As Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate International Labour Day, Minister Betty Amongi stands out prominently over her struggles on the labor front.
Born on November 15, 1975, in Minakulu Sub County, Oyam District, Betty Amongi Akena, the Minister of Gender, Labor, and Social Development, is no stranger within the corridors of power in Uganda.
In June 2021, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni appointed Amongi as the Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, and she was handed top tasks including streamlining the leadership and management of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), labor exports, where domestic workers from Uganda were being mistreated in the UAE, and cultural issues.
Recently, she was maintained in her current docket during a mini cabinet reshuffle, a clear justification of a vote of confidence in her by the appointing authority.
Under the labor docket, Minister Amongi has successfully streamlined since it had been vacant following the arrest and conviction of then-Labour State Minister Herbert Kabafunzaki of corruption.
Through mediation, Minister Amongi has also been able to ensure stable labor relations that has created conducive space for hundreds of investors in the country.
Through her docket and effort, Uganda was able to successfully rescue hundreds of ladies who had been trapped in the Middle East countries when they went for “Kyeyo” as domestic workers, among others.
It should be recalled that when complaints of Ugandan women being mistreated in the Middle East erupted, Minister Betty Amongi swiftly intervened and engaged with the top officials in a bid to resolve the crisis.
Her diplomatic approach to this matter saw hundreds of ladies repatriated into Uganda and several Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) signed with these countries.
She also held extensive diplomatic engagement with the top government authorities and private companies in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, among others.
As a committed member of the women’s movement both locally (UWOPA) and regionally, Minister Amongi paid critical attention to addressing the plight of women in the country by mobilizing them to benefit from various government programs such as SAGE, UWEP, etc.
On NSSF, when Minister Amongi was appointed to the Gender Ministry, she was tasked with ensuring the safety and protection of workers’ savings, which is why she immediately kicked off an investigation into the alleged irregularities that later led her not to renew the contract of former Managing Director Richard Byarugaba.
Byarugaba was directly accused of financial impropriety and collusion. Minister Amongi was recently exonerated by the High Court ruling that upheld her decision to renew Byarugaba’s contract.
Through Amongi’s lobbying, every qualifying worker saving with NSSF was paid a midterm benefit by the government.
On the domestic front, in 2022, Minster Amongi paid keen interest and attention to solving the dispute between the legitimate leader, Yosam Odur, the Wonyaci of Lango, and the parallel team.
Minister Amongi’s struggles to end the dispute that had lasted for over a decade proved fruitful sometime late in 2023 when the aging Odur (94) notified the government of his intention to step down in November 2024.
After receiving this notification, the government, through her ministry, authorized the election of the new Wonyaci to pave the way for a smooth transition, and as a result, the clan chiefs of Lango elected Eng. Dr. Michael Moses Odongo Okune as the New Paramount Chief elect (Wonyaci elect).
Dr. Odongo is due to be enthroned on November 2nd in a function for which President Museveni will be the chief guest.
The government, through the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development, degazetted Yosam Odur as the Lango Paramount Chief last week.
Through Minister Amongi’s negotiation with the government and specifically President Yoweri Museveni, the outgoing Paramount Chief (Wonyaci of Lango), Yosam Odur, was handed hefty retirement packages, including a brand new Pajero Mitsubishi worth over 200 million shillings, an undisclosed huge sum of money, and greenlight to continue receiving monthly financial remittances until the new Paramount Chief is installed on November 2.
It should be known that from July 2024, the government will be remitting a monthly funding of sixty million shillings to every cultural institution in Uganda, including Lango Cultural Institution, meaning the outgoing Chief Odur will retire with another package of at least a sum of 240,000,000/=, courtesy of Minister Amongi’s lobbying.
Recently, Amongi pleaded with Parliament to increase monthly funding to cultural institutions from a paltry Ugx5 million to Shs60 million.
Last week, the national committee to manage the preparation for the coronation of Lango Wonyaci Elect was formed.
WHO IS BETTY AMONGI?
Married to MP Jimmy Akena Obote, the leader of the opposition Uganda People’s Congress Party, Amongi, also the Oyam South Member of Parliament, is serving her second term in cabinet since she was appointed in 2016.
Known for her daring approach to critical issues, the Minister has so far held three critical positions in the cabinet, including that of Kampala Capital City, from June 6, 2016 until December 14, 2019, when she was appointed the Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development.
Currently, she is the Minister of Gender, Labor, and Social Development, a position she has held since 2021, and since then, Minister Amongi has been overwhelmed, struggling to resolve issues in the ministry.
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