Ministry of Lands Human Resource Officials in Trouble, Accused of Corruption, Bribery and Sham Recruitment of Staff.

By Abraham Lincolns

A section of senior government officials from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development particularly in the department of Human Resources are on spotlight on allegations of corruption and unfairness in the recruitment of new staff.

According to a secretive letter addressed to the minister in charge Public Service Commission, Hon. Wilson Muruli Mukasa by concerned staff members from the lands

Ministry, assert that the Human Resource Department is blamed for a number of reasons that require thorough investigations to cub down the vice.

“Transfer of staff has marred across the ministry zonal offices lacking transparency and fairness where recruitment is based on personal connections, favouritism and bribery.

 Some officers have also served in one Ministry Zonal Office for over five years while others are being transferred for over three times in one year to different Ministry Zonal Offices”, the letter read in parts.

It has also been revealed that several Ministry staff who are qualified and experienced have been sidelined and dropped but instead considered staff from districts (local governments) who paid highly for the jobs to execute work at Zonal Offices in various positions.

“Most of the district staff are not from the districts that serve the Ministry Zonal offices where they are deployed. They are deployed there because of their personal connections with Human resource and bribery. Some of the deployed district staff are at a scale that is way above the positions they hold at the

Ministry Zonal Offices”, the letter asserted.

The letter informs the minister that the head of Human Resource at the ministry in question adamantly feels she has the authority to transfer or deploy staff in an ethical manner without consulting the heads of departments since she has served in the same office for the last four years.

Delayed management of staff grievances, unequal access to training and capacity building, poor communication and limited staff engagement are some of the challenges that have resulted to Low morale, resentment and compromised ethical standards across departments leading to poor service delivery, public erosion of trust in the Ministry’s credibility thus widening a gap between management and staff, affecting teamwork and institutional unity.

For a government that has loudly trumpeted its war on corruption, this case strikes

at the very credibility of the department and the confidence of both staff and Ugandans as a whole.