KCCA on the spot over failed recruitment exercise

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Parliament on the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) are angry with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) leaders over returning Shs13 billion meant for recruitment of health workers to the Consolidated Fund.

Committee Chairperson, Joel Ssenyonyi said there is a shortage of health workers in the city and it is a shame KCCA returned money meant to recruit personnel.

“Many of the KCCA health facilities do not have enough health workers, same thing with schools, but Shs13.5 billion…why?” he said.

Kyandondo East Member of Parliament, Muwada Nkunyingi also faulted the KCCA technical team led by the Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka.

“When you fail to prioritise on health workers and teachers…they give you money and you take it back…it points at some inadequacy; we look at money in KCCA and it is taken back because you fail to recruit? Who is not doing what?” he said.

KCCA’s Director Administration and Human Resource, Grace Akullo said the recruitment was shelved after the abrupt increment of the health workers’ salaries which were not in tandem with the Shs13.5billion provided.

“We made submissions for recruitment of health workers; we were not able to continue with the recruitment of the health workers because of the increase in the salary; we wrote to the Ministry of Public Service for increment on our wage Bill, but they haven’t responded,” she said.

The technical team was faulted for operating without a work plan, a matter the Auditor General was uncomfortable with.

KCCA’s Director Treasury, Donny Muganzi Kitabire blamed Covid-19 for the lack of a proper work plan to guide budget executions in the Financial Year 2021/22, but was quickly contradicted by another official, who claimed that the Auditor General was, in fact, furnished with the authority’s work plan.

It is Executive Director Kisaka who said the absence of a work plan is attributable to programme based budgeting, but Dan Atwijukire Kimosho, Kazo County MP had seen through the reading from different scripts by officials, calling them to order.

“We have liars appearing before this Committeeacting as witnesses.This man asserted that everything was provided; the auditor gave the excuse of Covid-19 and now the Executive Director is saying they have a weak [work plan] system,” he said, calling for the recanting of their submission.

KCCA is under scrutiny by COSASE following a multiplicity of queries by the Auditor General.