Refugees in Kyangwali settlement: constraints on economic freedom

This working paper asserts that economic rights and freedoms are essential for refugees to enjoy dignified lives, and need to be considered along with more salient rights and freedoms. It focuses on the Kyangwali settlement in Hoima district, Uganda, and the economic freedoms and constraints experienced by the 7000 refugees, mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, who live there. It draws on interviews with the refugees themselves as well as local officials and UNHCR officers.

The paper describes the Kyangwali settlement as one of the few in Uganda in which refugees are reasonably self-sufficient. The settlement’s economy is fairly complex: incomes are produced by a variety of means including agricultural production, small businesses, and remittances; and it has, or is close to, several markets.

Despite the comparative self-sufficiency of refugees in Kyangwali, the paper lists several key limitations on economic freedom:

• bureaucratic and insecurity-related limitations on movement prevented refugees from participating in goods markets outside the settlement
• refugees faced restrictions on their employment opportunities stemming from bureaucratic, financial, and linguistic costs that nationals in a similar situation would not have to bear
• the settlement was highly isolated through transportation and information costs; this does not help to expand the small market within the settlement, and it also results in higher prices on goods imported into the settlement and lower prices on goods exported from the settlement
• the refugees in Kyangwali were politically isolated, and as a result were suffering from taxes that constrained the development of the economy and created opportunities for corruption.

Considering interventions that could benefit the refugees economically, the paper concludes that they should be granted greater freedom of movement and freedom to work. Specific interventions include:

• the bureaucratic costs faced by refugees should be reduced
• refugees should have more control over where they locate, both among refugee settlements and within Uganda as a whole, in order to reduce their isolation
• information flows should be subsidised and could include coordination meetings with successful Ugandan farmers
• the government could finance a refugee venture to run transport services to nearby cities; this would mean that the profits gained from running these services remained in the refugee economy
• greater political tolerance on the part of the Ugandan authorities and a more open dialogue on economic issues like taxes are needed.