KAMPALA- Speaker Among has asked the Public Service Commission to ensure that all the staff that are set to lose their jobs after the merger and rationalisation of agencies are deployed and have the report tabled before Parliament at the end of the exercise.
She issued the directive while receiving the Annual Report of the Public Service Commission at Parliament today, where she urged the Commission to ensure that no staff is left unemployed or leaves without receiving their compensation.
“You are aware that we are having rationalization for now, we want you to ensure that the persons being rationalized from these MDAs are absorbed. Nobody should be left out without being absorbed into an institution. We will need a report from you after rationalization on the deployment. We need all the people that are going to get out of their jobs out of rationalization to be deployed in institutions that they are supposed to be in” said Among.
The Speaker also decried the concealment of information around vacant positions in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, saying the mystery shrouding the actual number of vacant positions has laid a fertile ground for corruption in recruitment process, as some of those positions are filled without adverts being placed.
“We have MDAs that have vacant positions, but we never get to know about the vacant positions in MDAs, you only see somebody being employed, there is no advert anywhere. So, you may need to make a follow up on all the MDAs so that in your report that you will be laying before Parliament, that you will have an updated position of the vacant positions to be filled or yet to be filled. You will find some are vacant now or they will be vacant in the next 2-3years, so you need to have that calendar so that you know what will be vacant at what time and when?” added Speaker Among.
Winnie Agnes Kabogoza, Chairperson, Public Service Commission urged Parliament to ensure that Shs5.2Bn is availed in the Commission’s Budget for the upgrade and rollout of the E-recruitment system to Cities Service Commission so as to curb corruption that has marred Uganda’s recruitment process.
“The Commission has been delayed to roll-out the E-Recruitment system to the districts and City Service Commissions in order to curb corruption and enhance efficiency in the recruitment of Local Government staff. The upgrade and rollout of the E-recruitment system will cost Shs5.235Bn over a period of two financial tears,” said Kabogoza.
She defended the need for additional funding for the Electronic Recruitment system arguing that the innovation has been a game changer for the Public Service Commission because at the moment, recruitment has now been done online and this has greatly reduced human interference, thus reducing corruption.
“However, this system is long overdue for an upgrade to be able to take on submissions from MDAs, appeals from MDAs and Local Governments and also handle panel interview sessions,” she said.
While presenting the 2023/23, Annual Report revealed that the Public Service Commission concluded Appointments, Confirmation in Appointment, Promotions and Disciplinary Control totaling to 1730 cases compared to 4,134 cases in FY2022/23, Kabogoza also revealed that the focus will be put on authenticating academic documents of people deployed in Public Service, a revelation the Speaker commended saying it will help wipe out the incompetent people deployed in Government.
The Speaker said, “I liked when you said you are checking on the authenticity of documents, you really need to do that because there are so many papers that are go on Nasser Road, so you need to ensure that you employ the right people in the right jobs and at the right places.”
Among also welcomed the decision by Public Service Commission to hold that regional workshops, and asked to ensure this is done throughout the country, in order to remind the different Districts Service Commissions of their mandates while recruiting.
“How I wish you do the regional workshops throughout the country for these District Service Commissions to understand and play their roles because you find in most District Service Commissions, there are issues of selective recruitment, there are issues of corruption, there are issues of incompetent people being in that office. So I pray that as you do your work, you move through the regions, for you to train the District Service Commissions,” said Speaker Among.
