Controversy erupts over KCCA jobs

PIC: Musisi (left), Dan Kyambadde, the director of treasury service and Kamya during a function in July. Kamya promised to look into the job situation

Three years after being appointed to work at the Kampala Capital City Authority by the Ministry of public service, several employees, who were successful in the interviews, are still waiting to take up their jobs.

Ironically, KCCA has recruited contract staff to fill the same positions in what many say was to cater for a selected few and favourite individuals, who were suited to the interests of top officials and politicians in government.

Dr. Godfrey Kamugisa, one of those who applied and was appointed by the public service commission after emerging the best candidate, narrated the ordeal he has been through in his three-year wait.

"I applied for the job of supervisor for animal production and went through the public service commission interviews, where I emerged successful and received an appointment letter.

The letter required me to report to the executive director for deployment, which I did. However, shortly after reporting, I received another letter that was purportedly written through the executive director's office informing me that they were financially constrained and they would inform me when to start work later," stated Kamugisa.

He said in May, he wrote back to KCCA to remind them about his job, but they told him that their position still stood. "This time, they informed me that the Government had stopped them from recruiting," Kamugisa said.

Sunday Vision has seen one of the letters written by KCCA to some of the successful applicants. A copy of the letter, written to Charles Baguma, who was appointed Officer Registration, Collection and Assessment, indicates in part: "KCCA received a notification from the public service commission that you were successful in the interviews for the post of Officer Registration Collection and Assessment.

This is to inform you that the Authority currently has budgetary constraints and is not in position to appoint you at this time. You will be notified when funding is assured," the letter, written and signed by Richard Lule on behalf of the executive director, Jennipher Musisi reads in part.

In an interview with New Vision, Nasur Gadhafi, the National Resistance Movement Youth leader and a member of the party's central executive committee (CEC), said they had tried to engage both the Government and the authority officials over the matter in vain.

"About seven months ago, Baguma, who is the general secretary of Masindi Youth league, called me and told me he had been successful in his interviews at KCCA, but that they had received a letter from KCCA informing them about the constraints," Gadhafi said.

He said he raised the matter with the CEC, which is the NRM top ruling organ, but was asked to follow it up with the relevant authorities. "I approached the head of public service during our retreat in Kyankwanzi, but he has not been of any help," Gaddafi said.

A number of successful youth, who have since failed to get their offices, told Sunday Vision that they had been forced to resign their jobs shortly after they received the appointment letters.

They are now threatening to petition the Inspector General of Government to investigate why the authority hired people on short-term contracts and ignored those who had been successful in the interviews.
 
Efforts to get a comment from KCCA proved futile as the spokesperson, Peter Kaujju's phone went unanswered.

However, the Minister of KCCA, Betty Kamya, promised to look into the matter.

In March 2012, KCCA advertised for the recruitment of 1,200 workers, but only a few people were taken.