RELAX conditions of employment so that we can also compete for jobs, refugees have asked the Government, reports Charles Ariko and Angela Ndagano.

Awet Haile Okba, an official of the Refugee Law Project, said the Refugees Act requires exiled professionals to acquire work permits at $1,000 (sh1.5m) annually.

“Most of the refugees cannot afford the amount, considering that they ran away from their countries under difficult conditions,” he observed.

Okba added that if the fees were waived or reduced, the refugees would get jobs and fend for themselves instead of being seen as a burden.

He was speaking during a workshop in Kampala to commemorate the World Refugee Day.

Okba said the law should be changed to allow refugees move freely.