Nkore -Karagwe wisdom has it that ‘ekihimbya omusi, ni ekiri omu nseiso’ (she who is grinding is motivated by what she is grinding). Uganda has the worst human resource development policy and worker protection laws in the region and this has a heavy impact on the people’s attitude to work. Pitting us against Kenyans and drawing conclusions is a lopsided way to evaluate Ugandans. Since independence, Kenya has had a structured human resource development strategy.

Thus Kenyans dominate key management and even lower cadre jobs in Uganda.   This is not accidental. Government ensures that all employers effect mandatory skill development of their staff. This is through the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA, formerly DIT) system, where employers make mandatory annual contributions for staff training. Since this is not refundable, companies ensure their staff are trained, and pass the bill to NITA who pay the trainers.

The legal and policy framework in Kenya defends and protects the worker. Unions are so strong that I have known workers rejecting promotions that would take them from the unionisable category to management (white collar) category. Workers are protected and insured against occupational hazards and accidents. Workers in the plants wear world-class protective gear. Those in the paint-shop for example, take a pint of milk every 3 hours. Come to Uganda. In one of the manufacturing plants, workers enter a smelting furnace with no protection. Some simply wrap themselves in buveera.

Ugandan employers are yet to separate ownership from management. In Kenya, besides skills, employees are empowered to take decisions within their docket, even those that would seem risky. Job security, growth and personal development are guaranteed, which is a double advantage to the company and the worker, since someone is assured of achieving his personal goals through attaining corporate goals. Investors believe in and trust professionals.

One of the richest men’s name in Kenya is synonymous with illiteracy, yet his businesses are flourishing, managed by professionals. And of course they are well remunerated and facilitated, giving 120% of their time to their employers. One of the ‘key investors’ in Uganda, in  our pillar sectors pays a gross salary of Ugshs 340,000  to graduate Regional Managers who hop into matatus from one rural town to another marketing their products.

Matters are not helped by our education system, which is grappling in the dark, thanks to a policy vacuum on human resource development. In meaningful education systems, people don’t simply study bila mpango, offering degrees in Cosmetology today and jumping to NGO management tomorrow. Kenya’s education system is interlinked with the corporate world. This eases student attachment, where they practice, and thanks to the NITA system, earn a stipend. They are therefore not seen as burdens by the companies. Courses like banking, marketing are taught by practicing managers. In Uganda, besides medicine and law, our concept of internship is still lacking.

The degree craze here has worsened it all. Everything now needs a degree. Someone with a degree in ‘Office Administration’ feels they are too qualified for a receptionist job, which they would take if they had a certificate in the same field. This is rooted in our low levels of industrialisation. Otherwise, in a typical manufacturing concern, the organisational structure is a pyramid, with the base and the middle comprising craftsmen in the plant, with certificates and diplomas from polytechnics.

We are not genetically lazy. People do not go burying every day. We are not in weddings every hour. Moreover, a single employee going to bury would not stall the whole company. Save for my ancestral home Tanzania, I have lived and worked in  the entire EAC plus DR Congo deployed from Kenya,  and each people  I have encountered have  their cultures which they cherish and these are  not an impediment to employee performance under the right working environment.