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Politicians, civil society slam govt as west takes top jobs
A map of Uganda showing different regions
What you need to know:
- There were several ‘I-told-you-so’ moments yesterday as politicians and civil society actors reacted to a government report released by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), highlighting regional imbalance in public sector jobs with western Uganda enjoying pride of place. Daily Monitor’s Shabibah Nakirigya recorded some of the views. Below are excerpts:
National Unity Platform (NUP) deputy spokesperson Waiswa Mufumbiro said the findings capture exactly what they have been telling the nation all along; that distribution of resources in Uganda benefits one region.
He called upon Ugandans to stand up against tribalism, nepotism and favouritism.
“It’s now good that the EOC, which is under the whims of the [President Museveni] administration, has brought this out, and this speaks openly to why there is economic imbalance in other areas [outside] western Uganda,” he said, adding that Ugandans should also not be shy to ask why western Uganda takes the lion’s share of national resources.
National Unity Platform (NUP) deputy spokesperson Waiswa Mufumbiro
Mr Henry Muguzi, executive director at the Alliance for Finance Monitoring, however, took a more nuanced view, saying he looks at all people in Uganda as Ugandans, and that as long as a Ugandan public servant can deliver what is expected of him or her there is no problem.
“The problem we have today is that most of those people who are in top positions have specialised in the business of looting and thieving endlessly and that’s my problem, not where they come from,” he said
“After 39 years, we do not have paved roads in [most] suburbs of Kampala [capital city]; that we are in a situation where institutions are not working,” he added.
Mr Ofwono Opondo, executive director of the government’s Media Centre, acknowledged the findings, but quickly pointed out the three arms of government; the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature are headed by people from the west, north and east, respectively.
“At a technical level what is important is the technical and professional qualification. You do not expect anyone to be in a top position like permanent secretary when he or she has not been in civil service,” he said
Mr Opondo said what is important at the end of the day is for people to deliver services equitably to Ugandans irrespective of where they come from.
Mr Ofwono Opondo, executive director of the government’s Media Centre
Interim president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)-Katonga and Kampala lord mayor Erias Lukwago, observed that the obvious regional imbalance is to be expected if you have a regime like the NRM, which has been in power for close to 40 years, in a country where you have 65 tribes.
“The unfortunate bit is that people who practice sectarianism are quick to accuse those who complain against it. What I am saying to you may attract [vilification] from those who practice sectarianism which is really very unfortunate,” he said, indicating too that Ugandans must have a serious conversation about the sharing of national resources.
He said equitable and fair sharing of the national cake is a serious matter which leaves the country sitting on a time bomb, he said.
Mr Lukwago lamented that even those institutions which are charged with the responsibility of addressing social inequalities have been weakened and can hardly cause change.
“Under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution, discrimination of whatever nature is prohibited, though it can be positive discrimination like affirmative action, but the general principle is that it is very dangerous for the country because it causes animosity,” he said.
Ms Sarah Bireete, executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance, denounced what she described as “the highest betrayal from agencies like the EOC whose mandate is to ensure that there is regional distribution of opportunities as laid out in the National Objective and Directive Principles of State Policy in our Constitution”.
“The preamble of the Constitution in the directives and objectives of state policy are our values and aspirations as a country. Every state agency is mandated to implement them,” she said.
She observed that the EOC has the responsibility to ensure that such imbalances, which drive poverty, do not exist in the recruitment for top public sector jobs.
Mr Bireete said now that these jobs are dominated by people from the west, it is easy to see why the poverty map shows increasing deprivation in northern and eastern Uganda, including disproportionate income inequality.
Ms Sarah Bireete, executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance
Mr Fred Ebil, secretary general of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), was just as unimpressed, taking the view that the picture is even more grim, and that the EOC may have fiddled the numbers to underplay the unfairness since it was constituted by the present government.
“I don’t agree with that report and I think it is not fair. When we look at it critically there are gaps which need to be filled because most of the commission heads are politicians,” he said while calling for independent research to establish the full facts.
At the Democratic Party, acting spokesperson Ismail Kirya said much of the anger many Ugandans hold against this government is because of regional imbalance in top positions, and because people know that every position comes with resources and authority.
The more we continue getting top opportunities going mainly to one region, the more we create division within Ugandans, he said.
“The moment you have less representatives in government it actually means that region will have less power, service delivery and resources because the bigger portion will be taken by the biggest percentage.
We urge the government to make sure that at least every region has a representative in all top government positions,” he said.
