Newly appointed assistant RDCs are in panic, with some worried if they will take up the new jobs that the presidency headed by minister for presidency, Milly Babirye Babalanda, bestowed to them recently.
As The Pearl Times has previously reported, the presidency appointed up to 357 assistant RDCs – (assistant Resident District Commissioners) – and assistant RCCs (Assistant Resident City Commissioners).
These, again as this publication noted in its first report on the controversial appointments, will not only be an extra burden to tax payers struggling to survive in an ailing economy offered by a government accused of corruption and huge expenditure on public administration.
The other complaint is on the recruitment process of the assistant RDCs. (Again in the first report on this subject, The Pearl Times threw hints on which kinds of people mostly made the list).
Parliament has now taken up the matter, throwing some appointed assistant RDCs in panic. Some are worried that if the process was fair and transparent, they would certainly miss out.
The qualification that most can boast of is closeness to power brokers at the presidency ministry as well as making pro-government noise on social media.
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, leader of opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi gave an example of Gomba Assistant RDC Yiga Kisakyamukama, the controversial noise maker accused of attacking the Kabaka. (See Details Here).
Ssenyonyi was also concerned about the cost of a bloated government. “In the spirit of rationalisation, how does this make sense? We have 147 RDCs on whom over Shs4 billion is spent, 163 Deputies on whom we spend Shs2.5 billion and you are bringing assistants on whom we will spend Shs2.8 billion and that is just salaries alone,” he noted.
Speaker Among later argued that while appointment of RDCs was enshrined in Article 203 of the Constitution, Minister Babalanda must present evidence to prove that there was due diligence and transparency in the appointment process.
“We need the qualifications of these RDCs. After you bring that, we will refer it to the Committee on Presidential Affairs,” she ruled.
You can read about the role of the assistant RDCs Here.
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