‘Saleh proposal on ministries will fail’

According to the dossier, government interventions in the agricultural sector are scattered across 8 Directorates, 20 departments and 37 projects across 5 ministries, at a total annual cost of Shs1.2 trillion.

Duplication had also affected skills development, the paper revealed.

Government, it noted, spent a total of Shs461 billion on skills development in 2016/17. This was duplicated by the Education Ministry (Shs216.3Bn), Gender (Shs.178.3Bn), and Local Government (Shs.66.3Bn).

The dossier also revealed that core implementation of public sector business across government is being undertaken through projects. In 2016/17, the projects totaled 209 and were worth Shs4.9 trillion.

The dossier revealed that a huge portion of this money was being spent on non-cores.

“Government spent UGX 380.7 billion in FY 2016/17 on consultancies, the dossier noted, “Public servants are using this channel as a coping strategy to top up incomes. The work they are supposed to do within the Ministries is channeled to the consultancies.”

The report added that public servants also use consultancies as a sanctuary to conceal their poor requisite skills for the work they were employed to perform.

“In the ‘old’ system, policy and implementation were both performed by Departments and Desks within the Ministries, under close executive supervision,” the dossier noted, “The current system shifted regulatory and public service delivery functions to agencies. Mainstream government was restricted to the less visible role of policy making.”

Museveni approves

In spite of the reservations surrounding the recommendations, The Independent has learnt that the Saleh team and its backers are clandestinely lobbying for laws to implement it. The move has sparked panic within government circles, especially in the so-called “wet” ministries, departments, and agencies that have some of the biggest budgets and opportunities for wasteful expenditures.

The proposals have already been tabled before President Museveni who is said to be in full support. They have also been discussed by cabinet and related laws are expected to be tabled in parliament to enable enactment of the reforms.

Saleh assembled a team that studied government and proposed the reforms. Those close to him say the study was inspired by in-fighting amongst government bodies and a general sense of frustration about poor government service delivery.

This had been a subject of intense debate within the ruling party including in cabinet meetings and caucus meetings at the Kyankwanzi-based National Leadership Institute even before the 2016 elections.

In all earnest, the president’s brother started working on these reforms after the 2016 elections. Saleh had helped form the new government as several would be appointees and then serving ministers met and were interviewed and vetted by him in anticipation for appointment or reappointment.

Individuals like Brig. Henry Tumukunde, who became Security Minister, and Col. Kaka Bagyenda, an old contact of Saleh, who turned up as the new Director General of the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) are reported to be among those who worked with Gen. Saleh on the public service reforms. The Gen. Saleh memo was finalized in a November memo that became public in December through an Internal Security Organisation (ISO) agent assigned specifically to publicise it.

It is said that Saleh had for long been reviewing government performance, especially from the time Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda was appointed to replace Amama Mbabazi. At the time, many insiders felt that Rugunda who is not known to be a workhorse, is 70-years old, and a known lover of calm diplomatic life, would have difficulty getting his hands dirty with implementing government projects or sifting for corruption in the murky corridors of government.

Some attributed this to Rugunda’s calm demeanor. Others said that over the years, Mbabazi had accumulated a lot of powers that his word and directives carried as much weight as Museveni’s. For instance, in cabinet meetings, it was not unusual for Mbabazi to rebuke ministers who were not doing their job.

With Mbabazi out, Saleh became a de facto fallback counterweight for Prime Minister Rugunda’s perceived weak points. Smart ministers and head of government departments know that they occasionally have to seek Gen. Saleh’s approval. In turn, Gen. Saleh knows that he must seek President Museveni’s approval to implement certain programs since he does not have the proper legal mandate to act on his own.

In any case, Saleh knows that Museveni is a micromanager who does not like any activity – good or bad – to be under taken without his express approval and involvement. For Museveni, however, implementing the reform in government entities to remove duplicates, wasteful spending, and the bloated and highly irrationalised wage bill, is a political hot button. Museveni will either not touch it or decide personally which ministries, departments, agencies, and individuals to touch.