Hon Haruna Kasolo Got It Wrong on Labour Externalization
By Arthur Nuwagaba
Hon. Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo’s recent appeal to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to suspend Uganda’s labour externalisation programme is, with respect, misguided. The Ugandans recently returned from South Africa were not deployed by Uganda’s licensed external recruitment agencies. Likewise, many Ugandans stranded in Cambodia, Myanmar and other countries are victims of criminal trafficking networks and illegal brokers, not the government-regulated labour externalisation programme. It is therefore unfair to condemn an entire industry for crimes committed by people operating outside the law.
Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world, with over 700,000 young people entering the labour market every year, yet the economy creates far fewer formal jobs. Labour externalisation has therefore become one of the country’s most practical employment interventions. Between 2016 and 2022, Uganda officially externalised 217,258 workers, averaging about 55,000 workers annually, with Saudi Arabia accounting for about 77% of deployments in recent years. Before proposing to stop the programme, government should first explain where these young people will find jobs if overseas employment opportunities are closed.
The economic contribution of Ugandan migrant workers is undeniable. According to the Bank of Uganda and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Ugandans working abroad send home approximately US$2.5 billion annually, making remittances one of Uganda’s leading sources of foreign exchange alongside coffee, gold and tourism. These funds pay school fees, build homes, finance businesses, support agriculture and improve household incomes across the country. Removing this opportunity would not only affect thousands of families but also weaken Uganda’s economy.
Uganda is not the first country to use overseas employment as a development strategy. The Philippines receives more than US$40 billion annually in remittances from its overseas workers, while India receives well over US$100 billion, the highest in the world. Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Nepal also rely heavily on labour migration to create employment and earn foreign exchange. These countries have not banned labour migration because challenges exist; instead, they have strengthened regulation, improved worker protection and negotiated better labour agreements. Uganda should follow the same path.
The licensed recruitment companies operating in Uganda are registered, licensed and regulated by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development under established laws and regulations. Their approved destinations are mainly Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar under bilateral labour arrangements. They are not recruiting Ugandans to Cambodia, Myanmar or South Africa through the labour externalisation programme. Those destinations are largely associated with illegal traffickers and unlicensed brokers who should be pursued and prosecuted with the full force of the law.
It is therefore surprising that the call to suspend labour externalisation comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose responsibility is to protect Ugandans abroad through embassies and diplomatic missions. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is responsible for regulating recruitment agencies and overseeing the programme. If there are concerns about worker welfare, why are the two ministries not harmonising their positions, strengthening oversight and sharing information instead of publicly advocating the suspension of a programme managed by another government ministry? Effective governance requires coordination, not contradictory policy positions.
Uganda should eliminate prosecute human traffickers, strengthen labour attachés, improve bilateral labour agreements and tighten supervision of licensed companies. However, suspending labour externalisation would deny thousands of Ugandan youth access to employment while depriving the country of billions of dollars in foreign exchange. Labour externalisation is not Uganda’s problem; unemployment is. The solution is not to close the door on opportunity but to make overseas employment safer, better regulated and more beneficial for every Ugandan worker. The writer is an NRM cadre and a PhD Candidate in Business Administration. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
