Adolf Mwesige, director of clerks clash over breach of protocol
The main entrance to Parliament. PHOTO | FILE
The Clerk to Parliament, Mr Adolf Mwesige, has ‘strongly’ cautioned and ordered the Director Department of Clerks, Mr Emmanuel Bakwega, to apologise for directly communicating to the speaker in contravention of the public service communication policy and the code of conduct and ethics for public officers.
The standoff follows an October 14 letter written by Mr Bakwega to the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oulanyah, proposing his name (Bakwega) and that of Ms Ranny Ismael, the Assistant Director in the Office of Government Chief Whip be nominated to the Secretariat of Organization of Islamic Corporation.
The Secretariat of Organization of Islamic Corporation is a global entity composed of 57 states to which Uganda has been a member since 1974. The organization is meant to, among others, ensure that the interests of the people in the Muslim world are taken care of.
Mr Mwesige’s caution is contained in a letter dated October 19, 2021, where he accused Mr Bakwega of putting himself in a position of interest.
“May I also remind you that the leadership of the various delegations was agreed to by both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament and their secretariats were already constituted by my office. By proposing your own name to his secretariat, you are putting yourself in a position of interest,” Mr Mwesige’s letter reads in part.
He adds that: “This letter therefore serves to direct you to withdraw your internal memo to the Speaker of Parliament on this subject in writing and apologize for breach of the communication policy.”
By making such an independent nomination minus the authority of Mr Mwesige, Mr Bakwega went against the protocol of communication. This is because he answers to the Clerk to Parliament and hence the recognised chain of command as provided in The Code of Conduct and Ethics For Uganda Public Service.
“In the execution of official government business, a public officer shall not put himself or herself in a position where his or her personal interest conflicts with his or her duties and responsibilities as a public officer. The Public Officer is required to inform his or her supervisor of the nature and extent of his or her interest,” page 9 of the Code of Conduct states in part.
It further states on page 12 that: “A public officer aggrieved by the decisions or actions of his or her immediate supervisor shall follow the established disputes and settlement procedure in seeking redress.”
In the same letter, Mr Mwesige ordered Mr Bakwega to immediately hand over committee budget to his deputy, in charge of Corporate Affairs, Mr Henry Waiswa.
“It has also been decided that you will with immediate effect, hand over the management of the programme budget and committee budget to Mr Waiswa Henry Yoweri, the Deputy Clerk-Corporate Affairs under whom the Administrative related matters are supervised,” Mr Mwesige directed.
