Staff recruitment ban takes toll on services in districts

At the beginning of the 2023/24 financial year, the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development issued a circular announcing the suspension of staff recruitment for the fiscal year.

This decision aimed to facilitate a comprehensive audit of the public sector payroll to accurately determine the actual number of employees.

Throughout the last fiscal year, most districts adhered to the recruitment ban, with exceptions granted only to districts needing to replace staff due to retirement or death.

Consequently, many districts have been operating with minimal staff, and lacking critical department heads, which has severely hampered service delivery.

Mr Richard Rwabuhinga, the president of the Uganda Local Governments Association (ULGA), said together with other leaders, they have been actively advocating for the lifting of the recruitment ban and concerns over the government's practice of reclaiming unspent funds from local governments at the end of the financial year.

Mr Rwabuhinga stated that the recruitment ban is expected to be lifted soon after all district accounting officers (CAOs) have conducted wage analyses.

"The purpose of the wage analysis is to ensure that each district has adequate funds to recruit staff, the recruitment ban has severely impacted us as a district; we lack several critical department heads," he said.

Mr Rwabuhinda said in Kabarole District, the health department is in urgent need of staff due to the ongoing upgrades of several health facilities under the Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) programme, including the elevation of Rutete Health Centre III to a health centre IV and the construction of the new Kiko Health Centre III.

In Nakasongola District, there is still a struggle with understaffing in key departments due to the failure to recruit new civil servants over the past two years. The issue was exacerbated by the lack of a substantive District Service Commission (DSC) for nearly two years.

The Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Aggrey Muramira, stated that efforts are underway to address staffing shortages in critical sectors.
"We faced challenges due to the absence of the DSC, but this problem will soon be resolved as the district recently established a DSC to help tackle the issue," he explained.

In Kalangala, the most affected sectors are education and health, according to District Chairperson Rajab Semakula. "Under the new  structure, every health centre III is required to have a pharmacist, while at health centre IV, the number of mothers delivering overwhelms the midwives due to staff shortages. In the education sector, schools are lacking deputy head teachers, who are essential for managing day-to-day activities," he noted.

In Buyende, Mr Michael Kanaku, the district chairperson, reported that all health centre IIs upgraded to health centre IIIs are currently managed by only two nurses despite requiring 15 health workers.

"The situation here is not good. Even health centre IVs have been operating without medical doctors. We are only allowed to recruit as replacements for staff who have retired or passed away, and this has negatively impacted service delivery," he said.

In Namayingo, Mr Ronald Sanya, the district chairperson, said they are operating without five key heads of departments; District Engineer, Education Officer, Planner, Secretary for the District Service Commission, and Principal Auditor.

“This gap was created due to some staff retiring. We have tried to advertise for some positions, such as the district engineer, three times, but it has not attracted applicants. We are currently preparing the acting engineer, who lacks the necessary documents but has
shown interest,” he explained.

According to the 2024/2025 recruitment plan, Kyotera District has more than 200 vacancies across different departments, with health and education being the most affected. 

Mr Lawrence Ssempijja, the chairperson of the Education, Health, and Social Services Committee, revealed that many schools are suffering from staff shortages, which is impacting the education sector in the area.

"Our offices are flooded with requests from head teachers to address staffing gaps in their schools, but we can’t do anything due to the ongoing recruitment ban, we don't understand the reasoning behind this ban because it's our people who are suffering the consequences," he said.

In Bugweri, the district chairperson, Mr Shafiq Muziransa, stated that they need 13 heads of departments, but only three have been recruited. The same staffing issues persist in the health and education departments.

In Mayunge District, the recruitment ban, particularly for teachers, has resulted in a pupil-teacher ratio of 1:120, instead of the recommended 1:55, according to Mr Peter Tasibula Nkwanga, the district vice chairperson.

In Lwengo, the district chairperson, Mr Ibrahim Kitatta, mentioned that some staff have retired while others have gone abroad seeking better opportunities, leaving the district short-staffed and unable to fill vacant positions due to the ban.

"Many of our primary schools, which are supposed to have at least 11 qualified teachers on the government payroll, have fewer than five teachers. The situation is similar in health centre IIIs, which should have 18 health practitioners, but no health centre in my district has that number of staff," he explained.

In Nebbi, the Acting District Health Officer, Dr Justin Okwairwoth, stated that with the revision of the health staffing structures, the approved positions are 920, but only 339 staff members have been recruited, representing 36.8 percent of the available health wage grants, excluding staff under non-profit facilities.

The situation is similar in Yumbe, where Mr Robert Angoliga, the Unatu chairperson for the district, said the recruitment ban has severely impacted the education sector, particularly in primary schools.

In Bugweri, the district chairperson, Mr Shafiq Muziransa, noted that most of their staff are not substantive, affecting service delivery.

"Since our district is new, we got workers from the mother district, Iganga. These workers took up positions for which they were not qualified. I have approached the responsible ministry, but it has not responded positively," he said.

In Mayuge, the district vice chairperson, Mr Peter Tasibula Nkwanga, stated that they are unable to provide optimal services to the public due to inadequate staffing and underfunding.

"The teacher-pupil ratio is supposed to be 1:55, but it is currently 1:120. Health centre IIIs are supposed to have nine health workers, but most only have about two or three. We would like to recruit but there is a ban, and the wages are also insufficient," Mr Nkwanga added.

Mr Elly Piwang, the chief administrative officer for Soroti District, said they have not received any funds to facilitate the recruitment of the much-needed staff. "The worst part is that most staff members are just in acting positions, which, in one way or another, affects performance in the district," he explained.

In Buhweju District, the chairperson, Mr Deo Atuhaire, said the district has recruitment funds, but the money will remain unutilised due to the ban. Currently, the staffing level in the health department is at 29 percent.

In Rubirizi District, the Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Edward Kasagara, stated: "We have made arrangements to meet with the Ministry of Public Service next week to harmonise the wage bill. We will request the ministry to allow us to recruit in situations where we have balances on our wage bill."

Compiled by Alex Ashaba, Ismail Bategeka, Moureen Biira, Longino Muhindo, Philip Wafula, Tausi Nakato, Abubaker Kirunda & Ronald Seebe. Simon Peter Emwamu, Cosline Nakahiira, Jovita Kyarisiima, Rajab Mukombozi, Felix Ainebyoona, Felix Warom Okello, Scovin Iceta, Robert Elema, Patrick Okaba and Clement Aluma, Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa