The revised law over the recruitment of Ugandan migrant workers, regulations, 2021 by the regulator- Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, requires that labour externalisation companies take their clients through a two weeks orientation training before qualifying them for work.

The law introduced a pre-departure orientation training to migrant workers, and bans the charging of migrant workers unauthorised fees. The penalty for breaking any of these regulations was also increased from three months to five years imprisonment or a fine not exceeding one thousand currency points Shs20 million or serving both.

This prerequisite came high on heels of migration specialists who continuously urged the Government to create an organized training programme for every Ugandan who plans to work abroad.

The specialists reasoned that, migrant workers would benefit from learning a variety of subjects throughout the training, including the fundamentals of the language and culture of the place they will be working.

This was after number of Ugandans had reported having issues with their employers when they travel for employment, particularly the girls who go to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, china and many other countries that don’t use English as their national language.

The training is primarily due to linguistic barrier and cultural shock.

Ministry of Gender has since permitted companies that bear qualifications to train migrant workers.

Before being accredited to conduct training, the company is required to display its shareholding, date of inception and its registration details in the newspapers (media) so that if anyone has reservations, the regulator is informed early enough and the entity is immediately disqualified.

The Secretary to the Judiciary and Permanent Secretary Dr Pius Bigirimana is among the many Ugandans whose companies were advertised in the news paper as required by the Ministry of Gender.

However, a section of the media has since misrepresented Bigirimana’s company profile linking it to exportation of labour yet it into sheer training.

The company, Vision House Ltd has 11 directors who include Bigirimana, his wife and children.

Training

Before being accredited, the company must have a training facility, with fully fledged facilities including dormitories, classes, kitchen, toilets, among others.

All these are required because the trainees spend two weeks at the centre before they are awarded certificate of completion.

The company, after attaining accreditation turns into a training centre. Its data is captured by the ministry and then shared to the recruitment firms which thereafter book for training sessions through the regulator.

The role of the training centre is to only train and hand over the trainee after two weeks. It is therefore false, malicious, misleading and wrong to allege that Bigirimana’s company is involved in labour export.

Also, training centres don’t only train migrant workers, also immigrant (foreigners coming to Uganda to work here) can benefit from the program.

Also Ugandans can be trained when they intend to work from other regions across the country.

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KAMPALA-May 24, 2023: Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in Uganda has announced the reduction of its redemption threshold for its MyCLUB loyalty programme from 100,000 points to 10,000 points, enabling customers to enjoy their reward benefits sooner.

In addition to the reduced redemption threshold, MyCLUB members gain access to exclusive MyCLUB discounts and offers from which they can collect extra points. These can also be redeemed to pay for shopping in-store. This makes MyCLUB one of the most attractive loyalty programmes in the country.

According to Christophe Orcet, Regional Director of East Africa at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, stated: “MyCLUB is our innovative loyalty programme that provides customers with cashback on their purchases through a points collection system, creating more great moments for our loyal customers. This offering has served our customers like no other loyalty programme available in the country. It is also worth mentioning that this programme continues in addition to our current best price strategy and not as a substitute.”

To earn rewards with MyCLUB, customers can download the MAF Carrefour App from Google Play or the App Store, shop at any Carrefour store near them, and have their phone scanned at the till. This will enable them to earn points, and track their progress in the personalised dashboard, which they can then redeem for in-store items of their choosing when they reach 10,000 points.

MyCLUB is part of Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment to providing Ugandans with exceptional service and value. The enhanced loyalty programme also reflects Carrefour’s dedication to delivering a rewarding and enjoyable shopping experience.

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Small scale sugarcane out-growers in Busoga region are set to benefit from a new financing facility designed to help cover their expenses or expand acreage.

Stanbic Bank, in partnership with Kakira Sugar Works Limited (KSW), has rolled out the Sugarcane value proposition with the main objective of increasing cane output to meet rising demand for sugar both locally and across East Africa.

Uganda is the largest producer of refined sugar in the East African Community, with annual production nationwide standing at 510,000 metric tonnes as of 2022. Of this, 360,000 metric tonnes are consumed locally and the remaining 150,000 metric tonnes made available for export.

Financing facility is expected to boost production capacity which will in turn create more jobs besides the other added benefits to the community in the sugarcane growing areas.

 “Financing facilities help sugarcane players to exploit the existing opportunities to expand their businesses by providing a variety of personalised services and products to help them manage their finances as they start the journey towards accomplishing their dreams,” Stanbic Bank’s Mathias Jumba said in Jinja.

Addressing the problem raised by sugarcane farmers that they were being charged very high interest and extremely stringent payment terms from other places where they get money, Jumba stated that Stanbic’s Sugarcane Farmer Solutions will solve that because the Bank understands farmers and their different earning cycles.

He pledged that the Bank would not let its plans end on paper, but let the farmers feel the impact. Our Sugarcane Farmer Solutions are not just about providing money but also financial literacy to help farmers grow,” he stated.

Busoga Kingdom’s minister for Foreign Affairs, Owek Joan Machora Kittio, advised the farmers who get impatient when prices drop and end up burning their sugarcane to restrain from the habit. “People should understand how to be adaptive to change and not give up.” This is the “It Can Be” spirit that we stand for,” the minister stated.

Speaking on behalf of the farmers, Abubaker Ojwang Omboko stated that they are 10,000 sugarcane farmers under Busoga Sugarcane Growers Association (BSGA). He expressed excitement about the solutions that will be provided by Stanbic Bank,”

“It has always been our dream to partner with a financial institution which can drive us to our dreams. Stanbic Bank has all we need to help us reach our dreams and we are excited about these” he stated.

The Bank is also offering farmers unsecured loan amounts up to Shs 100 million, with a loan tenor up to 24 months at a competitive interest rate at 2% per month at the current prime rate.

The bank will also offer health cover for farmers and their families from as low as Shs 600,000 per person annually with Stanbic MediProtect. The health cover caters for Inpatient, Outpatient, Maternity, Dental and Funeral cover for immediate family, dependents, and extended family members with no age limits.

Stanbic will organise financial fitness sessions at no charge for farmers. The sessions will be conducted in English and local languages by experts, providing training in areas like how to create and build a business, saving and investments, managing expenditure budget, debt management and how to protect their wealth.

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The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has reaffirmed its commitment to support innovation and technology in Africa. The revelation was made by Chioma Mang, the managing Director who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UBA Uganda.

Speaking during the commemoration of African Day under the theme; innovating the continent for growth, Chioma said Africa is in a significant growth stage. If you want to grow exceptionally, you have to be highly innovative. You have to be creative. You have to have the right technology to drive all the initiatives that you want to use to create that level for growth.

In a bid to see the young generation realize their dreams, she said UBA Group chairman Tony Elumelu established a foundation for African youth. He gave out 100 million dollars of seed capital to any youth that is creative and has a business and is looking for support. A lot of youths in Uganda have participated and they have been successful. Last year about 250 Ugandans were able to get the seed capital of $5,000 for each founder program.

“Global trade is not only driven by finance, it is driven by connectivity across African countries. All the African government are trying to unite Africa through a trade platform. Every African country is blessed with some mineral, commodity however most of them are exported to Europe and then brought back into Africa as finished products. So we are trying to drive interconnectivity amongst the countries so that we can process these resources other than sending them outside Africa,” She said.

The Bank has made a lot of proposals to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACfTA) office in Ghana on how they can work together to spur trade and businesses on the continent. We are working with all the agencies including UNDP that have been pushing African trade to be able to bring that benefit to the people of Uganda.

ACfTA is aimed at creating a single, liberalized market and reducing barriers to capital and labor to facilitate investment.

According to the World Bank, Uganda’s Exports increased to 674.54 USD Million in March from 349.44 USD Million in February 2023.The Country’s most important exports is coffee (22 percent of total exports) followed by tea, cotton, copper, oil and fish. Uganda’s main export partners include; Sudan, Kenya, DR Congo, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa and UAE.

She said UBA has the capacity to fund any transaction at any level in the country. If we go beyond any transaction beyond what UBA Uganda, we fall back on the strength of the group. We are in 20 African countries. We are pushing this initiative so that we can help our customers realize their dreams and link customers to people who can buy their products from our present locations.

The financial sector in Uganda committed to driving that, among the things that are needed to open trade across Africa are government policies and they are working on that.

“We extend finances to women in telecommunication, agriculture, oil and gas, and manufacturing. What makes you successful in accessing finance from a bank is how you organize and present your business. Where we see a gap, we train them on how to make their businesses bankable,” she said.

She said UBA Uganda has the capacity to fund any transactions at the country level and where its far beyond we fall back on the strength of the Group. We are in 20 Africa Countries, we are using this initiative so that we can help our customers realise their dreams as we link them to people who can buy their products from our present locations.

The financial sector in Uganda is committed to driving among the things needed to open trade across Africa are Government policies and they are working on that.

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