Nine local governments in the Acholi Sub-region failed to spend Shs12.6 billion allocated for staff recruitment in the 2025/26 financial year, according to the Ministry of Public Service.
A report released by the Ministry of Public Service last week shows that all the eight districts and Gulu City Council failed to fully absorb their wage budgets.
According to the report, Gulu District returned Shs2.6 billion, followed by Gulu City with Shs2.2 billion, Kitgum, Nwoya and Agago returned Shs1.89 billion, Shs1.87 billion and Shs1.5 billion respectively.
Victor Bua Leku, the Commissioner for Compensation at the Ministry of Public Services, attributed the unspent funds largely to delays in submitting recruitment clearance requests, while local leaders blamed inactive service commissions.
Speaking during a meeting with local government leaders from the Acholi Subregion on Thursday last week, Bua said some district local governments initiate requests for recruitment clearance as late as the third quarter of the financial year.
“This year, we have written and said, any recruitment request that has not come to us by the 30th of December, don’t resubmit. We will return that money,” said Bua.
However, leaders from the sub-region said the unspent wage bill was largely due to the inability to recruit staff because of the inactivity of some district and city service commissions.
Gulu City Council Clerk Innocent Ahimbisibwe said the city has funds for recruitment but lacks a fully functional service commission.
Ahimbisibwe said the city council is still awaiting the approval of one of its service commission members, a situation he said has delayed the constitution of the commission.
“We believe that once the Public Service Commission is fully functional, our members shall be cleared and we shall have a fully constituted city service commission which shall execute its mandate,” he said.
Gulu City Council currently has a staffing level of 69 percent, with authorities anticipating that this could rise to 75 percent once the city service commission is fully constituted during the financial year.
Michael Ochora, the Gulu City Service Commission Chairperson, said the non-functionality of the city service commission is affecting staff recruitment, yet there are already four members who can execute the commission’s mandate.
According to Ochora, the guidelines provide for five members on the service commission, with a quorum of two-thirds.
He argued that, with four members already in place, the commission meets the basic requirements to conduct its business.
He suggested that the Ministry of Public Service gives special consideration to the four members already in place to enable the commission to execute its mandate and address delays in recruitment.
Meanwhile, Lydia Wanyoto, the State Minister for Public Service, however, assured district local governments that following the vetting of new members of the Public Service Commission, approvals for members of local government service commissions would be effected.
Wanyoto also pledged a good working relationship between the Ministry of Public Service, local governments and Public Service Commission members to ensure timely delivery of public services.
SOURCE:URN
