It sounds a bit sensational, but it’s true.
We need a work permit to operate in any capacity in Uganda. After several “payments” and visits to the appropriate people in the government, immigration today informed us that our request for a work permit has been refused. That means we’ll have to leave if it’s not sorted soon. According to the head of IT in the immigration office, “This resume looks very high-tech. There is no way this person can do these things without a degree or a certificate.”
He then proceeded to say that, “If he had an A+ certificate or something similar, it would be a different story.”
He can see that I’ve been involved in a dozen book projects. He can see that I’ve worked for the US government, taught at various universities and trained law enforcement the world over. But that’s not enough. As a college dropout, I “have nothing to offer Ugandans”.
I acknowledged the lunacy of the situation explaining that we train A+ in our center and asked if I could produce a self-signed certificate from our training center indicating that I had taken training. He said that “would help the situation”.
So a Ugandan certificate would better qualify me for the work here, I suppose.
He went on to explain that I should forge a certificate of some kind and “tender a particular payment” to “expedite the process”. Seriously?
Without the work permit, we can’t stay.
Is there anyone out there that would be willing to provide honorary certificates of some kind?
I know that really smart people sometimes get them from big-name universities, and I don’t for a moment consider myself to be on that level, but I’d rather go the route of honorary certificates than forge something.
But our time is running out. We’re scheduled to be in Mombassa at the end of next month, and the process of the work permit should take at least that long. If you’re interested, please email me or use the contact form. I’d really appreciate it.
Is it any wonder people burn out so easily working in developing countries?
Hi Johnny,
I understand your frustration and yes, you can easily burnt out in developing countries because you spend so much energy into such situations and not the work you have to do.
I will forward this to FLOSSK (Kosova) and University of Vlora (Albania) and ask them if we can help you. I can’t make any promises yet but hopefully something good will come out.
Will keep in touch.
Best,
Kosta
This is an interesting situation, I wonder if we could get some organization like ISC (2), ECCounil, etc to give you an honorary degree!
That seems a very bad situation and I’m sorry this is happening to you after all the work you have done.
All I can say after this is invite you to Albania if you cannot find a solution to stay in Uganda. We need you here to and you will be very welcomed by the state too.
It doesn’t really sound like the certificate or degree is the problem at all, it just sounds like an excuse to ask for a bribe. If you bring a PhD from MIT and no bribe, It’s likely something else will be the problem.
That’s really sad. Am a Ugandan and i’ve been a fan of your work for over 5years.
I’ve heard about the work you are doing in Jinja and am sure your leaving would be a great loss to the country.
Hope somebody can do something about it. Wish you luck.
This is nothing new. I tried emigrating to the UK a couple years back. Despite documentation showing that I helped develop early Internet protocols and helped kickstart the online gaming industry, I scored a zero on the emigration test because I never graduated from college. This is why bureaucracy is so hated.
I think there’s a Nigerian Prince would would gladly give you a Ugandan A+ cert, or something similar.
Publish the obstructionists names. Record them asking for bribes.
or
Bring the whole operation to Louisiana and help re-educate the poor that were devastated by Katrina & BP..
The official is looking, very clearly, for a bribe. Even if you did have a certificate or degree, they would find some other excuse to not approve it without fees.
Get some donations and pay the bribe, that’ll be fastest.
We will keep this in prayer Johnny.
This is a bad situation and if they only knew the knowledge they are throwing out.
I know the community will try to come through for you in anyway we can.
I hope this works out for you and best wishes.
Sad but true, that is what you’ll find in most developing countries with rigid academic ‘criteria’ regarding employment. Save HFC – write the damn A+ exam of some EC-council exam and get it over with already!
Govt Red Tape – it’s a real character builder!
Hilarious.
And sorta sad.
With so many ‘jokers’ in town, I’d have thought it was a breeze to get your papers through.
How ironic. I’ve been entertaining the dream of coming over and being your understudy for awhile. I don’t have any formalized training, so I thought I could get an A+ cert or something first. Imagine my surprise when I see you being the one in need of the cert. Insane!!