Jinja investors ask Government to prioritise skills education  

PIC: Kisambira (left) and Batambuze (right) flanked by Police bosses Onesimus Mwesigwa and Lasulu Anguyo while singing the Busoga anthem at the event. (Credit: Jackie Nambogga)

NEED FOR SKILLS EDUCATION

JINJA- Local and foreign investors in Jinja town have regretted the slow pace at which the Government has embraced skills education, saying it has kept many Ugandans jobless.

Under their umbrella body of the Jinja Investors Forum (JIF), the investors observed that there was a big gap in the labour market because Uganda's education system had not fully addressed the skills gap.

Joel Kafuko, a member of the JIF, said there is need of the educational institutions to partner with industries to identify the demand-driven programmes in order to bridge the gaps.

"We note with great concern that there is a very big gap in the labour market and that is the skills gap," Kafuko said.

This was during the belated Labour Day celebrations held at Kakindu stadium in Jinja town on Friday.

The event was jointly organised by the Jinja district and Jinja municipal councils.

According to Kafuko, if the education system does not handle this matter urgently, they will remain importing labour at the expense of the citizens.

He said the practice had rendered their production costs much higher compared to the rest of the East African community member states.

Kafuko, who is also the former Jinja municipality mayor, said if the Buy Uganda, Build Uganda (BUBU) is to succeed well, they need to address the said challenges undermining labour demand-driven programmes to effectively compete in the regional market.

The investors noted the need to interface with the Government in order to control the inflation trend of the economy and high taxation, which has affected their productivities.

Also, they observed the importance of the Government to check policies on financial institutions since these are their major source of investment resources.

Mubarak Kirunda, the Jinja central division chairperson, blamed the area leaders for failing to fight for the workers' rights, saying majority were not being availed with protective gear.

As a result, Kirunda said majority were being exposed to harmful chemicals and accidents.

Kirunda, who subscribes to the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) challenged the ruling NRM government that importing the Cuban doctors was not a solution to Uganda's health sector.

He said there was need for NRM to examine what had gone wrong in the 32 years while in power in terms of health, education, security and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Jinja mayor, Majid Batambuze, said they were getting complaints from workers about delayed pay.

Titus Kisambira, the Jinja LC5 chairperson, who was the chief guest, said they were being threatened whenever they intervene into workers plights.

"Some of these factories threaten to deal with us during campaigns once we intervene into our people's plight, but I am not shaken because I am fighting for my voters' rights," Kisambira insisted.

He reawakened the campaign for elevating the entire district into a city status as the best alternative to transform residents. 

The event was mainly attended by civil servants as most of the tents remained empty.