Ibrahim Ssemujju the Kira Municipality MP has called for the establishment of an Evacuation Fund, whose funds will be used by Gov’t to evacuate migrant workers who face inhumane mistreatment while employed abroad, warning that a total ban on labour exportation would create a crisis given the high unemployment rates in Uganda.
Ssemuju made the comments as Parliament discussed a report tabled by the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Dev’t, Hon. Sarah Najjuma regarding a petition by Elivanson Nabatanzi against Prime Linkages Ltd, a Uganda-based labour externalization firm. In the said petition, Nabatanzi accused Prime Linkages of taking her daughter to Saudi Arabia where she was mistreated.
“Instead of quarrelling with recruitment agencies, let us put an evacuation fund and let us put some small offices in all these big cities where they go and work and deal with the issues as they come. We should stop dealing with this matter in an emotional way, let us try to help whoever lands into trouble because the report says you have nearly 200,000 girls in Saudi Arabia. So if 20 are abused, just deal with the abuses, otherwise, just imagine the day Saudi Arabia, Oman, Dubai says go back to Uganda, you will be in trouble,” said Ssemujju.
