Uganda could benefit more from exporting skilled labour than maids

Mar 29, 2019

As a nation of minimalists, we have decided to send people who are exploited and set labour agencies for maids other than doctors, nurses, etc.

By James William Mugeni

Editor, after an 18-month training and becoming a Certified Public Manager with the best budding managers in America, I strongly believe Uganda will benefit more by sending out skilled people like doctors, Nurses, Clinical officers and other professionals overseas than the many maids we are sending out.

Sending out our best who can transform the attitude of slaves, nations have about us is very important. We need to send out professionals who can compete favourably, professionals who can learn from these developed nations and tap knowledge for home.

As a nation of minimalists, we have decided to send people who are exploited and set labour agencies for maids other than doctors, nurses, etc.  Through thriftiness, I have managed to get to school beating a trend of doing odd jobs we are ushered into. A trend that seems to have been set by Nations for immigrants and many labour exporting agencies.

I was shocked to go through a process of dishwashing in restaurants, which job I was replacing a colleague, very senior doctor from Uganda who had been an administrator in the medical profession at management level in Ministry of Health Uganda.

I managed to fight this because I was a professional and I am almost turning into an advocate targeting public policies that exploit many of us. I am surprised we have collaborations with all nations of the world, but it doesn't turn into labour market. I had worked with America as a foreign service national in Uganda, been at the core of many healthcare projects in Africa which include WHO, CDC, Medicines Sanfrotiers but this translated to nothing when I migrated.

 After doing my Certified Public Managers course covering the topics below, I am now peering through the many public policies that surely need attention from our governments with world governments,' governments at home just don't seem to function. How can we have a whole ministry of labour set to export maids? Taxation alone from these nations and the working environment doesn't enable these maids to develop beyond maids keeping the vicious cycle of mediocrity.

Read through the CPM topics leading to my graduation and how they have shaped me : Introduction to public administration/management, role of citizens in public administration, leadership strategies for public managers, research methods, leadership tools workshop, coaching and mentoring, project management, conflict management/employment relations, negotiation strategies, ethical public sector management, performance measurement, introduction to planning and strategic planning, creative management, risk management for public managers, change management, public policy analysis, human resource management, national and international innovations in public administration, economic development and urban planning, effective presentation, public sector budgeting, legislative policy-making and processes, administrative law, Iowa history, diversity and public management, grant writing strategies.

The millions of maids we are throwing out can't and won't compare notes with the best as I am now. During the training I was privileged to participate in a workforce needs assessment of the state where I am, we were able to identify the needs of the state. The projections show glaring gaps and need of professionals of all kinds but cannot even be raised by the state. Iowa has an Aging Population with Healthcare Needs. Iowa's rural communities are aging and essentially dying as their populations dwindle.  City governments have gone to extreme measures to attempt to revitalize and draw-in more citizens.  Some communities, such as Marne-Iowa are even offering free land to anyone willing to build a home and take up residence (Hardy, K. 2018).  "The demographics are straightforward…Adults are moving from rural to urban areas, our population is aging, and the workforce is shrinking as people exit the labour market. The only way for our state to grow is by attracting people from elsewhere…" *https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/04/news/economy/health-care-workers-shortage/index.html

A forty-five-minute drive outside of any Iowa urban area will show the legacy of Iowa's once prosperous farming and mining communities. These communities appear to be in a state of disrepair as their working age groups shrink.  As society has become more service oriented and less agrarian, some Iowa towns find it hard to function and offer services as in the past.  The will of the residents in these towns to provide maintenance and upkeep may be present, but their collective ability is challenged by young people wanting to move away from these communities

These things and many others make me wonder why we have foreign affairs ministries, ministry of health, labour, and gender, let alone ambassadors. How many of them know what I know and why are we allies with America, UK, and other nations? Do we even study other nations apart from politics?

I would justify Lubowa project to produce healthcare professionals for this obvious market. Send out our best for ripple effects.

The writer is a Certified Public Manager/Medical Clinical Officer
wmungadi@gmail.com

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