In a bid to tackle corruption and improve functionality of District Service Commissions, lawmakers have proposed commensurate remuneration of members of the commissions.
The report of the Committee on Public Service and Local Government on Functionality of District Service Commissions, City Service Commissions and Personnel Management in selected Local Governments across Northern, Eastern and Western Uganda blamed the rampant corruption on low pay.
“The retainer fees of the members of the District Service Commissions are very low, some as low as Shs30,000. The fees are paid late and at times in arrears,” read the report presented to Parliament during plenary sitting on Thursday, 26 September 2024.
“The low funding partly compromises the independence of the commissions and also contributes to loss of integrity of some members of the Commission who resort to illegal acts to solicit money on the job, especially from applicants during the recruitment process,” the report adds.
Members of Parliament agreed with the committee’s recommendation for the Ministry of Public Service and that of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to consider monthly remuneration for members of service commissions, just like district chairpersons.
Hon. Santa Alum (UPC, Oyam District Woman MP) said that adequate facilitation will not only deal away with corruption, but also ensure independence of district service commissions.
“If they are not well facilitated in this country of ours, what do we expect?” Alum said.
Hon. Godfrey Onzima (NRM, Aringa North County) said that facilitation of the members of the service commissions should be made uniform, as opposed to varying according to districts.
“Some of them come from very far away from the districts, even some times the facilitation is not enough. In my opinion we would think if the payment could be uniform and paid from the Central Government,” Onzima said.
Kinkizi County West MP, Hon. James Kaberuka, called for a deliberate commitment from Public Service to revise the facilitation of the service commissions, saying that the commissioners cannot function without resources.
“Why is it that Local Governments are not being given commensurate resources to make them functional. Local Governments do not have money to even hold meetings. When we are blaming these commissions, we need to be fair,” Kaberuka said.
Hon. Samuel Opio (Indep., Kole North County) on the other hand said that the district service commissions are also faced with the challenge of absence of substantive officers, citing that several heads of departments have been in acting capacity for more than eight years.
“It is time the Ministry of Public Service comes out clearly because our guidelines provide that you can only act for six months and an extension of six months. There must be clear directives from Ministry of Public Service to make these service commissions functional,” said Opio.
The report also cited influence peddling from political leaders and technical staff in recruitment processes, saying that this has affected service delivery.
“There are also instances in some local governments where recruitment processes have been put on hold by the Inspectorate of Government, as a result of reported irregularities in the process.
However, the investigations on such cases tend to take too long, hence affecting service delivery and causing a return of funds to the Treasury,” the report read in part.
Adjumani District Woman Representative, Hon. Jesca Ababiku, recommended that Ministry of Local Government should ensure that such cases are expeditiously investigated.
“If people are not recruited on merit, that means that the outcome of services delivered will not be of good quality,” she said.
Minister of State for Local Government, Hon. Victoria Businge, said that the ministry is faced with the challenge of lack of evidence on irregular recruitments.
To address the irregularities in recruitment, Businge said the ministry will implement the e-recruitment process, as recommended by the committee.
“We need to design a strict law that pins the district and city service commissions,” Businge added.
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