GARUGA, WAKISO (UGNEWSLINE ) — The Uganda Law Society and Pearl Marina Estate have signed a memorandum of understanding that will give lawyers a discount and flexible payment terms on condominiums at the lakeside development, tying a welfare deal to a day of sport and networking.
The agreement was unveiled at Pearl Marina in Garuga during the society’s Sports Fun Day, which drew members for recreation as well as the formal launch of the partnership.
Under the MoU, any ULS member who buys a condominium at the estate will receive a 2.5 percent discount, with payment arrangements structured to ease the move from renting into ownership. Pearl Marina has also been recognised as an official partner of the society and will take part in its events.
Sylvia Alal, sales and marketing manager at Pearl Marina Estate, said the developer saw the deal as more than a sales arrangement.
“We are very excited to have this understanding with the Uganda Law Society,” Alal said. “As more structures come up, this does not only open housing for members. It also creates professional work and jobs around the development.”
She said the company intended to stay within government policy and regulation, and described the link with the Law Society as a step toward more orderly, sustainable growth on the site.
Lawyers pressed to look after themselves
ULS vice-president Anthony Asiimwe used the fun day to argue that the profession’s workload leaves little room for rest, and that welfare has to be treated as part of practice, not an afterthought.
“Lawyers tend to have very stressful work, and sometimes we forget to have some good time,” Asiimwe said. “Today we are here at Pearl Marina to shake off some of that stress through sports, but also to strengthen our partnership.”
On the housing terms, he said the discount was the product of direct negotiation.
“We have negotiated that every member of the Law Society who wishes to acquire a condominium at Pearl Marina will get a 2.5 percent discount,” he said. “This is part of our effort to improve the welfare of our members.”
Asiimwe thanked the estate for carving out terms aimed specifically at lawyers, and said the recognition of Pearl Marina as a ULS partner would give members access to facilities and benefits beyond the purchase discount.
Call for cheaper building materials
The signing also became a platform for a broader complaint about the cost of housing. Asiimwe said high prices for homes and construction materials still lock many Ugandans out of ownership, and he asked government to cut or remove taxes on building materials.
“Housing is a basic need, and government should put more emphasis on affordable housing,” he said. “Taxes on building materials should be removed or reduced to enable more people to build decent homes.”
He said firmer public support for the sector would help more households move into adequate accommodation, not only members of professional bodies.
From rent to a title
ULS treasurer Arthur Isiko framed the Pearl Marina offer as a practical route out of long-term renting.
“Pearl Marina Estates provides affordable housing, so our lawyers can move away from rentals and start investing in homes on prime land in Entebbe,” Isiko said.
He urged government to encourage similar arrangements between developers and professional associations, so that organised groups can negotiate access rather than leaving each buyer to the open market.
Isiko was careful not to treat the discount as a full answer. He named scarce serviced land and weak or disputed documentation as two of the stubborn obstacles in Uganda’s housing market, and said those problems would still confront buyers even after a negotiated price cut.
The MoU lands as the Law Society puts more weight on member welfare alongside continuing legal education and professional discipline. Through the Pearl Marina arrangement, members can look at ownership on stated terms while the fun day itself was meant to underline a second point: that fitness, social contact and economic security sit alongside courtroom work.
Saturday’s programme mixed competitive and recreational sport, with the society using the gathering to say that professional standing and members’ physical, social and financial well-being are meant to move together.
