Districts in Lango accused of selling jobs
Lango paramount chief Eng Dr Moses Michael Odongo Okune. PHOTO/BILL OKETCH
What you need to know:
During a cabinet meeting held in Lira City on Friday, the clan leaders said many district service commissions in the nine districts that make up Lango were selling jobs as well as practicing nepotism during recruitment
The Lango cultural institution (Tekwaro Lango) has expressed over the increasing cases of bribery during the recruitment process into public service in the area.
During a cabinet meeting held in Lira City on Friday, the clan leaders said many district service commissions in the nine districts that make up Lango were selling jobs as well as practicing nepotism during recruitment.
A district service commission is the body mandated to source for and recruit human resources in a given district.
Mr Jerome Angena, the minister of land rights and management in Tekwaro Lango, said the practice of selling jobs has left many educated youth in Lango jobless.
Lango is made up of Lira, Kole, Oyam, Apac, Kwania, Dokolo, Otuke, Amolatar and Alebtong.
“Many families spend all their resources to educate children but after completing their studies, these people cannot find jobs because districts are selling them. They ask for Shs5 million. Because I have refused to buy jobs, my children are at home,” Mr Angena, a state prosecutor and Ocukuru Ogora clan chief, claimed.
However, Daily Monitor could not independently verify the claim by press time.
In March, Rev James Awany, the chairperson of heads of district service commissions in Lango, told journalists that he had received several reports implicating members of the various commissions, who allegedly ask for bribes from job seekers before they are recruited.
Sex for jobs
Rev Awany disclosed to the media that in some incidents, female candidates are asked to offer sex in exchange for job placements, a vice, he said, ought to be investigated and the perpetrators punished.
Eng Dr Moses Michael Odongo Okune, the Tekwaro Lango Paramount Chief (Won Nyaci), noted that corruption is not only being practiced by the district service commissions but also in other sectors such as health and education.
For instance, he said, some government officials report late to office yet they receive full salaries at the end of the month, adding that is another form of corruption.
Dr Odongo appealed to public servants to have a positive mindset and attitude towards their jobs, and cautioned district service commissions against selling jobs.
In 2019, the Apac Anti-Corruption Coalition flagged Kole, Apac and Kwania as districts where such practices were rampant.
