UNRA advertises more jobs

          UNRA boss Allen Kagina            

Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has once again advertised jobs in various sections which Ugandans can apply for.

In the latest advert, UNRA called for applications for 30 positions in the directorates of; Network Planning and Engineering, Human Resource Corporate Services, Internal Audit, Procurement, Road Infrastructure Protection, Road Maintenance and Roads and Bridges Development.

The application deadline is Tuesday (October 10, 2017) at 5:00pm, and according to UNRA, "only online applications will be considered." UNRA asked applicants to scan and attach certified copies of the required academic documents on their applications.

In September 2015 UNRA sacked all the 900 staff in a bid to make the roads authority efficient, a move which appeared to have angered some staff who claim they were unfairly dismissed.

At the beginning of last year, UNRA advertised the jobs and by mid-March, the first shortlist of 700 candidates had been released.

In all, over 4,000 candidates were interviewed for various jobs and the names were posted on the road authority's website in a move that was intended to ensure fairness.

Although some of the shortlisted candidates reached the final stages, they were shocked to hear that the jobs they applied for had been filled and no communication was made. "We were told that they would communicate to us after the final interviews but they never did," said one of the candidates.

This prompted a petition to the Inspector General of Government (IGG) protesting the recruitment process by a whistleblower in September 2016. The petitioner sought an investigation into claims that top jobs that were advertised at UNRA were given to cronies of the current management.

This whistle blower's petition dated August 20, 2016, to the IGG pointed out flaws in the recruitment process of staff at UNRA.

Among those cited to have been irregularly recruited is the head of legal, Mary Kamuli Kutesa, who was the assistant to lead counsel, Andrew Kasirye, at the commission of inquiry into corruption and abuse of office at UNRA. 

The petitioner claimed that the UNRA Executive Director, Allen Kagina, was recruiting close friends she had worked with at Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). Kagina was the URA Commissioner General before she was appointed the UNRA head.