Chronic Unemployment in East Africa Can’t be Solved by South Sudan
6 min readChronic Unemployment in East Africa and Other Neighbouring Countries Can’t be solved by South Sudan
Dhieu Dok Minyang Monyjok
It is a profound surprise that the Ministerial Circular Prohibiting and Regulating the Service and Employment of Aliens in Certain Positions in the Private sector issued by the Minister of Labour, Public Services and Human Resource Management has received bitter reactions from our brothers and sisters from East Africa and beyond.
The circular was very clear as it was targeting low level positions in organizations, financial institutions, hotels, etc. Among the positions to be vacated by foreigners includes: executive secretaries and secretaries, Human Resource Managers, desk officers, receptionists, protocol officers, procurement officers and logisticians.
In other words, the Minister issued a circular targeting certain positions that could be handled by nationals. However, other positions that require rare skills could still be handled by aliens. If that is what is being called expulsion, then someone has to go back to school to read and learn “Common Mistakes in English”.
It is high time for the government and all the citizens of this country to wake up to the leeching that has been going on since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005.
In July 2012, the then Minister of Immigration of the Republic of Kenya, Otieno Kajwang slapped age and salary restrictions on the issuing of work permits to foreign nationals. It was an attempt by the government to soar up employment for its nationals.
According to statistics, sixty five percent of young Kenyans or some ten millions people (which is the same as the population of South Sudan if we go by current statistics) are out of work. It was an attempt to discourage people of Asian origin from taking up jobs that could be done by Kenyan citizens.
Actually this was received with joy to an extent that one Kenyan commentator wrote and I quote it.
“We do not want to create a little India, little Pakistan and little China in Kenya.”
The same announcement by the former minister of immigration of Kenya also locked out expatriates from employment in medical, real estate, engineering, accountancy and legal professions.
Senior Kenyan Ministry of Immigration officials, who did now want to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said the new regulations were particularly targeted at foreigners holding jobs that could be handled by Kenyans.
In the same month, work permit fees doubled from 100,000 KSHs to 200,000 – 250,000 KSHs (an equivalence of $2,353 to $2,941 USD). This is an indication that Kenya is doing all it can silently to protect its job market.
In Uganda, Regulation 14 of the NGO Registration Regulations 2009 requires every organization to submit to the NGO Board a chart showing its structure and staffing specifying the following: its foreign workforce requirements; requirements for Ugandan counterparts of foreign employees; planned period to replace foreign employees with qualified Ugandans; and compliance with the labor laws of Uganda.
Why would a sovereign state that is doing the same to protect its citizens from exploitation be given all the wrong names ranging from “stupid leadership” to our “dark skin color”?
This is a question that blind media in neighbouring countries should answer! In fact, Kenya has been advocating for regional integration unfortunately it shouldn’t come at the expense of some citizens who want to make their lives better just like what their citizens want.
In addition to taking over junior jobs that could be done by South Sudanese, some foreign businesses are avoiding tax all together which is a crime under South Sudan laws.
Actually the Minister of Justice in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning must go after all foreign businesses operating in the country and do tax audits from sewage tanks to multinationals. The government should also quickly address the salary discrepancies between nationals and internationals.
There must be equal pay for equal jobs as long as expats and nationals have the same qualifications.
It is important to remember where you came from so that you know where you are going; Unless, Kenyans do not remember the causes of Mau Mau war of 1952 – 60 in Kenya.
One of the causes of the uprising was unemployment of the ex-soldiers who had been promised jobs after World War II, but instead were employed as porters on European-estates. Most of the citizens who have been left unemployed are former Jesh Amer (Red Army) who bore the brutal effects of the civil war as young kids and ex- combatants of SPLA.
Other youth are children of our martyrs who could not see the independence of South Sudan. Unless the Government of South Sudan want to create another dangerous Mungiki (children of war veterans who felt neglected in Kenya and are now a major insecurity issue in the country) of South Sudan, then there must be tough policies that should put the youth into the workforce.
It was also the dominance of the economy by the Asians and White Settlers that was another cause of the war. It is likely that South Sudan will lose its economy to East Africa and international criminals from East and Europe.
Similarly, on August 4th 1972, then President of Uganda, Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of all Asians from his country in 90 days. Although he claimed that it was Allah who sent him the dream, it was clear that Idi Amin was reacting to the dominance of the economy by the Asians and that fact that employment was being taken over by Asians.
Although Idi Amin’s order was brutal, none of our people stage a protest back in the days. Even in 1969, a system of work permits and trade licences was introduced to restrict the role of Indians in economic and professional activities.
Glancing at history, even Uganda expelled Kenya’s minority in 1969. However, the good news is that South Sudan is not expelling all foreign workers but asking for positions that could be filled by nationals.
It is about our rights as citizens of this country to enjoy what belongs to us. Even when Jesus was asked whether tax collected should be given to him. Jesus replied that the population should give what belongs to Caesar and give God what belongs to God.
On the same side of the coin, the Government should give us what belongs to us and give aliens theirs. Bilateral relations do not mean starving your neighbour to death. It does not mean killing your neighbour economically.
Some of the expats have worked in South Sudan for nine good years or more yet they have never moulded any nationals to take over their positions. Does it mean they want to be here for life? Or do they want to say that South Sudanese need at least 15 or 20 years to be fully competent to take over jobs being done by expats?
Lastly, South Sudan is neither United States nor European Union to solve chronic unemployment in East Africa and beyond. They better look elsewhere before the masses of this nation wake up and say it is over.
We are renting their houses, paying school fees from kindergartens to universities, buying everything from them. Unfortunately, they are not satisfied. They want to finish off South Sudanese by taking up all jobs from cleaners to CEOs.
If this is the East Africa they are talking about then they better remain with it and South Sudan will never be part of it. It is an exploitation of the highest order.
Dhieu Dok Minyang Monyjok lives in Juba.
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