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Kisaka orders headcount of all KCCA employees
Kampala Capital City Authority executive director Dorothy Kisaka (left) with the former acting head, Mr Andrew Kitaka, during the handover ceremony at the authority’s headquarters in Kampala on July 30. PHOTO/ DAVID LUBOWA
Kampala Capital City Authorirty’s (KCCA) executive director Dorothy Kisaka has ordered a headcount of all its employees.
The exercise, which will be carried out by the Directorate of administration and human resource, will start today and end on Thursday.
In an August 11 internal memo to all KCCA directors, which Daily Monitor has seen, Ms Kisaka said the exercise is meant to ascertain the manpower gaps in the authority to improve performance of employees and achieve organisational goals.
The memo states that all staff are required to participate in the exercise and should carry along with them a valid staff Identity Card, all letters of appointment, including the most current, a confirmation letter (if any), and any other necessary document.
KCCA’s payroll structure, a copy which this newspaper has seen, indicates that the institution currently employs 1,133 workers.
However, 391 of them are employed on permanent terms. The staff on temporary terms serve a four-month renewable contract.
Some of the aggrieved staff who declined to be named wondered why management had taken ‘too long’ to advertise the vacant positions so that competent staff can compete instead of handpicking individuals to hold offices in acting capacity.
Early this year, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, Ms Catherine Bitarakwate, said under Public Service orders, a public officer must hold an office in acting capacity for only six months.
Both Parliament and Auditor General’s office have previously queried KCCA’s employment structure, warning that keeping staff on a four-month renewable contract kills motivation, leading to underperformance.
After this exercise, sources said all positions which are not substantively filled will be publicly advertised.
Mr Daniel NuweAbine, the KCCA acting head of public and corporate affairs, confirmed the headcount exercise, adding that it is intended to verify all KCCA employees. He dismissed the claims of panic among some staff.
“After the exercise, a report will be made and submitted to the Public Service Commission who will then guide us on the next step of action,” he said.
In 2013, the PSC recruited 280 people to fill positions at KCCA. However, the then executive director Ms Jennifer Musisi assigned only 45 people.
She argued that KCCA did not have money to pay all the recruited staff, but went ahead to hire temporary staff to fill the same positions, earning the same salary which the former would be earning.
Some aggrieved staff sued KCCA and were compensated huge sums of money while others were deployed last year after settling the matter out of court.
Order to fill positions
Last year, PSC instructed the then KCCA director of administration and human resource to internally advertise at least 200 jobs.
However, a row erupted with some staff protesting the criteria which the human resource director had used.
They petitioned the chairperson of PSC, Justice Ralph Ochan, alleging the director had manipulated the recruitment process to ‘favour specific individuals’.
The letter adds: “Such manipulation of job descriptions and personal specifications in the job advert of June 6 2019 has been tailor-made to keep individuals on acting roles which should be based on technical competence. This has caused a lot of loss in morale and dissatisfaction among staff,” the staff petitioned.
Justice Ochan later halted the recruitment and said PSC would thoroughly study the matter before all vacant positions would be advertised.
When contacted, Justice Ochan said they will take action after receiving a report from KCCA.
On January 29 2018, PSC rejected senior KCCA officials who had been recommended for promotion by former executive director.
The PSC declined to appoint the officials on grounds that Ms Musisi had not submitted critical details of the proposed employees as per the Uganda Public Service standing orders.
For instance, PSC noted that there was no communication from KCCA Council recommending the same officers for promotion.
Vacant positions
Whereas the President appointed new KCCA executive director, deputy executive director and director administration and human resource recently, some of the senior positions have never been filled.
For instance, Dr Daniel Okello whom the President appointed as a substantive director of public health and environment, is yet to be approved by the Health Service Commission.
This means both KCCA director of public health and environment and the deputy director are holding the offices temporarily.
Mr Moses Atwine Kanunira, who has been working as director for physical planning recently wrote to the President, saying he would not renew his contract. The President is yet to appoint a new director.
The position of deputy director of revenue collection does not have a substantive holder and so are the positions of deputy director for public and corporate affairs and manager for public and corporate affairs in the executive director’s office.
