The Education Service Commission Ministry of Health and Local Governments are the leading seller of government jobs a report indicates
By George Bukenya
A joint research conducted by Inspectorate of Government and Makerere University Economic research Policy Centre revealed that government Ugandans buy jobs in the public service sector. This accounts for 35%.
The three-year survey indicated that corruption tendencies were jobs are sold to the beneficiaries is most rampant in the Education Service Commission and Local Governments
Speaking to reporters just after the launch of the report, IGG Betty Kamya said that in the last three years a total of 380,000 public servants were recruited but of these, 133,000 actually paid for the jobs which accounts for 35%.
” The District Chair Persons were complaining as to why we didn’t also interrogate why we didn’t consult them but I told them it wasn’t necessary because the report was aimed at finding out their conducts in recruitment exercises,” Ms Kamya said.
According to the report, those recruited paid between UGX 40- 50 million depending on the ranking of the position in the government agency for instance he of a referral hospital and head teachers in more established government schools.
The Education Service Commission is leading were UGX 38.5 billion were lost in form of buying jobs and hear teachers were required to pay little and in a verbal agreement they make with the recruiters they use their first salary to clear the remaining balances.
In the Health Sector the Commission heads only accepted prompt cash and here every year 14 billion is spent and 13 billion are lost in such dubious exercise, while in Local Governments 29 billion were lost.
The report also indicates that male are more vulnerable in such errant acts than the female counterpart who instead in exchange for job some pay in terms of sex.
In terms of regions people in Western Uganda and Central have suffered most while in the Nothern region the acts are not rampant and an average of UGX 200 m were found lost every year in three years the survey was conducted.
Dr. Emmanuel Elemu who led the research pointed the causes of such act, were he revealed that the Chairpersons if District Service Commissions have excessive powers when it comes to recruitment even the District Chairpersons also have much influence.
He also noted that many District Service Commissions are not fully constituted, that only 44% have full numbers of the required members and this leaves loopholes and in the end the chairpersons of such Commissions manipulate such weakness to sell the jobs .
The Prime Minister Rt.Hon. Robina Nabbanja who presided over the launch accepted the weaknesses in government systems and vowed to fight the cancer that jeopardizes service delivery.
” I must assure you as leader of government business that iam going to put in more efforts in fighting and eradicating the ‘cancer’ first through removing political influences and also working closely with IGG to remove such errant officers,” Rt. Hon. Nabbanja vowed.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service Catherine Bitarakwate said in an effort to fight the ‘monster’, her ministry is currently working on a policy aimed at streamlining the public service culture and such corruption tendencies will be no more when the policy is put in place.