MPs vote to probe KCCA jobs

Accountability. Ms Musisi appears before KCCA’s public accounts committee last week. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA 

In Summary

• Last week, Ms Musisi defended the recruitment of temporary staff, arguing that she was being let down by government, which has failed to secure funds for the recruitment.

By AMOS NGWOMOYA

Kampala. The controversy surrounding the recruitment of staff at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has caught the attention of legislators on the Presidential Affairs Committee, who now want the whole exercise probed.

Their demand comes hot on the heels of last week’s revelation by KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi that out of the 1,133 current staff in the institution, only 391 are permanent.
Ms Musisi made the revelation last Monday while appearing before KCCA’s Public Accounts Committee.

However, MPs argue that the city authority has no mandate to recruit staff on contract and that the entire recruitment exercise at the institution is suspicious.

Ms Susan Amero, the deputy chairperson of the Presidential Affairs Committee, said the controversial recruitment for KCCA jobs must be investigated as soon as possible to ensure transparency.

“There has always been rumours that jobs at KCCA are given on technical know-who, where, for one to get a job, they must be related to the top management. For instance, there is one time when the matter was brought to our committee that the physical planning director who had passed the interviews, was not given the job,” Ms Amero, who is also the Amuria Woman MP, said by telephone.

She added that it is a serious matter which both the Presidential Affairs and the contracts committees must urgently look into to streamline the institution’s human resource.

Mr Micheal Kabaziguruka, the Nakawa Division MP, also a member of the Presidential Affairs Committee, told Daily Monitor that he will interest the committee members to probe the fight over jobs at KCCA.

“I will put it on the agenda when I return from my sick leave this month. We must investigate the manner in which these jobs are given on temporary terms because different people have raised queries before,” said Mr Kabaziguruka, who is also the shadow minister for Kampala.

He said it is irrelevant to pump money in city projects yet there is no permanent staff at KCCA to implement them.

Background
Defence. Last week, Ms Musisi defended the recruitment of temporary staff, arguing that she was being let down by government, which has failed to secure funds for the recruitment.

angwomoya@ug.nationmedia.com