As the global financial crisis is being debated at home [this coming week it's predicted fuel shortages linked to currency volatility will create long queues despite the fall in the price of oil per barrel], one constituency that is feeling the pinch both ways is Ugandans living and working abroad.

As Western economies shrink, the Central Bank predicts earnings from Kyeyos will fall but back home, the value of their earnings will further suffer if there is more chaos than has been seen so far.

A group that will suffer triple jeopardy is Ugandans working as guards in Iraq. Since 2006, earnings per guard have dropped from $1,200 to $400 due to largely artificial reasons.

Poor or non-existent regulation has meant labour exporting companies have, according to the guards and the government, unfairly creamed off earnings to the extent that the industry long accused of unfair practices, has now been accused of nothing less than " human trafficking" [so says State Minister for Youth Maj. James Kinobe in a testimony to Parliament].

At the heart of concerns by guards is alleged bank fraud. Several guards have written to Inside Politics asking government to look into the relationship between companies like Dreshak, one of the leading exporters of guard services, and Crane Bank, which has the monopoly of banking all the earnings of Dreshak contracted guards. They complain that their deposits are denied interest earnings and that the bank, whose well connected boss Mr Sudhir Rupareila is close to Labour Minister Mwesigwa Rukutana, sets its own conversion rate when they receive the earnings in shillings. In earlier interviews, Dreshak has denied any wrongdoing.

The company which has been in the eye of the storm for a while has also been fingered for allegedly altering contracts without consent of its guards besides other alleged malpractices.Recently, the company allegedly received a government guarantee to "cut salaries" of its guards, a move which has no legal precedent and is now the subject of an investigation which includes an examination of the relationship between labour Minister Rukutana and Dreshak.

The biggest grumble is however, from guards themselves, who feel abandoned by the government to the vagaries of the global credit crunch.

Inside Politics Team