It is increasingly becoming difficult for top public servants to escape allegations of favouring their kin and kith, when it comes to the prickly issue of employment in Uganda.
And so early last week a top official at the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) was on the spotlight for allegedly giving jobs to four relatives, to work in UNRA, one of the best-paying parastatals in Uganda.
The matter of allegedly hiring relatives, commonly known as nepotism, has now been put at the discretion of the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), who has since started investigations into the allegations that will, if found true, further tarnish the image of the institution that is charged with overseeing the development of the road sector in Uganda, a task heaped on the UNRA Executive Director Allen Kagina and members of her team, most of them newly-recruited.
It should be recalled that in May last year, following scathing allegations of massive corruption at UNRA, the institution laid off over 900 workers in the biggest-ever single public sector restricting drive and consequently embarked on a new recruitment drive. It is this new process that has now come under scrutiny.
And sources within UNRA told this Website that ‘a top boss’ brought the four relatives from Canada and posted them in the lucrative planning and administration department.
“It is sad that competent people were sacked under the pretext of sweeping corrupt officials but what is happening here is dangerous. How can four members of one family be recruited in one department as if they are no other qualified Ugandans?” a source told EagleOnline.
Inspectorate of Government Spokesperson, Ali Munira confirmed investigations were underway but said the inquiry is still at a tender stage for her to divulge details.
“We are working on it but as you are aware, we only received the complaints two weeks ago but investigations are going on,” Ms Munira said on phone.
Meanwhile, sources at UNRA have intimated to the EagleOnline that all new projects have been put on halt to clear the way for the completion of all ongoing projects.
Efforts to contact UNRA spokesperson Mark Ssali over the developments were, by press time, futile.
