WATCH: Stop nepotism in public service, says Nakyobe
What you need to know:
- Ms Nakyobe said there has always been queries on the recruitment processes by district service commissions as the same is overshadowed by corruption, which she said undermines the principles of transparency, competence, and fairness.
The head of Public Service Commission and Secretary to Cabinet, Ms Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye, has warned district service commission chairpersons against recruiting their family members and friends into public service at the expense of other competent job seekers.
Ms Nakyobe said there has always been queries on the recruitment processes by district service commissions as the same is overshadowed by corruption, which she said undermines the principles of transparency, competence, and fairness.
“In this dark shadow, you find jobs being awarded based on political patronage, tribal affiliation, nepotism, money, and sexual favours rather than qualifications,” Ms Nakyobe said yesterday in Kampala ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Day slated for Saturday.
Ms Nakyobe also said the irregular recruitment has damaging effects on the image of the public service, perpetuating professional misconduct, inefficiency and ineffectiveness in service provision, misallocation and misappropriation of resources by the incompetent recruits.
“The service commission should establish and strictly adhere to merit-based recruitment criteria in ensuring that candidates are evaluated based on their skills, qualifications, and ability to perform the required tasks,” she said, reminding the district service commission bosses that serving in the public service is a calling, there by advising all those who are not ready to adhere to the task to join the private sector.
Speaking at the same event, the Inspector General of Government, Ms Beti Kamya, scolded civil servants whom she said have turned into bad apples and soiled the public service.
The ombudsman said of 380,000 officials employed by the government, 10 percent have access to decision making processes such as the authority to recruit people into public service.
“The whole country is suffering under the weight of 40,000 bad public officers. They are the ones making the whole country suffer from poor service delivery,” Ms Kamya said.
To that effect, she made a clarion call to the public to unite and fight against the 40,000 public officers whom she called bad apples in public service.
