EDITOR—Honourables Beti Kamya and Alex Byarugaba last week raised the issue of Ugandan's attitude to work and its effect on productivity. As legislators, they are better placed to know that Uganda has no clearly defined Human Resource Development policy, thus the current bizarre situation.

For starters, we have low levels of industrialisation.

The government has always been the biggest employer, and with the meagre salaries earned by civil servants, against an ever sky-rocketing cost of living, people had to devise means 'to make ends meet'! This attitude slowly evolved into a culture that has crept even into the private sector.

How many companies in Uganda can boast of such a scenario? Where is the problem? Why will someone not work if they don’t have to worry about house rent, school fees, medical bills, skill development, calamity insurance, and similar basics?

What is pertaining in Uganda, is a result of employers pretending to pay and employees naturally will pretend to work. And it cuts across the private and public sectors. Productive employment terms, strong labour laws and effective unionisation, are among the secrets behind the Kenyan economy boom.

Amon Mbekiza
Kampala