Speaker Anita Among Calls for Job Placement for Govt Staff Affected by Rationalisation of Agencies

In response, the PSC Chairperson presented the commission's annual report for the Financial Year 2023/2024 and requested a budget increase to better address its growing operational needs.

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has urged the Public Service Commission (PSC) to ensure that government staff affected by the ongoing rationalisation of agencies are properly compensated or reabsorbed into the public service. During a meeting with PSC officials led by Chairperson Agnes Kabogoza-Musoke, Among emphasized the economic and social impact of leaving affected employees jobless without compensation, stating that their livelihoods and those of their dependents could be at risk.

“People who are going to lose their jobs due to rationalisation should be handled properly to avoid any chaos in the economy. We want you to ensure that the persons being rationalised are absorbed; they should not be left out without being absorbed or compensated,” Speaker Among said.

This appeal comes as the government continues its rationalisation process, which involves merging or disbanding several government agencies and redistributing their functions to corresponding ministries. This restructuring has led to the loss of hundreds of jobs, a situation Speaker Among hopes to mitigate by ensuring staff are either reemployed within the government or provided with adequate compensation packages.

Present at the meeting were Government Chief Whip Hon. Denis Hamson Obua, Commissioner of Parliament Hon. Solomon Silwany, and Clerk to Parliament Adolf Mwesige Kasaija, all of whom expressed support for the Speaker’s stance.

In response, the PSC Chairperson presented the commission's annual report for the Financial Year 2023/2024 and requested a budget increase to better address its growing operational needs. Kabogoza-Musoke proposed that the PSC's budget be raised from the current UGX 12.1 billion to at least UGX 21.8 billion by the 2025/26 financial year. She argued that the additional funds would allow the commission to expand its supervisory capabilities, roll out competence-based recruitment, review government job descriptions, and verify the academic qualifications of all applicants.

Kabogoza-Musoke also reported on the commission's recent progress, noting that in the 2023/2024 financial year, the PSC had handled 1,730 cases, including appointments, promotions, and disciplinary matters. This represented a decrease compared to the previous financial year, which saw 4,134 cases, largely due to the COVID-19 backlog that had accumulated in earlier years.

Speaker Among also urged the PSC to publicly advertise all government job vacancies to ensure competitive recruitment, giving Ugandans across the country the opportunity to apply and be considered for open positions.