Govt’s failure to monitor illegal foreign workers robbing Ugandans of jobs

Traders in downtown Kampala have previously closed their shops protesting existence of foreigners in petty trade. Photo / Michael Kakumirizi
What you need to know:
- A study by the Auditor General between 2019 and 2023 found several instances where foreign nationals did not leave the country after the expiry of their work permits
Auditor General Edward Akol has noted that despite government putting in place controls to issue and monitor work permits, several migrant workers are staying in Uganda illegally and doing jobs that should be reserved for citizens, especially in the informal sector.
Details contained in the December 2024 Annual Report of the Auditor General note that after reviewing data of between 2020 and 2022, the Auditor General found a 26 percent increase in the number of work permits issued from 11,229 to 14,185, but without corresponding increase in resources to monitor expatriate workers, which prompted them to undertake a value for money study on the management of work permits by the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control.
The study, which was conducted in the 2023/24 financial year, found several instances where foreign nationals did not leave the country after expiry of their work permits.
For instance, in the three years to June 2023, the study found that 6,035 permits had expired and cancelled, but of these, owners of 5,048 permits, which represents 85 percent, did not leave the country.
The study further found that whereas 102 foreign nationals were fined for overstaying their permits between July 2019 and June 2023, their respective employers were not fined for knowingly employing foreign nationals without valid entry permits and fines estimated at Shs306m not collected.
The study also found that several foreigners were working or running private businesses illegally between 2019 and 2023, but the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control had only managed to deport 2,403 workers and regularised 1,969 others, which was a “small proportion”, thereby contributing to increased unemployment among Ugandans.
“Migrant labour creates competition for the few available jobs … as a result, local businessmen have expressed their displeasure about the existence of illegal foreigners … I noted several instances ... where foreign nationals did not leave the country following the expiry of their work permits ... the continued stay of foreign nationals with expired permits has resulted in illegal employment of foreign nationals and loss of revenue,” the Auditor General’s report reads in part.
Mr Simon Mundeyi, the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control spokesperson at the weekend said that it was true that the Directorate faces enforcement lapses due to staff constraints, noting that out of the more than 2,000 enforcement officers required, they only have 700, which makes it difficult to monitor and follow up expired permits and those involved in petty jobs.
In 2011, traders, under Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita) closed their shops due to the rising number of foreigners involved in petty trade.
Mr Jjemba Kanakulya, the Kacita deputy spokesperson, said at the weeekend that whereas foreigners taking jobs and businesses that would be done by nationals, was unfortunate, in some ways foreigners such as Somalis and Eritreans were contributing to the development of Uganda.
The Auditor General also found that whereas government had undertaken measures to improve management of work permits, it still faces various challenges including failure to provide real-time notifications on over-stayers, delays in migrating legacy data, and limited reporting capabilities, which does not provide value for money from investment in systems such as e-immigration, Migration Information and Data Analysis System, and Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System.
Enhance capacity
The Auditor General, therefore, among others recommends that the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control enhances its capacity to enforce the timely exit of foreign nationals and put in place mechanisms to systematically capture and record information of all foreign nationals resident in Uganda.