Minister Tumukunde orders fresh licensing of labour export firms

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The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Lt Gen. (rtd) Henry Tumukunde, has ordered all external labour recruitment companies to reapply for licences as the government moves to clean up the labour export industry.

Speaking during a meeting with external recruitment agencies and pre-departure orientation and training institutions on July 15, 2026, Tumukunde said all companies operating in the sector would be required to reapply, regardless of how long they have been in business.

“All of you will reapply. Whether you have been in this industry for 40 years, you will all reapply,” Tumukunde told the recruiters.

The minister also directed recruitment companies to organise themselves into associations within one month, arguing that the government cannot effectively engage hundreds of individual companies.

“You must associate. And I'm giving you a deadline of one month. You must belong somewhere. It's not optional,” he said.

Guests at the event. (Credit: Miriam Namutebi)

(Credit: Miriam Namutebi)

Tumukunde said organised industry groups would elect leaders to represent recruiters in engagements with the ministry, while experienced industry players could provide advisory support.

Official figures presented at the meeting show that Uganda currently has 247 licensed external private recruitment companies and more than 100 accredited pre-departure orientation and training institutions.

The Minister of State for Gender, Labour and Social Development in charge of Elderly Affairs, Jacqueline Mbabazi. (Credit: Miriam Namutebi)

Aggrey David Kibenge, Permanent Secretary of the Gender, Labour and Social Development ministry. (Credit: Miriam Namutebi)

Guests at the event. (Credit: Miriam Namutebi)

A total of 351,042 Ugandan migrant workers were deployed abroad between 2016 and May 2026, including 294,011 women and 57,031 men. Saudi Arabia remains by far the largest destination for Ugandan migrant workers, receiving 284,313 workers over the period.

According to figures presented by Lawrence Egulu, the commissioner for employment services at the gender ministry, the United Arab Emirates received 36,398 workers, Qatar 14,078, Iraq 5,335, Jordan 4,520 and Somalia 3,255.

The crackdown comes against the backdrop of growing pressure on Uganda's labour market. Government figures indicate that between 600,000 and 700,000 job seekers enter the labour market annually, while about 5.25 million young people are not in employment, education or training under the national context measure.

Tumukunde warned recruiters against exporting Ugandans outside the licensed system, saying he would work with authorities at airports and border points to identify illegal operators.

He said recruitment companies had a responsibility to protect Uganda's image and the welfare of workers sent abroad.

“You are a very solid group of people making money from another country. You must have an interest in making sure that the name of this country and the individuals who leave this country must be seriously protected," Tumukunde said.

The minister also proposed a new identification mechanism, which he called "a minister's stamp", for Ugandans travelling abroad for employment.

Tumukunde said the identification system should contain a chip that could help authorities confirm that a migrant worker had been properly processed and provide a mechanism for flagging problems while abroad.

He also invited Ugandans who had travelled abroad legally but were not captured in the formal external employment system to enlist.

Training was another key area singled out by the minister, who said pre-departure preparation for migrant workers would become mandatory.

“Training will be a must,” Tumukunde said.

He challenged recruitment companies to pool resources and establish stronger training facilities instead of relying on what he described as small centres.

Tumukunde said Uganda needed to learn from countries such as Ethiopia, where workers are trained and prepared before recruitment and deployment.

“We have to have a training school,” he said, adding that he intended to visit some existing training centres to assess their operations.

The external employment programme has also generated non-tax revenue for the government through licence applications, licence fees, foreign job order attestation, local job order applications, fines and training centre accreditation fees.

Ministry figures show non-tax revenue collections from the sector stood at sh12.31b in the 2021/22 financial year, sh11.78b in 2022/23, sh5.82b in 2023/24, sh4.35b in 2024/25 and sh3.97b in 2025/26.