Job creation in Uganda. How to create jobs to reduce unemployment in Uganda

by Admin · Published September 30, 2023 · Updated February 19, 2024

The corruption, fraud and inefficiency in Uganda that is frustrating the fight against poverty and unemployment in Uganda

We explained to you how to raise funding for the Job Creation Fund of Uganda and the sacrifices required to reduce spending on certain government expenditures so as to fund job creation. We know that the required sacrifices are painful for the spoilt public officers who earn their living through corruption and wasteful expenditure but given that more than two thirds of Ugandans are unemployed and more than half of the country lives below the poverty line the sacrifices are necessary and should be made. The next question on inquiring minds is, assuming that we are able to source for the necessary financing, how are we going to create fifteen million jobs. Today we explain to you how we can create the jobs.

Streamlining of visas, work permits, economic refugees and the right to work. Due to corruption and lack of the political will to tackle the issue of work permits granted to expatriates who are not qualified or where we have similarly qualified Ugandans thousands of jobs are occupied by foreign nationals in contravention of the law. Without spending a single coin we can streamline the issue of expatriates and work permits and in the process create more than 20,000 jobs for Ugandans. Every year thousands of work permits are issued to foreign Nationals yet Ugandans that have the necessary qualifications are unemployed and rotting in poverty. The situation is such that Ugandans are not allowed to work in these countries but in Uganda we wantonly and stupidly allow every tom dick and Harry to freely work in Uganda thus taking up job opportunities that would otherwise have been occupied by Ugandans. As long as you pay the right people at the ministry of internal affairs you will obtain a work permit to work in Uganda without a care to the fate of educated and qualified Ugandans. As if this was not enough, the these so called experts are paid higher salaries than Ugandans who do the same or more work.

Privatisation of land registration. Land registration and administration has inbuilt job traffic given the fraud and corruption at the Ministry of Lands and the large number of transactions that take place on a daily basis. If we decentralised land administration to the village level and got rid of the corrupt technocrats at the ministry of lands we can conservatively create 300,000 jobs of surveyors assistants, registration assistants and inspectors. Assuming I want to register my land, I would simply go to the village office, get a surveyor’s assistant who can conduct a preliminary survey to be presented to the area land committee and the same would be presented to local mapping assistant and later to the registration officer. Land registration can be improved to account for equitable interests and thus reduce land fraud and the ever violent unlawful eviction and ofcourse reduce money laundering in land transaction. This job creation scheme is self financing without even charging exorbitant fees. The finances accrue from Search fees, registration fees and charges. Conservatively this scheme can break even the first year and produce income for the Job Creation Fund. To achieve this we need to sacrifice the crooks at the ministry of lands or incorporate them as employees of the new registration scheme.

Privatisation of health care. We all become sick at some point and seek medical care and for this reason health care is a good candidate for job creation. We can employ doctors, nurses, radiographers, dentists and other medical professionals. We can also employ managers, accountants and others. Conservatively we can employ ten people per Health Centre II and 200 people per hospital. We can eliminate stealing of government drugs and lack of health personnel due to absentism because the health facilities will not be government owned. To efficiently privatise and exploit health care as a job creation driver we have to combine it with compulsory health insurance. Conservatively we can create close to 200,000 jobs by taking over the ministry of health and privatising it.

Privatisation of electricity and water connections. To get connected to the electricity grid in Uganda is a waiting and frustration game. Even when you want to pay for the electricity connection in cash you will not easily get it without bribing employees of Uweme or UEDCL. You will probably wait for several months before you get connected to the electricity grid yet you can afford to pay the market rate for the electricity connection. The same problems affect National Water connections but electricity connections are worse. We can expand water to all towns in Uganda and introduce digital metres to reduce corruption and waste. We can conservatively create 100,000 jobs by taking over electricity and water connections in Uganda.

Building our own roads. To tarmac a kilometre of roads in Kampala, our inefficient and corrupt contractors charges close to 40 billion shillings and up to 10 billion shillings per kilometre for up country roads. The contractors in late costs and at contractors that have previously done shoddy work keep being granted road construction contractors. We hear that some are granted contracts on orders from above without following the procurement laws. What we propose is to eliminate the profit element prioritized by private contractors and build these roads ourselves using our own people and at affordable prices. This sector consumes close to three trillion shillings per year which we can use for job creation in this sector by taking over the supply chains and improving efficiency. When we have brought down road tarmacting costs to about 200m per kilometre we can expand to private customers. We can streamline construction of roads by individuals or a group of individuals and we can create neighborhood toll roads that are funded on credit. We can create 100,000 jobs by taking over road construction.

Expanding tax collection. Uganda’s tax revenue to GDP is less than twenty percent and given the prevalence of corruption in Uganda more than eighty percent of individuals and companies cheat on their tax returns. By tackling taxation at the village level we can introduce new direct taxes such a yearly property tax and increase the enforcement of rental tax. Imagine a situation where every Ugandan resident files a tax return and pays atleast one tax. By employing atleast one tax officer at village level we can employ more than 100,000 people. On top of the employment opportunities we shall increase the tax base and the revenue collected.

Privatisation of registration of births, death and marriage. Uganda has failed to operationalize the marriage register resulting into a majority of marriages unregistered. Registration of marriages combats fraud in terms of evading the requirement of spousal consent and protects vulnerable spouses from unscrupulous spouses. It protects banks and other financial institutions from fraudulent spouses. Here at the job creation fund we can exploit the high demand for information and the need to prevent fraud by monetizing it to employ thousands of Ugandans and increasing revenue collection. We can employ more than 100,000 people by monetizing marriage registration and related services.

Large scale agriculture. Agriculture employs the largest number of people in Uganda and is Uganda’s largest export. By engaging in large scale agriculture we can feed our country and the entire continent. We can monitor agriculture by setting up large farms that employ many Uganda, produce revenue to pay the workers and generate profits for job creation. We can create up to 200,000 people in large scale agriculture.

State owned industries and factories. Industrialization has potential to create jobs but setting up a factory is capital intensive. China in its development employed the strategy of state backed enterprises to create jobs. Uganda can copy this strategy and localize it. Imagine thousands of government owned factories employing thousands of Ugandans and earning profit for the state. Obviously if we let tribalism and nepotism and corruption take a foothold we can not create efficient businesses but with the right combination of innovation and transparency we can create state owned enterprises that break even and earn profit for the people of Uganda.

Funding innovators. Innovations have a high potential for job creation and by funding the manufacture of innovations especially in pharmaceuticals and IT will help in job creation. We can start with the manufacture of generic drugs and vaccines. By engaging in manufacturing we can create more one million jobs in a decade.

Combating corruption. Uganda loses twenty trillion shillings per year to corruption and for this reason combating corruption is a necessity. It can employ more than 100,000 in Investigations, asset tracking, asset recovery and asset registration. Imagine an army of 100,000 people hunting for illicit acquired wealth. The resultant asst recovery will produce revenue and increase the funds available for job creation.

Bail bondsmen. These are people who are authorized to look for and arrest accused persons who have jumped bail and their sureties. In Uganda more than one hundred suspects jump bail per year and we can employ close to 10,000 individuals. By monetizing the arrest of people who jump bail we can improve the rule of law and also ensure that citizens have job opportunities to earn a living. We can extend this service to police bond and other instances where a person needs to find a debtor or a guarantor.

Construction for the state and production of Construction materials. Due to corruption the state is charged exorbitant amounts of money for its construction projects. By taking over construction of government projects we shall create jobs for the citizens of Uganda. In addition to the construction we can invest in the production of construction materials such as aggregate and bricks. These projects are labour intensive and thus they have the potential to create more than 100,000 jobs.

State owned communication companies and State owned banks. These businesses are high margin businesses that generate billions of shillings in profits for the likes of MTN and Stanbic bank. On the other hand, UTL and state owned banks are a disgrace to Ugandan tax payers due to corruption and politicization. However if we eliminated politicisation, corruption and inefficiencies we can create more than one hundred thousand jobs and earn heft profits that will raise more money for job creation and investment.

Monitize other government services. There are many other government agencies and services that we can monitize and adjust for job creation. For example we can monitize the judiciary which charges very low fees for its services. We can create expensive device tiers for those that want expeditious disposal of their disputes. For example commercial disputes can be charged market value rates for dispute Resolutions in exchange for a six months service tier whereby such disputes are disposed of within six months at each level of court system in Uganda. We can create jobs by creating these service tiers and raise revenue for job creation