Govt loses billions as labour exports drop

Statistics from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) indicate that last year the government lost Non Tax Revenue (NTR) of Shs10.4b as the number of domestic workers seeking jobs to Middle East dropped by 34,234 from 55,643 in 2022.

The government lost revenue in form of passport applications, approval of job orders, licensing fees, accreditation fees for pre-departure, late submission charges and expression of interest.

In 2022, the maids remitted Shs4.5 trillion ($1.1b) to Uganda as revenue and NTR of about Shs20b, according to MGLSD.

“We are yet to get updated figures of remittances from the Bank of Uganda. But in terms of NTR, last year we collected more than Shs7.3 billion in form of expression of interest fees, fines and job orders, among others,” Mr Hillary Muhumza from the Gender ministry revealed during an interview on Monday.

He added: “In 2022 alone, the Gender ministry collected NTR of Shs17.8 billion from the labour market.”

The Ministry of Internal Affairs also revealed that they are experiencing low numbers in passport applications due to closure of business by some labour export firms.  According to the ministry, exporting labour in Uganda has become expensive, with many requirements demanded to externalise labour,  including security fees in the bank and licence fee of Shs2m.

“In Uganda, for one to externalise a maid to the Middle East, on average, requires $1,200 (about Shs4.4m). In Ethiopia, it’s only $800 (about Shs2.9m). Most of the Arabs have stopped coming to Uganda,” Mr Simon Mundeyi, the Internal Affairs spokesperson, said.

He further said due to reduction in the labour export activity in Uganda, most of the labour companies have resorted to Nepal, Kenya, Burundi, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, noting that such countries have cheap labour.

“We were processing about 2,000 to 3,000 passports per day and about one million passports in 2022. Currently, we are processing about 1,200 passports per day and about 36,000 passports in a month. In a year, they are about 450,000 passports,” Mr Mundeyi said.

He added: “Labour export companies have closed, which was the biggest market for passports in 2022.”

Last year, the Gender ministry renewed the bilateral labour agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the export of domestic labour to the gulf country, which many experts described as strict but with better terms.

Mr Stuart Oramire, the executive director of Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA), said the signing of one bilateral agreement with Saudi Arabia has partly contributed to reduction in numbers.

“Last year, the number of maids who travelled through licensed companies ranged from 600 to 800 monthly but currently, we don’t have more than 300 immigrant workers leaving the country monthly,” he said.

Data from the Gender ministry also indicates that at least an average of 7,724 migrant workers left Uganda on a monthly basis in 2022 in search of employment.

“In Ethiopia, It takes only two days for a maid to be externalised as a domestic worker to Middle East. In Uganda, it takes two months. To process a passport, it takes between two to three weeks, and Interpol takes 21 days to process certificates of good conduct. Training takes two weeks and travel preparation for a girl takes between three weeks and one month,”  Mr Oramire said.

“We pay Shs250,000 for processing a passport, then proceed to process an Interpol certificate at Shs150,000. We also pay Shs70,000 to verify the same Interpol certificate at Foreign Affairs ministry, $100 (about Shs370,000) for medical training, another $100 for hotel training, around Shs1.8m for the air ticket to Middle East and Shs100,000 for the Yellow Fever Card,” he added.