People from Western Uganda have continued to dominate top government jobs as Managing Director (MDs), Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Executive Directors of agencies, a report by Safia Nalule’s Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has indicated.
EOC’s 10th annual report on the state of equal opportunities in Uganda, for the FY2022-2023 has its basis on data from 30 sampled government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The report indicates a regional imbalance in access to public service sector jobs. Overall, Western and Central Uganda have more people with government jobs at 36 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
In terms of top management positions in the 30 MDAs, Western Uganda dominates with 40 per cent, followed by Central at 26 per cent, Eastern at 21 per cent and Northern at 12 per cent. In all the sampled institutions, the EOC was shocked to learn that the Sebei sub-region is not represented in the top management positions.
The regional distribution by CEOs indicated that up to 47 per cent of CEOs in government agencies are from Western Uganda. In the second position is Northern Uganda with 20 per cent. Central Uganda is in number three with 18 per cent of all government CEO jobs. Eastern Uganda occupies 15 per cent of all government CEO jobs.
Now, the EOC has called on the government to ensure that it puts in place a policy to streamline recruitment to top and other key government positions with the view of factoring regional balance, population per region and academic qualifications in hiring officials.
Although the Nalule Commission blamed these disparities on factors such as larger population of educated individuals, proximity to information, access to national data, and availability of resources in some regions, the report reignites the debate on tribalism and nepotism in the country.
Last year, Ugandans were left in shock after Museveni promoted and appointed people from one region to powerful commander positions in the UPDF. (Read StorIES Here and There).
Museveni has previously warned against dragging his army in tribal issues. He also claimed that he is comfortable without Banyankore around him. (See Details Here and There).
