Baganda hold most jobs in revenue body
Jan 29, 2008
BAGANDA dominate posts in the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), followed by the Banyankole of western Uganda. According to the list which the tax body released yesterday, the Baganda, who live in the central region, hold 490 positions, or 28.6%, while the Banyankole have 255, representing 14.9%.
By Barbara Among
and Paul Kiwuuwa
BAGANDA dominate posts in the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), followed by the Banyankole of western Uganda. According to the list which the tax body released yesterday, the Baganda, who live in the central region, hold 490 positions, or 28.6%, while the Banyankole have 255, representing 14.9%.
The Basoga come third with 138 posts, the Bakiga with 114, and the Iteso with 112 employees. The Batoro have 97 positions, the Langi, 66, the Banyoro, 60, the Acholi, 59 and Bagisu, 52 positions.
The Banyole, Alur, Bagweere and Bakonzo have below 20 posts, while the Bagungu, Baruli, Karimojong, Madi, Jonam, Kumam and Kakwa have fewer than five positions each.
Board chairman Ibrahim Kironde Kabanda yesterday handed the list to MPs to counter the allegations that people from the west, from where President Yoweri Museveni hails, take most of the jobs in the organisation.
As a result, on Monday, the parliamentary committee on commissions and statutory authorities asked the URA to release the list of staff to clear the air.
Kironde said: “This subject has been addressed to me from time to time. I thought I should take this opportunity to submit a comprehensive list.â€
The list, however, named only five board members and 23 commissioners, leaving out other employees. It also did not say the employee’s qualification as earlier requested by the committee.
Tempers flared when Kironde said he did not know the district from which one of the board members was from. “If he does not know, how will he convince us that the list is accurate,†asked Fred Bukeni Gyabi (NRM).
By region, most employees are from the central region, which has 33% of the total of 1,716 workers, closely followed by the western region at 32%. The east has 24%, while the north holds 11%.
Of the six board members, two are from central, three from western, one from the east and none from the north. On the other hand, of 23 commissioners, 10 are from the central, seven from the west, four from the east and one from the north.
However, the MPs were divided whether the regions were fairly represented.
“The committee is not satisfied with the list because it lacks names and professional qualifications. We could not establish whether the jobs are casual or professional,†said John Odit, the committee chairman.
“There is no equitable distribution of the jobs because both the north and eastern region are marginalised.â€
However, some committee members, especially those from the central region, disagreed, describing the statement as tribalistic.
“The public should stop tribalistic tendencies because the Baganda, who have been complaining of being unemployed by the URA, are the most employees.†But Rose Munyira (NRM) insisted: “The list is shallow and does not reflect the majority of employees.â€
Going by the 2002 population census, the URA can, however, argue the employment ratio is representative.
According to the census report, the Baganda are the majority, constituting 17.7% of the population, followed by the Banyankole at 9.8%, the Basoga 8.6%, Bakiga 7%, Iteso 6.6%, Langi 6.2%, the Acholi 4.8% and Bagisu 4.7%, leaving the 30.7 percent to others.
It shows that the central region has the highest population, or 27% of the total, the west, 26%, the east, 25%, while the north trails with 22%.
and Paul Kiwuuwa
BAGANDA dominate posts in the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), followed by the Banyankole of western Uganda. According to the list which the tax body released yesterday, the Baganda, who live in the central region, hold 490 positions, or 28.6%, while the Banyankole have 255, representing 14.9%.
The Basoga come third with 138 posts, the Bakiga with 114, and the Iteso with 112 employees. The Batoro have 97 positions, the Langi, 66, the Banyoro, 60, the Acholi, 59 and Bagisu, 52 positions.
The Banyole, Alur, Bagweere and Bakonzo have below 20 posts, while the Bagungu, Baruli, Karimojong, Madi, Jonam, Kumam and Kakwa have fewer than five positions each.
Board chairman Ibrahim Kironde Kabanda yesterday handed the list to MPs to counter the allegations that people from the west, from where President Yoweri Museveni hails, take most of the jobs in the organisation.
As a result, on Monday, the parliamentary committee on commissions and statutory authorities asked the URA to release the list of staff to clear the air.
Kironde said: “This subject has been addressed to me from time to time. I thought I should take this opportunity to submit a comprehensive list.â€
The list, however, named only five board members and 23 commissioners, leaving out other employees. It also did not say the employee’s qualification as earlier requested by the committee.
Tempers flared when Kironde said he did not know the district from which one of the board members was from. “If he does not know, how will he convince us that the list is accurate,†asked Fred Bukeni Gyabi (NRM).
By region, most employees are from the central region, which has 33% of the total of 1,716 workers, closely followed by the western region at 32%. The east has 24%, while the north holds 11%.
Of the six board members, two are from central, three from western, one from the east and none from the north. On the other hand, of 23 commissioners, 10 are from the central, seven from the west, four from the east and one from the north.
However, the MPs were divided whether the regions were fairly represented.
“The committee is not satisfied with the list because it lacks names and professional qualifications. We could not establish whether the jobs are casual or professional,†said John Odit, the committee chairman.
“There is no equitable distribution of the jobs because both the north and eastern region are marginalised.â€
However, some committee members, especially those from the central region, disagreed, describing the statement as tribalistic.
“The public should stop tribalistic tendencies because the Baganda, who have been complaining of being unemployed by the URA, are the most employees.†But Rose Munyira (NRM) insisted: “The list is shallow and does not reflect the majority of employees.â€
Going by the 2002 population census, the URA can, however, argue the employment ratio is representative.
According to the census report, the Baganda are the majority, constituting 17.7% of the population, followed by the Banyankole at 9.8%, the Basoga 8.6%, Bakiga 7%, Iteso 6.6%, Langi 6.2%, the Acholi 4.8% and Bagisu 4.7%, leaving the 30.7 percent to others.
It shows that the central region has the highest population, or 27% of the total, the west, 26%, the east, 25%, while the north trails with 22%.