Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Marksons Oboth has revealed that the ongoing parliamentary staff validation of their employment records is aimed at restoring merit, integrity and fairness in the institution but not mass job losses.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Oboth sought to calm anxiety among employees following the launch of a comprehensive exercise to verify academic qualifications, appointment records and the procedures through which staff were recruited and promoted.
“There is no panic. There’s bliss!” Oboth said, urging employees to remain calm and continue performing their duties as the process proceeds.
The Speaker said he had requested assistance from the Head of Public Service to ensure fairness and transparency, arguing that Parliament’s administrative workforce should be subjected to the same standards of accountability expected of other public institutions.
“For fairness and transparency, I requested the assistance of Head of Public Service because Parliamentary Service is indeed Public Service,” Oboth said.
He added that the new parliamentary leadership was not interested in removing employees from their jobs without justification, but wanted to address concerns about the management of the institution’s workforce.
“It is not the interest of the new leadership of Parliament to see anyone lose a job. The nation should not overthink this. Everyone should take it easy and keep serving,” he said.
The reassurance comes as Parliament undertakes a review of its workforce amid allegations that more than 300 employees were recruited during the 11th Parliament without following the required procedures. The allegations include claims of appointments made without publicly advertised vacancies and recruitment of individuals who did not possess the necessary academic qualifications.
The verification exercise is expected to establish whether those concerns are supported by employment records and whether individual employees meet the requirements for the positions they occupy.
The exercise began on Monday, October 19, with employees reporting to Parliament’s Conference Halls A and B for the initial verification process. The exercise is being overseen by the Parliamentary Commission, with support from officials of the Ministry of Public Service, following Oboth’s announcement that employees would be required to account for their recruitment and employment records.
The review covers employees across the institution, including senior officials, administrative staff and support workers. Staff are expected to present documents establishing their identities, academic qualifications, appointment histories and eligibility for their current positions.
The exercise follows allegations of irregular recruitment during the previous Parliament, including claims that some vacancies were not publicly advertised and that certain appointments did not follow established recruitment procedures. These allegations are among the issues the verification is intended to examine and should not be treated as proven against individual employees before the findings are established.
Oboth said the exercise was also intended to address inconsistencies in staff ranks and promotions, insisting that seniority must reflect an employee’s qualifications, experience and professional competence.
“When you are called a senior, you should actually be a senior. When you are a principal, you should actually be a principal. You can become a director whether you joined in 2024 or 2026, but it must come with the right qualifications and experience,” he said.
The Speaker compared public service to a race in which every employee should have an equal opportunity to advance, arguing that recruitment and promotion decisions should be based on merit rather than personal connections or preferential treatment.
“Think of public service as a race. Everyone should begin from the same starting line and run fairly to the finish. That is all this validation seeks to ensure,” Oboth said.
He also cited his own career progression as an example of why public institutions should provide fair opportunities for employees to advance through the ranks.
“I grew up through merit. I did interviews from the entry point and was shortlisted among many. I had no god parent in public service. God was instead, my parent. I know it is possible to grow. And as Parliamentary Service, we are taking the lead on this,” he said.
The Speaker’s remarks come as the Parliamentary Commission seeks to address concerns about human resource management, recruitment practices and workplace morale.
The Parliamentary Commission, established under Article 87A of the Constitution, is responsible for appointing, promoting and exercising disciplinary control over parliamentary staff. It also deals with employees’ terms of service and training, giving it a central role in determining what action should follow the verification findings.
Parliamentary Commissioner Susan Abeja, who chairs the Commission’s Human Resources Committee, has indicated that employees found to have forged academic documents could be dismissed, while those whose promotions were accelerated irregularly could be reassigned to positions matching their qualifications and competencies.
Abeja has also said the exercise is intended to establish the actual status of Parliament’s workforce and identify possible ghost workers. She put the approved staffing structure at 906 positions, with 826 employees on the payroll and 90 vacancies, figures that will be important in assessing staffing levels and the institution’s human resource requirements.
The exercise has therefore raised questions not only about the authenticity of academic documents but also about how recruitment decisions were made, whether employees meet the requirements of their positions and whether promotions were handled in accordance with applicable procedures.
Oboth, however, has appealed to employees not to interpret the exercise as a predetermined decision to dismiss them, saying the intention is to restore confidence in the Parliamentary Service and ensure that staff are treated fairly.
“I, therefore, appeal for patience and all staff should remain calm and go about their activities normally,” he said.
The outcome of the validation is expected to determine whether the concerns surrounding recruitment, qualifications, promotions and staff records warrant administrative or disciplinary action.
The Speaker has maintained that the process should be guided by fairness, transparency, and merit to strengthen the institution rather than create unnecessary uncertainty among its employees.
