The government has dropped Interpol- Certificate of Good Conduct as a major requirement for migrant workers except those seeking to work as security guards abroad.
The process of obtaining this document from Kololo based Interpol head offices has not only been hectic but also derailed business among the legally registered labour firms in Uganda.
It would take a minimum of 60 days for Interpol to fully approve the certificate of the work. This resulted into massive disruption of the labour business as unemployment remains one of key challenges of the NRM government.
To expedite the process, Labour Ministry which oversees the Labour Externalisation program has announced that the Interpol certificate will no longer be necessary.
According to a message from an official in the Ministry, and who is an executive of a labour firm, it was revealed that Interpol no longer needs a Certificate of Good Conduct. The message read, “Interpol Certificate of Good Conduct waived except for security guards. Official Communication to follow.” There is therefore no need for people to go to Kololo to make long ques anymore.
ACP Charles Birungi, the Director of Interpol in Uganda, when contacted on the matter by our media team, responded saying that as Interpol they have also just learnt of the communication from social media.
Following an article by this news website last year investigating “How Interpol is derailing labour companies as unemployment continues to threaten Uganda’s future”, it was noted that government licensed 170 labour migration companies in Uganda through Ministry of Gender, tasking them with sourcing labourers, facilitating them and sending them abroad to work, earn a living and in turn invest in Uganda.
This then would contribute to the growth of the economy and overall development of the state.
Among the genuine agencies include JAG Security Group Ltd, Ham Property Services and Management Ltd, Forbes Enterprises (which was suspended) and 2Nile Public Relations Agency Limited, among others.
As a result of exporting labour being a very delicate and costly responsibility, certain prerequisites had to be met, one of the most important being a Certificate of Good Conduct.
As such, people often made very long queues at the Interpol offices in Kololo and further waited almost 6 months or more to finally be awarded their Certificates of Good Conduct.
Many of these companies were often stranded with over 2000 workers whose jobs although readily available abroad, couldn’t travel because Interpol hadn’t yet cleared them making travelling impossible at the moment.
Officers attached to Interpol took advantage of the situation to fraudulently obtain money from the labour agencies promising to quicken the process of getting the travel documents and clearance for them.
Interpol waiving the Certificate of Good Conduct gives the labour agencies a ray of hope in having a faster and more reliable process in getting clearance for their workers to travel abroad.
