The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, says the government is devising mechanisms for traders who were recently evicted from illegal workspaces to form associations which can be easily monitored and regulated.
Speaking at the launch of the programme to certify informal electrical practitioners on Friday, Patrick Mugisha, the commissioner for business development and quality assurance at the Ministry of Trade said, the countrywide Trade Order exercise to evict informal traders from illegal spaces, early this year, was informed by research conducted by the Economic Policy Research Centre, which revealed that in the 2024/2025 financial year, the informal sector, contributed 54.5 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
‘Recently, we’ve all been talking about the Trade Order. Of course, this is government initiative, and it has to happen because it’s one aspect we really want to see all businesses, governed by some policy frameworks,’ he said.
Mr Mugisha explained that the study, as well as statistics from the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank, show that helping the informal sector transition into the formal space by creating incentives for them can spur economic growth.
‘It is important for Uganda’s economy because of the losses government is incurring from the informality of businesses. These businesses can be monitored and regulated if they are registered under recognised associations like the Kampala City Traders’ Association,’ he said.
In line with this initiative, on Friday, the Royal Academy of Engineering and 3N Engtech Innovations Consultancy, launched the Bridging the recognition gap participatory certification for informal electrical practitioners in Uganda. Ms Annet Nsiimire said the project is targeting bridging the recognition of the informal electrical practitioners because majority of electrical workers are not formally recognised by the system.
‘These are people who acquired skills from job-training, working with people who know, or through exposure. Our economy is largely driven by those people who have not gone through the formal education system, but have learned on job,’ she said.
Ms Nsiimire said documenting this category of electricians will enable take them receive some formal training and to create a database of professionals who can be called upon anytime they are needed.
She said the would work hand-in-hand with Ministry of Education, the Electricity Regulatory Authority, and Ministry of Labour to deliver the training.