The education and health have beeen named as the most corrupt sectors, according to the latest bi-annual performance report by the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG).
The July to December report presented to Parliament examined and assessed “the extent and cost of corruption and maladministration in the recruitment by the District Service Commission (DSC) in Uganda’s local government units.”
It’s findings show that the education sector had the highest bribery requests, totaling Shs39.9 billion. This was the amount applicants in the sector were asked to pay to better their chances of securing jobs.
The health sector had the highest value of actual bribes paid, totaling Shs12.9 billion.
The report highlights that whereas local government officials asked job applicants for a collective Shs78 billion, they only managed to get Shs29 billion in the process.
“The cumulative value of bribes asked from job applicants for different job categories at Local Government was estimated at Shs78 billion. The actual cumulative bribes paid were approximately Shs29 billion,” the report reads in part.
The IGG discovered that applicants interested in senior positions were forced to pay as high as Shs50 million each, while low-rank applications attracted a bribe of Shs3 million each.
“The amount for bribes asked varies widely across sectors, positions, and seniority.
These ranged from Shs40-50 million for senior roles like heads of department, to Shs3 million for lower positions for salary scales U6 and U7 for jobs such as nursing assistants and Grade III primary teachers,” the report disclosed.
Job applicants seeking positions in the health and administration sectors were most frequently asked for bribes, and jobs with higher salaries (scientists) are more susceptible to bribe demands.
Overall, 82 percent of Local Government job applicants identified bribery as the most common form of corruption in the recruitment process.
The said bribery mostly occurred at the shortlisting stage with the District Service Commission members most likely to ask for a bribe.
Contributing Factors
The corruption rot in the local recruitment process is blamed on high unemployment rates, nepotism, political interference, and absence of transparency in the local government recruitment process.
Compounding issues were the manual-based recruitment processes operated by the local government.
It was also further discovered, putting recruiting officers in compromising positions where they have direct contact with applicants.
Worse still, the entire recruitment process is bogged down by inadequate funding, run on weak oversight, and there is inadequate training of members of the service commission.
Way Forward
Beti Kamya, the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG), has recommended that the government make changes in the appointment procedures and composition of the district service commission.
Kamya also wants the remuneration of the Commission members to be enhanced, and raising the minimum qualifications and experiences of District Service Commission members.
While delivering State of the Nation address (SONA) on Thursday, June 5, 2025, President Museveni vowed to use his budget speech this week to speak to growing corruption levels in the country.
The president also reiterated government’s commitment to invest in manufacturing as the “answer to the challenge of unemployment.”
“Uganda has the raw materials and human resources that can support factories, especially in the manufacture of automobiles, electronics, steel, textiles, furniture, food products, pharmaceuticals, aluminum products, etc.,” Museveni remarked.
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