The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has unveiled a new initiative aimed at strengthening labour market governance, enhancing evidence-based decision-making, and improving productivity monitoring across Uganda.
The initiative, dubbed the Labour, Employment, Productivity and Reporting Programme (LEAP), seeks to establish an integrated, reliable, and timely administrative data ecosystem for labour, employment, and productivity reporting.
Speaking during a consultative workshop on the draft programme in Entebbe on Monday, June 15, 2026, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mr Aggrey David Kibenge, said LEAP will be fully aligned with the Employment Act (Cap 226), national statistical requirements, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) labour statistics conventions.
According to Mr Kibenge, the programme is designed to support evidence-based planning, monitoring, and policy formulation while responding to the growing demand for reliable labour market information to guide enterprise development, job creation, wage reforms, social protection expansion, and productivity enhancement.
In remarks delivered on his behalf by the Commissioner for Labour, Industrial Relations and Productivity, Mr Alex Asiimwe, Mr Kibenge noted that Uganda continues to face significant challenges in generating, managing, and utilising labour market data needed for national planning, compliance monitoring, and international reporting.
“Although the UBOS 2024 Census and the Labour Force Survey 2021 provide nationally representative statistics, indicating unemployment at 12.3 percent, labour underutilisation at 42 percent, and informality at 88 percent, administrative data from labour inspections, employment records, enterprise productivity assessments, and social security contributions remains fragmented, incomplete, and inconsistently reported,” he said.
He explained that while the Employment Act requires employers to maintain employee registers, submit employment returns, and provide information to labour officers, weak reporting systems, limited digital infrastructure, and low compliance levels continue to undermine the availability of real-time enterprise-level data.
“This limits the country’s ability to effectively track employment trends, productivity performance, working conditions, and labour market transitions,” Mr Kibenge said.
He added that LEAP has been developed as a national mechanism to strengthen administrative data generation, harmonise reporting standards, and ensure labour market information is timely, accurate, and actionable.
“The LEAP Programme has therefore been developed to strengthen administrative data systems, harmonise reporting standards, and provide labour market information that is reliable, timely, and useful for policy and decision-making,” he said.
Mr Kibenge called on stakeholders to actively contribute to discussions and support the implementation of the programme once it is finalised.
“This workshop is a critical step in the development of the LEAP Programme. It provides an opportunity to draw upon the knowledge, expertise, and experiences of key stakeholders to ensure that the programme is practical, responsive, and aligned with the realities of Uganda’s labour market,” he said.
The four-day workshop has brought together representatives from employers’ and workers’ organisations, government ministries, departments and agencies, local governments, and development partners to review and enrich the draft programme before its rollout.
