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Resignations, merger blues cause perfect storm at Unra
A section of the Kumi and Mbale Road. The 2023 Auditor General’s report indicates that Unra paid Shs100m in damages to a contractor and consultant for this project. The report says this was in part due to inefficiencies precipitated by shortages of staff at Unra. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- 2,200 people are set to be laid off when government merges its agencies, commissions and authorities.
- Government approved Shs79.3b as payment to the affected employees in gratuity and severance packages.
With the uncertainty surrounding the proposed merger of government agencies, commissions and authorities; resignations and the lapsing of contracts of some of the staff have combined to create a perfect storm at the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra).
According to the Auditor General’s (AG) report for the period ending June 2023, some of the approved positions at the authority remained unfilled.
“Out of 1,480 approved positions, a total of 1,443 positions were filled, leaving a gap of 37 positions,” the report reads.
The AG pointed out that the executive director of the authority, Ms Allen Kagina, had told auditors that the positions had not been filled in part due to the back and forth movements that have surrounded the proposed merger of government agencies and departments.
The proposed merger was part of a mega reorganisation plan aimed at, among others, realigning functions of agencies and prevention of duplication of roles and wastage of public funds.
The decision was precipitated by two 2017 reports on wasteful expenditure in the government compiled by, on the one hand, President Museveni’s younger brother, Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, alias Gen Salim Saleh, and, on the other hand, the Internal Security Organisation (ISO).
Impact
The reports recommended the merger or abolition of some of the government agencies.
Ms Allen Kakama, the commissioner of Management Services at the Public Service ministry, told Saturday Monitor in a previous interview that 2,200 people are set to be laid off when the government finally implements the cabinet’s September 10, 2018 decision to proceed with the exercise.
The government approved payment of at least Shs79.3 billion in gratuity and severance packages to the 2,200 affected persons in an exercise that is expected to save it Shs956 billion.
Unra has been lined up to be collapsed under the planned merger of government agencies. If what President Museveni told the Board of Directors and management of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) in August 2021, is anything to go by, the government is set to replace it with a government-owned road construction company.
Mr Allan Ssempebwa Kyobe, the spokesperson of the Authority, told Monitor that the agency had not carried out any recruitments in years.
“As the AG pointed, we have not been recruiting and we shall not be doing so as advised by the Ministry of Public Service,” he said.
Ms Kakama told Monitor in a previous interview that agencies that have been lined up for rationalisation of government agencies or Rapex have for some time now been under instructions not to employ any people on contracts that go beyond June 2024.
Resignations
However, sources within the agency have since told Monitor that the situation has not been helped by resignations.
“Like any other open society, people come and for many reasons, go. I recall, yes, we did lose some people to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also, we have had people leave for other reasons— some for greener pastures and others for further career development or for some other reasons,” Mr Ssempebwa said.
The situation, sources further noted, has led to overloading the remaining staff, which is resulting in cases of inefficiency. This is proving to be costly to the authority and the taxpayer.
The AG, for example, reports that a review of the authority’s financial statements had found that there was Shs588.7 billion in outstanding payments to contractors, which was “an indication of poor budgeting” and opened up the Authority to the risk of litigation and payment of penalties for delayed payments.
Whereas Monitor could not establish which departments had been affected by staff shortages, sources within Unra revealed that issues around delayed payments are largely due to shortages of staff.
The AG also pointed out in the same report that Unra paid out Shs11.9 billion in penalties for delayed issuance of Interim Payment Certificates.
Another Shs27 billion was shelled out for wrongful termination of contracts, plus Shs100 million in damages to a contractor and consultant for the Tirinyi-Pallisa-Kumi/Pallisa-Kamonkoli Road Project. This was in part due to inefficiencies precipitated by shortages of staff.
Unra was also found to be owing Shs7.4 billion in outstanding land compensation to project-affected persons. This is reported to have also been caused by staff shortages and inadequate budget provisions for settlement of domestic arrears.
Lapsed contracts
Mr Ssempebwa also revealed that some of positions at the authority have fallen vacant following either the contracts of the office bearers running their course or upon the occupants’ attainment of retirement age.
“We have also had cases of retirement. There are people who have reached their retirement age and proceeded to go on retirement or those who have left because their contracts have come to an end. That includes low cadre staff,” Mr Ssempebwa said.
Some of those who retired include the Director of Corporate Services, Ms Edna Rugumayo, and the Director of Human Resources, Ms Jennifer Kaggwa.
