New payroll for government workers in offing

Apr 21, 2017

"We have checked against the ID data to establish that they are citizens and the right employees."

PIC: NITA director e-government services Peter Kahiigi and NITA official Vivian Dambya appear before the ICT committee of parliament. (Credit: Maria Wamala)

KAMPALA - A new payroll for all government workers linked to the National Identification Registration Authority and other government agencies is in the pipeline.

Meeting members of the Committee of ICT of Parliament, Peter Kahiigi, the active executive director of National Information Technology Authority (NITA), said the agency had worked with NIRA to establish the authenticity of the employees on the current payroll.

He said about 80% had been validated and they are working on the remaining 20% to clear the anomalies.

"We have checked against the ID data to establish that they are citizens and the right employees," he said. "Now we are looking at the process like the recruitment and promotion process."

Kahiigi and other officials from the authority and Ministry of Finance were responding to issues raised by the ICT committee on the ministry policy statement 2017/18.

The issues ranged from arrears of 2017/18 and the Regional Communications Infrastructure Program.

Kahiigi revealed that they were setting up a list of functional requirements for the new system which was likely to be running in 14 months.

The issues of ghost workers is not limited to public services. It has been reported in other agencies like the army.

Several senior officials in the public service are currently serving prison terms after being found guilty of inflating the numbers in the pension sector for their own benefit.

The committee chaired by Turyahikayo Paula put Kahiigi to task to explain how the authority was increasing internet penetration especially in public institutions in the rural areas.

"ICT is now an examinable subject but there is no internet in all schools we have gone to," she said.

Maxwell Akora, the committee vice person, asked about the sustainability of the infrastructure that runs in billions of shillings.

"Do you have insurance for all this ICT equipment?"

Busiro South MP Peter Ssematimba asked on what was limiting the authority to connect the whole country.

Kahiigi said the authority wants more money to help it increase the connectivity. On a surprise note he revealed that the country is using only 10% of the installed capacity of the network.

 

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