Museveni Gets 1,000 AGOA Jobs For Girls

By Anne MugisaPRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has directed the recruitment of 1,000 girls from all districts in Uganda for employment in a textile factory being set up to feed the US market.The President issued the directive while meeting resident district commissioners (RDCs) yesterday. Museveni said the move was intended to utilise the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) which was recently ratified.AGOA is intended to open the United States market to Africa.The girls must have attained 18 years, with a minimum academic qualification of O-Level. They must be single and in good health, a statement signed by the President’s Press Secretary, Mary Karooro Okurut, (pictured left) said. The statement said each district is expected to produce about 19 girls.They shall work for Tristar, a textile factory located at the former Coffee Marketing Board complex in Bugolobi, Kampala. The factory is owned by a Sri Lankan, Kumar Dewapura, who owns a chain of textile factories in Sri Lanka. Dewapura also plans to set up four other factories in Uganda, the statement said.Museveni told the RDCs that the country was at the threshold of modernisation and that they should encourage people to support the Government’s economic initiatives.He said the jobs available at the Bugolobi textile factory were proof of his argument that Uganda needs large markets which attract investors who provide employment, especially for the youth.AGOA was initiated by the US to help developing countries access the US market without suffering export tarrifs.Developing countries have been agitating for free trade instead of aid.Ends