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Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kitgum Municipal Council is battling space constraints for both the political leadership and technical departments. The Mayor Richard Ojara Okwera, says that the growing number of staff following recent recruitment that absorbed over 50 technical officers has overstretched the limited office space.
According to Ojara, the majority of the newly recruited staff and some old staff have now been forced to share office space, which is adversely affecting efficient service delivery and normally needs urgent attention. Some of the affected include the education department that currently hosts the principal municipal education officer, the municipal education officer, the municipal inspector of schools, and the municipal sports officer.
Others are the health department which hosts the health inspector and the municipal environment officer, while the community based department is shared by the senior community development officer and community development officer among others. According to Ojara, the political wing is equally affected. Currently, th speaker, deputy speaker, clerk to the council, the secretary for works and technical services, secretary for health and education, and the secretary for production and marketing lack office space.
The Kitgum Municipal Council headquarters building was designed to accommodate fifteen technical officers but now serves over 60 technocrats while its council hall was designated to host at least 15 councilors. One of the newly recruited staff who spoke to URN on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said they have been forced to share office space while some prefer to operate within the compounds, which is not only inconveniencing but also compromises privacy.
The source says their right to work should be respected and the office of the town clerk should devise ways of allocating them convenient and adequate workplaces by renting space outside the municipal headquarters. Kitgum Municipal Speaker, Isaac Ocan says that besides the limited office space for both technocrats and political leaders, the council hall has also become too small to accommodate the increased number of councilors and the public during council sessions.
According to Ocan, the number of council members rose from 16 to 27 councilors who always fill up the council hall during meetings, which deprives some invited dignitaries, staff, ex-officials, and members of the public from attending sessions.
Ocan says the council has made recommendations for allocating funding and lobbying for the establishment of a spacious council hall and additional office spaces although the plan is being bogged down due to a lack of financial resources.
The Kitgum Municipal Town Clerk, Ayub Alikwani Kisuubi says that his office is cognizant of the challenges. He explains that their interventions to address the acute space shortage are being frustrated by the limited funding gaps.
Kisubi says that the engineering and physical planning department have both recommended the temporary partitioning of some offices and modifying the defunct municipal toilets to create more office space for staff.
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