The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Geneva, Switzerland | NEWS CORRESPONDENT | Uganda has called for a people-centred approach to technological transformation, urging that artificial intelligence and innovation must support workers, expand decent employment and strengthen national productivity.
The intervention came as the 114th International Labour Conference placed renewed attention on the future of work, including the implications of artificial intelligence for productivity, skills, employment and social justice.
Delivering Uganda’s statement at the Conference, Ambassador Marcel Robert Tibaleka, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said that technology must serve people and development, not replace the foundations of decent work.
“Technology should complement human work, reinforce skills development, improve productivity, and expand decent employment,” Ambassador Tibaleka said.
He noted that artificial intelligence has the potential to boost productivity across agriculture, health, education, industry and other key sectors. However, he emphasised that, for developing economies, technological transformation must go hand in hand with stronger labour-market institutions, infrastructure, reliable energy, skills development, peace and security.
Ambassador Tibaleka highlighted Uganda’s Fourth National Development Plan and Tenfold Growth Strategy, which aim to expand the economy to USD 500 billion by 2040 through agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral development, and science, technology and innovation.
He further outlined Uganda’s practical interventions to promote wealth creation, enterprise growth and decent work. These include the Parish Development Model, which transfers USD 260 million annually to parish-level enterprises; the USD 200 million GROW Project for women entrepreneurs; the National Apprenticeship Programme; the Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs; the Emyooga savings and enterprise programme; and the Jua-Kali informal-sector enterprises programme.
“These programmes reflect Uganda’s conviction that decent work begins where people live, produce, trade and build their livelihoods,” Ambassador Tibaleka said.
He informed the Conference that recent amendments to the Employment Act, 2026, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2025, are strengthening the protection of workers’ rights, promoting safer, healthier workplaces, and reinforcing the legal foundations for decent work across sectors.
Ambassador Tibaleka highlighted the employment and social protection needs of refugees and host communities, noting that Uganda hosts more than two million refugees, the highest number in Africa. Through initiatives such as the GROW Project, Uganda is working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and partners to expand enterprise support for women entrepreneurs, including those from refugee and host communities.
Ambassador Tibaleka called for stronger international solidarity and enhanced ILO support to build national systems for skills development, job creation, enterprise growth and social protection.
“At this moment of change, innovation must serve humanity, protect dignity and advance shared prosperity,” he said.
