A STRATEGY TO PROMOTE LOCAL ARTISIANS

Uganda is yearning to have the youth many of whom are unemployed into vocational training.  It is not possible however to cater for so many youth in the existing vocational establishments.  It is possible to scale up the numbers of potential beneficiaries by engaging skillful personnel in localities.  There is for example a gentleman called William Magoye.  He is a tailor who operates from Kajjansi trading centre.  He is known by so many as the person who you can entrust a wedding suit and it looks as if it were a London make.  Magoye is not the type of man to whom you take cloth for a suit and expect it in a week. He may give you a month; however, when you are patient enough, you get to appreciate the finished work.  Given the orders he has for suits, he is able to make some money.  You may expect a suit to be completed with labour charges about shs 80,000.  If there were many more people with his skill, they would equally get good money.  In fact if he trains some people, these may be capable of making suits and stock so that those who want already made clothes buy from them.  My idea therefore is that the Government of Uganda should come up with a strategy where these artisans are put to more use that they train the local people in skills which may get them into self employment.  Magoye was trained by Goans for one and a half years from 1973 shortly after he completed S. 4.  The shop where he trained was called Kampala Town Tailors at Blue Room.  He can deal in all men clothing’s, though he is best known in Kajjansi circles.  He started own employment in 1976.

The other gentleman known as Fred Muwonge is also found in Kajjansi circles and is a re-known shoe maker/repairer.  This one trained in 1975 and has been working in Kajjansi Trading centre since 1999.  Since 1980, Fred has been working on his own as self employed.  His skill can be beneficial if he could be facilitated to train local youth around Kajjansi trading centre.  When you see the products by Muwonge, you would wish that many unemployed youth learn the trade.