Ugandan kyeyo seekers stuck in S.Africa
Apr 02, 2008
CROSS Border Traders’ Association (CBTA) has appealed to the Government to rescue the jailed and stranded Ugandans in South Africa.
By Paul Tentena
CROSS Border Traders’ Association (CBTA) has appealed to the Government to rescue the jailed and stranded Ugandans in South Africa.
The body said close to 7,000 Ugandans, who had sought greener pastures commonly known as Kyeyo (odd employment) in South Africa were either in jails or stranded.
“Many people were fleeced to go to South Africa to do odd jobs but have ended up jailed, killed, prostitutes and others stranded,†said Enock Sserwadda, the association’s operations manager.
Sserwadda told reporters in Kampala on Tuesday that the stranded people fear being jailed because their travel documents have expired.
“These are people travelled by buses using transit visas that have expired.
“To come back through the same countries requires clearance from their country of origin, which they don’t have,†said Sserwadda.
CBTA is under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and Southern Africa Development Community, with offices in Lusaka, Zambia.
Sserwadda said his organisation had written to Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the minister for internal affairs about the matter.
He warned other Ugandans who intend to illegally migrate to South Africa in search for World Cup jobs in stadiums.
South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup tournament.
“People are now being deceived that there are jobs to work in stadiums and other hospitality places in South Africa but what we can say as the body is that there are no jobs.
“South Africans were lacking teachers, doctors and nurses a few years ago, but they have now trained their own people,†he explained. He blamed the Government’s job policy that he said had not favoured locals.
“The countries we trade with, do not allow a foreigner to work in a position that can be done by a local. In Uganda, it is the opposite,†Sserwadda lamented.
CROSS Border Traders’ Association (CBTA) has appealed to the Government to rescue the jailed and stranded Ugandans in South Africa.
The body said close to 7,000 Ugandans, who had sought greener pastures commonly known as Kyeyo (odd employment) in South Africa were either in jails or stranded.
“Many people were fleeced to go to South Africa to do odd jobs but have ended up jailed, killed, prostitutes and others stranded,†said Enock Sserwadda, the association’s operations manager.
Sserwadda told reporters in Kampala on Tuesday that the stranded people fear being jailed because their travel documents have expired.
“These are people travelled by buses using transit visas that have expired.
“To come back through the same countries requires clearance from their country of origin, which they don’t have,†said Sserwadda.
CBTA is under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and Southern Africa Development Community, with offices in Lusaka, Zambia.
Sserwadda said his organisation had written to Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the minister for internal affairs about the matter.
He warned other Ugandans who intend to illegally migrate to South Africa in search for World Cup jobs in stadiums.
South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup tournament.
“People are now being deceived that there are jobs to work in stadiums and other hospitality places in South Africa but what we can say as the body is that there are no jobs.
“South Africans were lacking teachers, doctors and nurses a few years ago, but they have now trained their own people,†he explained. He blamed the Government’s job policy that he said had not favoured locals.
“The countries we trade with, do not allow a foreigner to work in a position that can be done by a local. In Uganda, it is the opposite,†Sserwadda lamented.