300 to get jobs in new ministries
Apr 09, 2011
GET ready for 300 new jobs. When six additional politicians become ministers in May, they will have to share the cake with over 300 educated men and women. The new ministries in the pipeline are Kampala, Teso, Bunyoro, petroleum and gas.
By JOHN SEMAKULA
GET ready for 300 new jobs. When six additional politicians become ministers in May, they will have to share the cake with over 300 educated men and women.
The new ministries in the pipeline are Kampala, Teso, Bunyoro, petroleum and gas. Tourism which has been under the Ministry of Trade and the Attorney General’s department, which is currently under the Ministry of Justice will become independent ministries.
According to Principal Communication Officer of the Ministry of Public Service, Jonas Tumwine, if President Yoweri Museveni endorses the plan, the new ministries will each recruit a minimum of 50 staff. The actual number will vary according to the size of the ministry.
Tumwine said the new ministries would recruit after July when they get their budgets. Recruitment of the new staff for the ministries is expected to begin immediately after the budgets are passed. The new ministries will begin with a skeleton staff that will make the necessary structures and make way for the recruitment of the new staff.
Before any civil servant is appointed by the Public Service Commission to work in the ministries, the President will appoint the permanent secretaries to the ministries.
The permanent secretaries are the accounting officers and no ministry can exist without one. Those appointed to the posts offices of the permanent secretaries must be senior civil servants with experience in management.
The permanent secretaries are appointed on a three year renewable contract and are on the highest salary scale in the civil service. The permanent secretaries are not paid according to the government salary scales.
With the creation of the six new ministries, six offices will be made available for the permanent secretaries. Each of the permanent secretaries needs a driver and at least a personal assistant.
Below the permanent secretaries are directors, who head directorates in the ministries. The number of the directors in the ministry depends on its size and need.
The directors are paid the biggest salaries according to the government’s salary scales. They are under the U1 salary scale.
At least each Ministry will have three directors and with the six ministries, there will be a minimum of 18 new offices of the directors created. Directors are appointed to the ministries according to their experience and academic knowledge in the given filed.
Commissioners in the Ministry of Energy who have skills in petroleum stand a chance to be promoted to the positions of directors and posted to the newly created Ministry of Petroleum and gas.
Below the directors are commissioners and the assistant commissioners who head departments. The Commissioners are also under the U1 salary scale but at a different bar within the scale.
Commissioners are not recruited directly but are also promoted from the positions of assistant commissioners to serve in the same ministries or in the new ministries as commissioners.
There are bars in every scale which reflect differences in the salaries under the same scale. U1 salary scale may for example range from sh900,000 to sh1.5m.
The bars in the scale reflect seniority and determine how much each officer is paid.
Just bellow the commissioners are principal officers who head smaller and specific departments within the big departments.
The Principal Officers are under the U2 salary scale. Those who are serving in the capacities of the principals are promoted from the rank of senior officers.
Officers in the ministries who are graduates and have served in their positions for three years are given the title of senior. Senior officers are under the U3 salary scale.
A person can apply to be transferred from one ministry to another as long as he is qualified to serve in the given position.
The others categories of staff under the U4 and U5 salary scales are the graduates who have finished their probation period and those who are fresh from the universities. The fresh graduates without any experience are under U5.
Diploma holders like assistant records officers are in U6, while drivers with certificates are in U7.
Before the 2008 restructuring exercise, there was U8 which was the scale for the lowest carders in the ministries but government has done away with them and has preferred contracting private companies to do their work.
Some people are already complaining that the new ministries will constrain the tax payers, who will have to pay more, but to many who want jobs the news of the ministries was received with a sigh of relief.
How to get a Public Service job
The Public Service Commission mandate is to appoint and confirm individuals into offices in the government’s departments, like ministries.
When there are vacancies to fill in any of the departments, the Ministry of Public Service informs Commission of the need to fill them. The commission then runs job adverts in the print media.
Potential candidates collect ‘Form III’ from the commission, which they fill to apply for the jobs.
After filling in the forms, they photocopy them into three copies, which they return to the commission. The commission goes through the forms and shortlists the candidates qualified to sit for interviews.
Those who are short-listed attend interviews on stipulated dates. If there are many applicants, the Commission gives two sets of interviews, aptitude and oral.
The aptitude interview helps to cut down the number of people, who have applied for the job.
Those who pass the aptitude tests are short-listed for the oral interviews.
Names of the lucky ones who pass the oral interviews are forwarded to the Permanent secretaries.
The permanent secretaries write the appointment letters for the selected candidates before they join the new offices. A probation period of six months is given to the new recruits.
After six month on probation, someone is assess and confirmed if he has performed to the expectation of the bosses.
GET ready for 300 new jobs. When six additional politicians become ministers in May, they will have to share the cake with over 300 educated men and women.
The new ministries in the pipeline are Kampala, Teso, Bunyoro, petroleum and gas. Tourism which has been under the Ministry of Trade and the Attorney General’s department, which is currently under the Ministry of Justice will become independent ministries.
According to Principal Communication Officer of the Ministry of Public Service, Jonas Tumwine, if President Yoweri Museveni endorses the plan, the new ministries will each recruit a minimum of 50 staff. The actual number will vary according to the size of the ministry.
Tumwine said the new ministries would recruit after July when they get their budgets. Recruitment of the new staff for the ministries is expected to begin immediately after the budgets are passed. The new ministries will begin with a skeleton staff that will make the necessary structures and make way for the recruitment of the new staff.
Before any civil servant is appointed by the Public Service Commission to work in the ministries, the President will appoint the permanent secretaries to the ministries.
The permanent secretaries are the accounting officers and no ministry can exist without one. Those appointed to the posts offices of the permanent secretaries must be senior civil servants with experience in management.
The permanent secretaries are appointed on a three year renewable contract and are on the highest salary scale in the civil service. The permanent secretaries are not paid according to the government salary scales.
With the creation of the six new ministries, six offices will be made available for the permanent secretaries. Each of the permanent secretaries needs a driver and at least a personal assistant.
Below the permanent secretaries are directors, who head directorates in the ministries. The number of the directors in the ministry depends on its size and need.
The directors are paid the biggest salaries according to the government’s salary scales. They are under the U1 salary scale.
At least each Ministry will have three directors and with the six ministries, there will be a minimum of 18 new offices of the directors created. Directors are appointed to the ministries according to their experience and academic knowledge in the given filed.
Commissioners in the Ministry of Energy who have skills in petroleum stand a chance to be promoted to the positions of directors and posted to the newly created Ministry of Petroleum and gas.
Below the directors are commissioners and the assistant commissioners who head departments. The Commissioners are also under the U1 salary scale but at a different bar within the scale.
Commissioners are not recruited directly but are also promoted from the positions of assistant commissioners to serve in the same ministries or in the new ministries as commissioners.
There are bars in every scale which reflect differences in the salaries under the same scale. U1 salary scale may for example range from sh900,000 to sh1.5m.
The bars in the scale reflect seniority and determine how much each officer is paid.
Just bellow the commissioners are principal officers who head smaller and specific departments within the big departments.
The Principal Officers are under the U2 salary scale. Those who are serving in the capacities of the principals are promoted from the rank of senior officers.
Officers in the ministries who are graduates and have served in their positions for three years are given the title of senior. Senior officers are under the U3 salary scale.
A person can apply to be transferred from one ministry to another as long as he is qualified to serve in the given position.
The others categories of staff under the U4 and U5 salary scales are the graduates who have finished their probation period and those who are fresh from the universities. The fresh graduates without any experience are under U5.
Diploma holders like assistant records officers are in U6, while drivers with certificates are in U7.
Before the 2008 restructuring exercise, there was U8 which was the scale for the lowest carders in the ministries but government has done away with them and has preferred contracting private companies to do their work.
Some people are already complaining that the new ministries will constrain the tax payers, who will have to pay more, but to many who want jobs the news of the ministries was received with a sigh of relief.
How to get a Public Service job
The Public Service Commission mandate is to appoint and confirm individuals into offices in the government’s departments, like ministries.
When there are vacancies to fill in any of the departments, the Ministry of Public Service informs Commission of the need to fill them. The commission then runs job adverts in the print media.
Potential candidates collect ‘Form III’ from the commission, which they fill to apply for the jobs.
After filling in the forms, they photocopy them into three copies, which they return to the commission. The commission goes through the forms and shortlists the candidates qualified to sit for interviews.
Those who are short-listed attend interviews on stipulated dates. If there are many applicants, the Commission gives two sets of interviews, aptitude and oral.
The aptitude interview helps to cut down the number of people, who have applied for the job.
Those who pass the aptitude tests are short-listed for the oral interviews.
Names of the lucky ones who pass the oral interviews are forwarded to the Permanent secretaries.
The permanent secretaries write the appointment letters for the selected candidates before they join the new offices. A probation period of six months is given to the new recruits.
After six month on probation, someone is assess and confirmed if he has performed to the expectation of the bosses.