No money to pay for job losses as govt merges agencies

The Public Service Ministry requires more than Shs79 billion to pay off over thousands of government employees affected by the planned merging of several public agencies.

The ministry has, however, indicated that this is one of the unfunded priorities it has listed for action this financial year.

According to the House Committee on Public Service and Local Government, the government needs the funds to compensate 2,170 workers whose jobs will be abolished as a result of the rationalisation of public agencies.

“A total of 2,170 staff jobs are going to be abolished as a result of the rationalisation of public agencies and public expenditures. They are going to phase out 50 positions of directors and 52 positions of commissioners and this is resulting from a cabinet directive,” Mr Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the committee chairperson said.

Mr Mapenduzi criticised the ministry of public service for putting this under unfunded priorities yet paying off persons whose jobs are due for abolishment needs urgent attention.

“You are not going to lay off people and you don’t have money to compensate them. These are people who have served and so if they’re going to be laid off they must be paid their gratuity, they must be paid their severance packages, they must be paid their pension,” Mr Mapenduzi emphasized yesterday.

Mr Mapenduzi said the billions budgeted for will cover gratuity, pension and severance packages.

On February 22, 2021, Cabinet resolved to merge, mainstream and rationalise government agencies including, Commissions, Authorities and Public Enterprises so as to enable what it said is efficient and effective service delivery.

Cabinet approved an implementation roadmap for the process in a phased manner to be spread over a period of two financial years from 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.

In a telephone interview with the Daily Monitor about the planned mergers, Ms Catherine Bitarakwate, permanent secretary, ministry of Public Service, said, “Let government make another decision we shall get back to you and give you more information”.

The process had started with the abolition of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), whose function and budget reverted to the Ministry of Energy.

But some of the affected agencies petitioned MPs on grounds that there was no clear justification for the rationalisation exercise, and that it was likely to have a negative impact on service delivery and the economy.

This prompted Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among to constitute an ad hoc committee to inquire into the merger process on September 2, 2021, to examine the rationale for the mainstreaming and merging of government agencies, and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the proposal.

In its findings, the ad hoc committee agreed with the government to retain some institutions like the Bank of Uganda, Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda Development Bank, Financial Intelligence Authority, Housing Finance Bank, Development Finance Company of Uganda, and National Social Security Fund, among others, as semi-autonomous due to their vital role.

The Ministry of Public Service had recommended to Cabinet that 80 of the 157 public agencies be retained as semi-autonomous bodies; 33 agencies to have their mandate and functions reverted to line ministries, and 35 be consolidated or merged into 19 entities.

The ministry indicated that the proposed rationalization would yield an annual saving of Shs 998.12 billion for the government.