Young people register at a labour export agency. Receipts from the Middle East lifted up remittances performance. FILE PHOTO
Remittances
to Uganda last year grew to Shs4.5 trillion ($1.21b), boosted by
earnings from labour exports to Middle East, which over the years have
grown to eclipse some of the traditional remittance sources, data from
the Central Bank, shows.
Dr Adam Mugume, the Bank of Uganda director for research, attributed the shift to the troubled economic conditions in traditional source countries, especially Europe.
“Out of the $1.21b, more than half are remittances from the Middle East,” he said, noting that the figure, however, represented stagnation because of “weak receipts from, especially Europe”.
“Remittances from Europe are still weak. The same goes for Southern Africa and South Sudan, which have greatly declined,” he said. .
According to Bank of Uganda (BoU), the data is based on figures reported by money transfer operators in the first 11 months of 2018 and estimates for December, which reflect an improvement of 4.1 per cent compared to 2017.
The Central Bank estimates that December 2018 alone fetched about Shs480b ($227.9m) in remittances.
BoU survey done last year to establish the total value of transfers into the country showed that Uganda earned Shs4.3 trillion ($1.16b) in 2017.
According to BoU, remittances from the Middle East have gained the most compared to Europe, North America, Southern Africa and South Sudan.
“Middle East remittances gained the most and this can be attributed to the growing number of Ugandans moving to that region in search of work. The biggest drop was reported for North America,” said Mr Emmanuel Ssemambo, the BoU senior banking officer in charge of statistics.
According to Bank of Uganda, in 2017 and 2016, money transfers from the Middle East accounted for about 25 per cent, ranking second after Europe followed by North America.
However, according to available data for 2018, Middle East receipts gained while those from the other regions declined.
The gain was achieved in spite of continued controversy surrounding labour exports to the Middle East.
Many Ugandans recruited to work in the Middle East remain embroiled in controversy over allegations of extortion, human trafficking, violation of labour immigrants’ rights and irregular recruitment.
Dr Adam Mugume, the Bank of Uganda director for research, attributed the shift to the troubled economic conditions in traditional source countries, especially Europe.
“Out of the $1.21b, more than half are remittances from the Middle East,” he said, noting that the figure, however, represented stagnation because of “weak receipts from, especially Europe”.
“Remittances from Europe are still weak. The same goes for Southern Africa and South Sudan, which have greatly declined,” he said. .
According to Bank of Uganda (BoU), the data is based on figures reported by money transfer operators in the first 11 months of 2018 and estimates for December, which reflect an improvement of 4.1 per cent compared to 2017.
The Central Bank estimates that December 2018 alone fetched about Shs480b ($227.9m) in remittances.
BoU survey done last year to establish the total value of transfers into the country showed that Uganda earned Shs4.3 trillion ($1.16b) in 2017.
According to BoU, remittances from the Middle East have gained the most compared to Europe, North America, Southern Africa and South Sudan.
“Middle East remittances gained the most and this can be attributed to the growing number of Ugandans moving to that region in search of work. The biggest drop was reported for North America,” said Mr Emmanuel Ssemambo, the BoU senior banking officer in charge of statistics.
According to Bank of Uganda, in 2017 and 2016, money transfers from the Middle East accounted for about 25 per cent, ranking second after Europe followed by North America.
However, according to available data for 2018, Middle East receipts gained while those from the other regions declined.
The gain was achieved in spite of continued controversy surrounding labour exports to the Middle East.
Many Ugandans recruited to work in the Middle East remain embroiled in controversy over allegations of extortion, human trafficking, violation of labour immigrants’ rights and irregular recruitment.
Labour Externalisation Policy
Under
the Labour Externalisation Policy, the Ministry of Gender has since
2015 moved to regularise the movement of labour, recording about 70,000
Ugandans moving to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq,
Qatar and Afghanistan in search of labour.
However, the number could be much higher given that many other labourers are irregularly recruited. Security agencies estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 Ugandans travel to work in the Middle East illegally.
Initially, labour exports to the Middle East started at the end of the Iraq war that ousted Saddam Hussein, when US companies sought workers from developing countries to work as security guards for key military installations and personnel.
However, the number could be much higher given that many other labourers are irregularly recruited. Security agencies estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 Ugandans travel to work in the Middle East illegally.
Initially, labour exports to the Middle East started at the end of the Iraq war that ousted Saddam Hussein, when US companies sought workers from developing countries to work as security guards for key military installations and personnel.
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