The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has directed the Ministry of Public Service to appraise parliament on when it intends to lift the ban on public service recruitment.
This is after Patrick Isingoma, the Member of Parliament for Hoima East City Division demanded a report from the Ministry of Public Service on when they intend to lift a ban on public service recruitment.
“In Hoima where I represent, work is at a standstill including all Local Governments because of the unending ban issued by the Ministry of Public Service,” he said.
This prompted the Deputy Speaker to direct the Ministry of Public to present a statement, updating parliament on when the recruitment in new cities will resume to help in the proper flow of government work.
The Ministries of Finance and Public Service conducted a physical validation exercise of public servants across the country, to address the issue of ghost workers, among others.
A recent Auditor General’s report for the period ending June 2023, revealed that 60,847 out of 133,670 approved positions in 75 government ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as 167 local governments have been vacant for more than two years.
The reports also indicated that the situation has negatively impacted service delivery as it “leads to reduced efficiency” and “increased workload for existing staff”, as well as impeding “delivery of quality services.”
The State Minister for Public Service, Grace Mary Mugasa said that they had asked the Auditor General to carry out a payroll audit across central and local government, involving actual head counts of employees.
The Minister however, told house that the ban on public recruitment will soon be discussed by the Ministry’s top management before presenting a statement to Parliament.
