Job row rocks Ministry
Aug 31, 2005
THE Ministry of Education is embroiled in a recruitment scandal, where an applicant who was interviewed and appointed to head the construction unit is being asked to work under the officer he should have succeeded.
By John Eremu
THE Ministry of Education is embroiled in a recruitment scandal, where an applicant who was interviewed and appointed to head the construction unit is being asked to work under the officer he should have succeeded.
Eng. Justus Akankwasa, who was appointed assistant commissioner (construction management) in April under Public Service Commission minute No. 333 of 2005, is yet to take over from John Nakabago.
The jobholder oversees construction work under the School Facilities Grant, whose annual budget runs into billions of shillings.
In a May 9, 2005 letter, Francis Lubanga, the Permanent Secretary, wrote directing Akankwasa to take over the office from Nakabago, but the handover was blocked by Simon Mayende, the state minister for higher education, allegedly following an issue raised in Parliament that a ‘Musoga’ was unfairly being thrown out of the job.
The Busoga parliamentary caucus also raised the issue when they met President Yoweri Museveni on June 14. The President reportedly promised that Nakabago would not lose his job.
Subsequently, the Head of Public Service, John Mitala, on June 26, reportedly acting on instructions from State House, wrote to Lubanga directing that Akankwasa’s assumption of duty be put on hold until further instructions.
In another letter dated June 29, Mitala also directed that Nakabago continues serving as head of the construction unit until Museveni takes a final decision on the matter.
Lubanga is said to have met Akankwasa and advised him that in the circumstances, he should “psychologically†prepare himself to work under Nakabago until the issue is resolved.
But Akankwasa, who had resigned from his job at Makerere University, in an August 11 letter to Lubanga requested to take up a lower profile job, amounting to demoting him from a post he secured on merit.
“The job advert to which I responded clearly indicated that the assistant commissioner would, among other things, coordinate and lead the unit, supervise staff and be project manager on all centrally implemented construction works.
Structurally, the assistant commissioner would report directly to the Permanent Secretary,†Akankwasa said, adding that he was only ready to proceed under the terms on which he was offered the job. His letter was copied to among others, the Principal Private Secretary to the President and the Inspector General of Government.
Akankwasa has already been issued an identity card and is on the ministry’s payroll earning a full salary of assistant commissioner alongside Nakabago. An assistant commissioner is paid a basic salary of sh1.2m a month.
Available information indicates that the minister is pushing for Nakabago to be appointed on a supernumerary arrangement, where a special position is created outside the established structure and later abolished when the holder quits.
The struggle over the post first raised eyebrows in October 2003 when the Public Service Commission advertised the position.
The first advert carried in The New Vision of October 13, 2003 specified that only engineering graduates registered with the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) should apply for the post.
However, three days later, the commission placed a correction widening the qualifications to include non-professional engineers. Nakabago is an accountant and had been acting in the position.
The correction sparked off protests from ERB, which complained that the vacancy was principally an engineering position going by the tasks specified.
“The principal task of providing guidance and direction on construction matters in a ministry that is handling Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools and community polytechnics requires engineering input that cannot be acquired simply by having been associated with engineering operations.
“It is therefore our considered view that the revision of the original person specifications cannot serve the interest of the public. The job is an engineering one and it should remain so,†the board chairman, Dr. Wana Etyem, wrote in the letter copied to among others, the Minister of Public Service.
Following the protest, the commission reinstated engineering as the basic qualification.
Akankwasa apparently secured the job on the strength of his qualification of a Masters Degree in Construction Management alongside a string of other qualifications and work experience spanning over 10 years.
However, ministry sources say while Nakabago is not an engineer, he is credited for turning round the ministry’s construction unit since being appointed director of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in 1998.
They also argued that the position was more managerial than technical.
The PIU was scrapped in 2003 and the positions were streamlined into the structure of the public service.
A 2003 World Bank report said progress in most projects under the ministry was slow before 1997 due, in large part, to weak project management.
The report said there had since been progress.
THE Ministry of Education is embroiled in a recruitment scandal, where an applicant who was interviewed and appointed to head the construction unit is being asked to work under the officer he should have succeeded.
Eng. Justus Akankwasa, who was appointed assistant commissioner (construction management) in April under Public Service Commission minute No. 333 of 2005, is yet to take over from John Nakabago.
The jobholder oversees construction work under the School Facilities Grant, whose annual budget runs into billions of shillings.
In a May 9, 2005 letter, Francis Lubanga, the Permanent Secretary, wrote directing Akankwasa to take over the office from Nakabago, but the handover was blocked by Simon Mayende, the state minister for higher education, allegedly following an issue raised in Parliament that a ‘Musoga’ was unfairly being thrown out of the job.
The Busoga parliamentary caucus also raised the issue when they met President Yoweri Museveni on June 14. The President reportedly promised that Nakabago would not lose his job.
Subsequently, the Head of Public Service, John Mitala, on June 26, reportedly acting on instructions from State House, wrote to Lubanga directing that Akankwasa’s assumption of duty be put on hold until further instructions.
In another letter dated June 29, Mitala also directed that Nakabago continues serving as head of the construction unit until Museveni takes a final decision on the matter.
Lubanga is said to have met Akankwasa and advised him that in the circumstances, he should “psychologically†prepare himself to work under Nakabago until the issue is resolved.
But Akankwasa, who had resigned from his job at Makerere University, in an August 11 letter to Lubanga requested to take up a lower profile job, amounting to demoting him from a post he secured on merit.
“The job advert to which I responded clearly indicated that the assistant commissioner would, among other things, coordinate and lead the unit, supervise staff and be project manager on all centrally implemented construction works.
Structurally, the assistant commissioner would report directly to the Permanent Secretary,†Akankwasa said, adding that he was only ready to proceed under the terms on which he was offered the job. His letter was copied to among others, the Principal Private Secretary to the President and the Inspector General of Government.
Akankwasa has already been issued an identity card and is on the ministry’s payroll earning a full salary of assistant commissioner alongside Nakabago. An assistant commissioner is paid a basic salary of sh1.2m a month.
Available information indicates that the minister is pushing for Nakabago to be appointed on a supernumerary arrangement, where a special position is created outside the established structure and later abolished when the holder quits.
The struggle over the post first raised eyebrows in October 2003 when the Public Service Commission advertised the position.
The first advert carried in The New Vision of October 13, 2003 specified that only engineering graduates registered with the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) should apply for the post.
However, three days later, the commission placed a correction widening the qualifications to include non-professional engineers. Nakabago is an accountant and had been acting in the position.
The correction sparked off protests from ERB, which complained that the vacancy was principally an engineering position going by the tasks specified.
“The principal task of providing guidance and direction on construction matters in a ministry that is handling Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools and community polytechnics requires engineering input that cannot be acquired simply by having been associated with engineering operations.
“It is therefore our considered view that the revision of the original person specifications cannot serve the interest of the public. The job is an engineering one and it should remain so,†the board chairman, Dr. Wana Etyem, wrote in the letter copied to among others, the Minister of Public Service.
Following the protest, the commission reinstated engineering as the basic qualification.
Akankwasa apparently secured the job on the strength of his qualification of a Masters Degree in Construction Management alongside a string of other qualifications and work experience spanning over 10 years.
However, ministry sources say while Nakabago is not an engineer, he is credited for turning round the ministry’s construction unit since being appointed director of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in 1998.
They also argued that the position was more managerial than technical.
The PIU was scrapped in 2003 and the positions were streamlined into the structure of the public service.
A 2003 World Bank report said progress in most projects under the ministry was slow before 1997 due, in large part, to weak project management.
The report said there had since been progress.