He added that the shop plans to stock construction materials, household essentials and popular local food items, among other products, and establish branches across the country.

Col Taremwa revealed that the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs had written to the Ministry of Finance requesting duty exemptions to enable the shop to lower prices further.

He cautioned beneficiaries against reselling subsidised goods to civilians, saying management was introducing stricter controls through customised systems, enforcement by commanders and personnel officers, and prosecution of offenders.

Board member Col Susan Lakot called on the shop to diversify its business ventures, citing Wazalendo SACCO’s investments in road construction, equipment hire, plot sales and accommodation facilities priced in US dollars.

The symposium featured presentations by Col Innocent Tukashaba on the operations of the Bangladesh Army Shop and Col Dr David Okumu Munyua on the United States Armed Forces Exchange Stores. It was attended by senior and junior UPDF officers, among others.

Defence Forces Shop Uganda Limited (DFSUL) is a welfare company limited by guarantee through which serving soldiers, veterans and MoDVA civilian staff access commodities at relatively subsidized prices. The Shop has been in operation since Jan 2010 with an initial mandate to sell building materials.