Public service will find an uphill task in rationalization of agencies

By Ben Ssebuguzi

While interacting with one of the top gurus of the 69 agencies which are feared to be scraped, I discovered how this proposed exercise has already caused the brunt of toxic consequences.

According to this top official, they are already losing their highly technical critical staff who are already crossing to other employers due to lack of job security yet their organisation load of work continues to pile hence necessitating their expertise skills and experience in order to serve Ugandans well. That the HR is grappling to replace such relevant people whom the organization has spent a lot of taxpayers’ money to train and groom to manage specialised tasks.

There is fear that this exercise might not be blessed by the Fountain of Honor from day one although opportunists continue to smuggle it back and forth but failing to receive blessings from the last Man which has made analysts punch many holes in it.

According to experts, before you carry out restructuring, you have to build control of communication proactively, you build credibility and momentum of change but also invest in helping employees develop the skills necessary to embrace any restructuring which the opportunists have failed to master. Their focus now might be on how to run away with affected workers’ pensions. They look determined to meet their selfish needs. Public service has not yet trained the affected persons in stress management and resilience building hence there seems to be no clear restructuring plan.

It is also visible that these people who are hastening to implement this hazardous program do not know General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who managed to navigate us successfully through Covid and got limited casualties. Mzee doesn’t like to panic. He is a brave man with confidence who makes scientific decisions with statistical evidence. That’s how he has managed to navigate us through even in very rough circumstances which appear too difficult. We know that globally, almost all companies have cut off employees, but this is a sober government with aspirations to meet targets and serve Ugandans with dedication.

It should be noted that in the course of execution of our development plan, the role of the state through Public service is to among others facilitate development by increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Public servants but not scraping off organizations like UNRA when the country demand for roads are increasingly become needed. Where will MPs, local leaders, and Bazukkulu report when they want to solve some road network problem? Who will listen to them? Why take them back to bureaucratic tendencies? By removing critical agencies like warehouse authority, you will be curtailing the expansion and growth of that sector which rhythms well with improvement in the quality of our agricultural productivity to enhance our competitiveness.

Similarly, point number 5 of the 10-point program of the Mighty National Resistance Movement which is the baseline of our development agenda States Building an independent, integrated and self-sustaining economy which necessitated the creation of those agencies in the first place.

This is our last message to people in Public service who want to cause a vacuum in service delivery to first think and listen to this Scripture in the Bible in Isaiah 35:4:Say to those who have an anxious heart, Be strong, fear not.

Long live President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Long live Hajjat Uzeiye Namyalo SPA/PA and manager ONC.

The writer is the Head of Research Office of the NRM National Chairman (ONC).