Butaleja District Council Suspends District Service Commission Over Corruption Allegations.
By Ambrose Wanagoli.
The Butaleja District Council on Thursday resolved to suspend the activities of the District Service Commission pending investigations into alleged irregularities surrounding its operations.
The resolution was passed during an emergency council meeting chaired by District Speaker Hon. Bashir Mugoya in the district health boardroom.
The motion was tabled by the District Vice Chairperson and Leader of Government Business, Mr. Damba Augustus, who accused the commission, chaired by Mr. Phillip Kalyebi, of repeatedly allowing unauthorized individuals access to its activities, raising concerns about possible interference in the recruitment process.
According to Damba, councillors suspect that some of the individuals who gained access to the commission may have influenced the shortlisting process by smuggling names onto recruitment lists.
Speaking during the meeting, Butaleja District Chairperson (LCV) Elvis Were said he had been advised by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Mr. Mike Yoga, to halt the commission’s activities to allow investigations into allegations of compromised confidentiality and possible corruption.
Were said the matter should be thoroughly investigated by the Uganda Police Force and the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), a process that would require official council resolutions and minutes.
“The signs of irregularity and possible corruption can not be ignored. We need a thorough investigation to establish the truth and restore public confidence in the recruitment process,” Were said.
The district chairperson also expressed concern that the current commission is understaffed and may not be able to complete the ongoing recruitment exercise before the June 30 deadline.
“The time available for this recruitment exercise is limited. There are more than 100 nursing positions to be filled, yet the technical officers required to conduct the interviews have not been recruited.
The Service Commission is not fully constituted. We must act now to put things right in Butaleja,” Were said.
He further revealed that the district risks returning approximately Shs1.8 billion allocated for the recruitment exercise to the national treasury due to delays. However, he pledged to work closely with the CAO to seek a re-vote of the funds once the issues are resolved.
Were reiterated his administration’s commitment to fighting corruption, saying he would not tolerate any form of malpractice under his leadership.
“The people of Butaleja entrusted me with leadership because they believed in my commitment to serve them. I will not tolerate corruption in this administration,” he said.
Last week, the Butaleja District Executive Committee also halted the recruitment exercise over concerns that the commission had failed to maintain the required level of confidentiality, allegedly allowing unrestricted access to individuals not involved in the process.
Investigations into the matter are expected to commence as authorities seek to establish whether recruitment procedures were compromised.
