By Admin
Ministry of Labour Accused of Alleged Extortion from Migrant Workers
A section of
MPs led by western youth legislator Mwine Mpaka , are pushing for an inquiry into alleged fraud in
the Ministry of Labour in which funds solicited from Ugandan emigrant workers
end up in a personal bank account.
MP’s allege that
the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social development has been fraudulently
soliciting billions of money from Ugandan emigrant workers in form of proceeds
to the External Recruitment Monitoring Fund, but the monies end up in a private
account.
According to
reports, the fund was constituted to support Ugandan emigrant workers in Saudi
Arabia.
MP’s want
parliament to institute an inquiry into the alleged fraud in the ministry, and
punitive action taken against the culprits.
According to
documents presented by MP’s, the Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies
(UAERA) on behalf of labour export companies remits $70 paid by each Ugandan
who is exported for labour, which money is then channeled into a personal bank
account held by Mr. Yassin Abdulaziz Musoke’s.
Mr. Yassin
Abdulaziz Musoke is the labour liaison officer based at Ugandan Embassy in
Riyad, Saudi Arabia.
According to
the bank statements the MP’s shared with the press, Mr. Yassin has received
668M Ugandan shillings in only six months which he has been freely spending on
luxuries like perfume and chocolate while Ugandan girls continue to suffer in
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
MP’s want Parliament
to constitute a probe committee to inquire into the status of the fund, and
ascertain the legal framework under which the fund was set up since minister
Janat Mukwaya has always denied the existence of such a fund.
The MPs also
demand to know why money is deposited on a personal account, and who Yassin is
accountable to.
They claim
that with 185 registered labour companies taking an estimate of 50 Ugandans
abroad every year, the ministry collects about 30BN annually, which they
exceeds the annual budget of Uganda’s embassy in Saudi Arabia.
Manjiya
County MP Hon. John Baptist Nambeshe says without the law, the action of the
ministry is extortion and broad day light robbery which must be investigated
with the Minister Janat Mukwaya and the PS James Ebitu out of office.
Nambeshe
said the act is double punishment for unemployed Ugandans who are seeking
employment in Arab countries. A
The UERA
Spokesperson Ronnie Mukundane confirmed that indeed a fee of $70 is charged for
every Ugandan housemaid recruited to work in Saudi Arabia, but under the
arrangement between the association and labour companies that subscribe to the
association. He says the fee was agreed
upon between member companies and the association to facilitate monitoring of
Ugandan workers in Saudi Arabia, and funding of day-to-day running of the
association.
He also said
Mr. Yassin is paid by UAERA to undertake monitoring and supervision on migrant
workers, but he is also an employee of Ugandan embassy in Saudi Arabia as
claimed by MP’s.
Yassin
Adulaziz Musoke’s employment records, he was appointed by Uganda’s Ambassador
in Saudi Arabia Amb. Ahmed Ssenyomo on 1st May 2018, earning 6M
salary every month on top of other privileges including gratuity.