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.

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The Member of Parliament for Kira Municipality, Ibrahim Ssemujju, has called for the establishment of an Evacuation Fund, whose funds will be used by government to evacuate migrant workers who face inhumane mistreatment while employed abroad, warning that a total ban on labour exportation would create a crisis given the high unemployment rates in Uganda.

Ssemujju argued that people, who go to work as maids, don’t go to work in companies where there are standards, and instead, these workers are treated according to the temper and conduct in a particular home.

“The preliminary issues that we can deal with is the quick evacuation and let us be present in these areas where they are, we have no consulate or embassy in Oman. Saudi Arabia is such a vast country, when the girls are abused in Jeddah, it takes them 12 hours to go to Riyadh by bus.

The amount we are receiving from these girls as per figures given by this report, if we look at the economy, is more than the money we get from all crops exported including coffee,” said Ssemujju.

Ssemujju made the remarks on Wednesday, 31 January 2024 during the consideration of the report of the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development on a petition by Elivanson Nabatanzi who petitioned Parliament in May 2022, demanding the return of her daughter who was taken by Prime Linkages Limited to work as a house help in Saudi Arabia.

Ssemujju added: “I think Parliament is devoting so much time discussing this issue emotionally. Until we have stopped the vulnerabilities forcing girls to go and work as maids, there can’t be standards including the recruitment agencies, you are just blaming them for nothing, each home treats people differently, there are those who are going to abuse them, there are those who are going to beat them.”

Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi urged MPs to follow the grotesque stories that are being told by the external labour workers that are being exposed on social media in order to understand the ordeal these workers go through while working abroad.

“This very week, there has been a trending hashtag on social media, #labourexportexhibitionUG and for you who are twitter friendly, find time and go there, of girls that have gone through grotesque ordeals some eventually made it through the country and are undergoing treatment, it will just give you a picture of what is happening,” he said.

Ssenyonyi also queried the proposal by the Government to establish a phone application through which these workers can report cases of inhumane treatment, noting that although the innovation is commendable, it isn’t practical given reports that some employers confiscate phones and passports from these workers.

“The Minister talked about an app, that is okay, but when these girls report to these countries, their travel documents are confiscated, they don’t have passports, identity cards and they have no phone, they are literally slaves, so now that you are talking of an app, how are they meant to access it? We really need to be more practical about these issues. An app is a good thing, for those that can eventually access but let us not limit ourselves,” said Ssenyonyi.

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President Museveni has praised tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade, after the country successfully hosted two big international summits with both parties playing a key role in delivering key infrastructure projects ahead of the events.

Presiding over the luncheon hosted to commend the government Organising Committee headed by Ms Lucy Nakyobe, Head of Public Service, at State House Entebbe on Wednesday, January 31, Museveni thanked Ugandans for the discipline they displayed as the country hosted the two international summits;- the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and G-77 plus China.

He said: “I thank all the people who worked with Lucy Nakyobe and Adonia Ayebare to deliver this success and ask that the momentum be kept so that, during our tenure, Uganda shall deliver, not only good summits but good content to the world”.

Mr. Museveni says the success of the two summits attests to the clear NRM ideology that encompasses core practices, including vision, ideology, patriotism, and prioritisation.

In glowing tribute to Mr. Ruparelia, chairman of the Ugandan conglomerate Ruparelia Group, the President added;
“A few examples are; Sudhir who wouldn’t be here if we didn’t reject Amin’s ideological bankruptcy and the Engineering Brigade of UPDF wouldn’t have saved us Shs 130 billion on the airport expansion and facelift”.

Earlier in his address on the eve of the NRM Day Celebrations in Jinja last week, Mr. Museveni had singled out the UPDF Engineering Brigade which built the new passenger terminal at Entebbe International Airport and tycoon Ruparelia, whose company put together the construction of the world class conference facility — the Speke Resort Convention Centre at Munyonyo in record time.

It took Mr. Sudhir’s group of companies, the Ruparelia Group one year and two days to complete the facility.

On the other hand, the UPDF Engineering Brigade took over the construction of the terminal at the airport, worked day and night, and delivered on record time.
President Museveni, who also praised Ugandans for welcoming the visitors warmly said:

“There were 1918 delegates from 129 Countries, Sixteen Presidents, nine Vice Presidents, sixteen Prime Ministers, seven Special category, coming into Uganda by Airlines and 32 private jets,” he said, adding.

“I thank the Ugandans for the discipline in receiving these visitors. These Countries have 6.6 billion people-80% of the human race”.

On the magnificent facilities, he said:
“More importantly, look at the facilities we built partly for this occasion but in order to improve the infrastructure of the Country – some of them built in one year. Look at the New Terminal built by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, and the Conference Centre built by Sudhir’s [Ruparelia] Company,” he said.

“There is nothing we cannot do. It is just a question of prioritization. Some people always talk about the potholes of Kampala. They should also talk about the good up – Country roads – from Kisoro to Nimule, Busia-Busuunga in Bundibugyo. Without corruption, we have the capacity to do everything. I have instructed the Engineering Brigade to start preparing to build the Standard Gauge Railway instead of only waiting for outsiders to do it,” Museveni added.

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The Minister of Water and Environment, Samuel Cheptoris, has called for concerted efforts towards the conservation and restoration of degraded wetlands in the country.

Cheptoris said this ahead of World Wetlands Day. Under the theme; “Wetlands and Human Well-Being,” the day will mark February 2, 2024, at Kaunda Grounds, Gulu City.

Government of Uganda has made timely, concerted efforts over the last 30 years at various national levels to ensure the conservation and wise use of wetland resources. Between 1994 and 2015, at least 6,146.6 square kilometers of wetlands were lost or 2.5% of Uganda’s total coverage of wetlands.

Despite the numerous benefits that humans receive from wetlands and concerted efforts by the government to conserve wetlands, every day wetlands are damaged by human beings. Wetlands are being destroyed by unsustainable agricultural practices, which are a primary cause of wetland loss through drainage and infilling.

Communities, particularly those living near wetlands, are highly dependent on these services and are directly harmed by their degradation. Healthy wetlands equate to our wellbeing.

“The government has taken further decisions to scale up actions on wetland conservation that include, but are not limited to, the cancellation of wetland titles, the restoration of degraded wetlands, the strengthening of compliance monitoring and enforcement, and the provision of alternative livelihoods to wetland users to bring the process of wetland conversion under control,” the minister said.

“Make conscious choices to stop polluting wetlands for the multiple benefits and nature-based solutions they provide for human well-being and a healthy planet,” he said.

“Wetlands and people are ‘life interlaced’. Wetlands are central to our wellbeing. Wetlands deliver a wide range of ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being, such as fish, water supply, water purification, climate regulation, flood regulation, recreational opportunities, and increasingly tourism,” he said.

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Legislators are on a verge to process amendments to the Civil Aviation Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to forestall hard-hitting recommendations from an international audit.

Following the tabling of the Bill for First Reading by the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, directed the Committee on Physical Infrastructure to expeditiously scrutinize it and report to Parliament by Thursday, 01 February 2024.

“This is an urgent matter to do with the certification of our airport to continue receiving traffic. It is an issue that came out of an audit saying it must be done within a certain period or else they withdraw our certificate,” Tayebwa said during the plenary sitting on Tuesday January 30, 2024.

Gen. Katumba Wamala noted that Uganda is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil Aviation, and as such, is obliged to comply with its international standards and recommended practices.

“The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) oversight audit programme conducted an audit here from 06 September to 18 September 2023. In addition, Uganda is scheduled for a universal security audit programme from 30 January to 08 February 2024,” said Katumba Wamala.

He added that the audit is intended to monitor Uganda’s compliance with ICAO safety and security related standards of safety and oversight obligations under the Convention.

The September audit, the minister revealed, identified gaps in the primary legislation of the Civil Aviation Act, which if not addressed, would expose Uganda to adverse audit findings with far reaching implications on the country.

“A finding of a significant safety concern is in effect, a notice to the world that it is not safe to travel by air to Uganda or on any registered Ugandan aircraft,” Katumba Wamala said.

There are over 13 international airline companies that operate in Uganda’s aviation industry.

The proposed Bill will amend the existing Civil Aviation Authority Act, Cap. 354 that was enacted in 1991.

The Bill seeks to bring Uganda’s aviation authority in conformity with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, which created a specialised agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air travel in 1947.

The proposed government Bill, when passed, will delegate powers to inspectors to have unrestricted access to aircraft, aerodromes and aviation facilities including cargo and records of aviation organisations under the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA).

It will also enable UCAA to recognise agreements of third party States who are signatories to Article 83 bis of the Chicago Convention, in relation to transfer of functions and duties as well as prescribing additional offences.

Article 83 bis assists with the structuring of cross-border aviation transactions by providing a mechanism for ensuring safety oversight of an aircraft that is operated from another State.

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