Had the contractor of the Regional Blood Bank for Bunyoro in Hoima entirely relied on local labour, construction work would be sluggish as youths in the region abandon it, reveals the site foreman during a leaders’ monitoring visit on Friday.
Mr Wycliffe Aliinda told the Hoima city West Division political leaders that although the construction company considers local content as indicated in the national policy, many youths from Bunyoro who are employed to offer casual labour at the site work for even only 12 hours before abandoning the work.
“Most of the labourers we get from this region to work at the site, shun after working for only one day. They don’t come back for work the following day and this creates a manpower crisis. Recently, I called my boss (contractor) to bring me workers from outside the region, that’s why construction work is progressing. Otherwise, had I relied on the local content only, we would not be progressing at this rate,” he said.
This was after the Deputy Mayor for West Division, Ms Dinah Mwesigwa, observed that there were fewer youths from Bunyoro at the construction site saying it had a bearing on their employment opportunity.
She wondered that despite recommending a big number of youths in her constituency to work at the construction site, only a handful was present. She was later told that such youths do not keep at the job.
“It is unfortunate that our youths who are supposed to be working at the site are not there because they don’t want hard labour. Others work for two or three days and they run away because to them it is too much work requiring too much energy. Sometimes we who recommend them end up getting confused. Chances end up benefiting people from outside the region,” she said.
Dr Joseph Ruyonga, the area Member of Parliament, said it is a challenge that some youths do not want to engage in the available blue-collar jobs yet they are also a launch pad for prosperity regardless of their being more physically straining.
“Our children want easy things. But to achieve something, you need to struggle. If you want good things and you don’t struggle, you end up falling victim to a certain circumstance. Regardless of their being physically straining, blue-collar jobs are also a springboard for amassing wealth,” the law maker averred.
Nevertheless, the blood bank construction foreman said work stands at 40% as was projected adding that he will beat the one-year deadline.
Once completed, the Shs4.5b blood bank will serve eight districts of Bunyoro including Kiryandongo, Masindi, Buliisa, Hoima, Kikuube, Kagadi, Kibaale and Kakumiro and Hoima city; and Kyankwanzi and Kiboga districts in the central region.
The project is funded under the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer Programme (UGIFT) and was launched on Monday, December 12, 2022, at Kasiingo Cell in West Division, Hoima city which currently houses the Hoima district headquarters.
The contract was awarded to Geses Uganda Ltd – a company expected to complete the work this year.
