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Parliament has asked the finance ministry to avail seven billion shillings to support thousands of Jua-Kali (informal) business groups to transition into the formal economy next financial year during the The budget committee of Parliament yesterday 13th March 2022.

During the budget committee meeting yesterday, March 13, 2022, the parliament requested that the finance ministry obtain shillings seven billion to assist thousands of Jua-Kali (informal) business groupings in making the transition to the formal sector for the upcoming fiscal year.

Every year, the Government, through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, provides business tool kits, equipment and business development services to 4,576 Jua-Kali businesses/groups, especially of youth, women and persons with disabilities.

This constituency-based intervention programme aims at enhancing productive employment and transition of informal enterprises to the formal economy through boosting job growth and enhancing labour productivity in the Jua-Kali sector as well as boosting transition of Jua-Kali enterprises into the formal economy.

The budget committee of Parliament says in its latest report that the programme will address the challenge of under utilization of labour where youth employment stands at only 36.5% and youth not in employment and not in education nor in training stands at 41.2%.

It also says it was informed by the gender ministry that labour under utilisation stands at 48.6% and informality of the economy at 87.9%.

This is contained in the committee’s report on the National Budget Framework Paper for the financial year 2024/25 to 2028/29, which was approved by the House with amendments on January 31, 2024.

Chaired by Patrick Isiagi Opolot (Kachumbala County MP), the committee, therefore, recommended that the finance ministry avails shillings seven billion to support these Jua-Kali entrepreneurs to transition into the formal economy.

Ugandans who constitute the informal sector are 51% but most of them are said to be operating outside the scope of the tax system and the regulatory frameworks.