By Eric Yiga
The Association of Secretaries and Administrative Professionals in Uganda (ASAPU) has congratulated President Yoweri Museveni upon his inauguration for a new term in office appealing to him to prioritize salary enhancement for secretaries and administrative staff in the country.
This was during a two days workshop organised at Civil Service College in Jinja City whether thousands of secretaries and administrative professionals gathered to enhance their skills and equip themselves with the new Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills.
Speaking during the event, the ASAPU President, Julius Semaganda noted that the secretaries are ready not to sleep but noting that fair pay is essential for a workforce now tasked with leading Uganda’s digital shift.
“We request President Museveni in this new term of ‘No Sleep’ to look into the issue of salary enhancement; we appreciate him, he has done it for other cadres and our prayer is that we also be a priority when it comes to enhancing salaries of all workers in Uganda,” Semaganda said.
Semaganda outlined the current pay reality noting that; a diploma-holding secretary takes home around Shs350,000 per month, while a degree holder takes home about Shs560,000.
“When you compare that money with the ever-increasing cost of living, it does not match,” he said. “We humbly request him to check on that issue, let his team not sleep on that so that we also don’t sleep as we serve this country diligently,” Semaganda emphasized.
The appeal comes as ASAP reframes the role of secretaries from traditional clerical work to frontline drivers of efficiency and service delivery under the government’s “no more sleep in this town” agenda.
AI Training Takes Center Stage
This year’s ASAP conference is themed around Artificial Intelligence.
Over 1000 secretaries and administrative professionals have gathered to learn how AI tools can simplify work, reduce turnaround time, and make them more competitive in a changing job market.
“We’ve come here to prepare our fellow secretaries about how AI works. We want that fear that AI has come to take away their job to go away. That fear can only go away with further training.
After this, we are going to be good ambassadors of excellence, as our motto says.” Semaganda highlighted.
He noted that the profession must move beyond typewriters and manual processes.“We need to advance as secretaries and admin professionals. With AI, work is done timely. That’s why it’s important to prepare our members so they can work better.” Peter Byamugisha of Kathay Technologies, who led part of the training, described AI as a “double-edged sword.”
“It is a threat to jobs and yet also an opportunity, in Africa, AI is rolling out slowly. That’s good because it gives time to adapt. But administrative assistants who are equipped with AI tools will become more valuable than those who are not. The ones without these skills will be seen as slow and unserious,” Byamugisha said.
He emphasized that AI will not replace the human side of the job. “AI will not comfort the boss when he’s having issues. It will not attend a funeral for your coworker. But when it comes to technical, hands-on work, generative AI is a big threat to those who don’t upskill.”
Byamugisha urged every secretary to master generative AI for reports, presentations, data analysis, and research.
“A secretary should ask: what am I being paid for? Can AI do it? If yes, that’s your wake-up call.”
He pointed to the Google ecosystem as a starting point. “For scheduling, recording meetings, writing reports, data analysis, research — Google has built AI tools for each aspect. If a secretary learns the Google AI system, that alone can empower them.”
Byamugisha appealed to employers and government institutions to support their employees with trainings like this.
“The age has changed. AI has come to stay. If you don’t want AI to take your job, start training and learning these tools. AI is easy. It only needs your natural intellect and natural language. It’s for the young and for the old. Don’t be left behind,” Byamugisha emphasized.
The two days workshop will end on Saturday and President Museveni is expected to preside over the closing ceremony.
