Uganda’s education and health sectors top bribery rankings in public service recruitment, with applicants paying up to Shs50m for jobs—IGG reveals in new report to Parliament.
Kampala, Uganda: The Inspectorate of Government has uncovered shocking levels of corruption in public service recruitment, revealing that Ugandans seeking jobs through District Service Commissions (DSCs) were asked to pay bribes amounting to Shs78 billion between July and December 2024.
According to the IGG’s bi-annual performance report tabled before Parliament, the education sector recorded the highest value of bribe requests at Shs36.9 billion, while health sector job seekers parted with the largest actual amounts paid in bribes—Shs12.9 billion.
“The cumulative value of bribes asked from job applicants for the different job categories at Local Government was estimated at Shs78b. The actual cumulative bribes paid was approximately Shs29b,” the report notes.
The Ombudsman, Beti Kamya disclosed that bribe demands ranged between Shs3 million for low-salary positions like Grade III teachers and nursing assistants, to as high as Shs50 million for senior roles like heads of departments.
The report further indicates that 82% of applicants identified bribery as the most common form of corruption, mostly occurring at the shortlisting stage where District Service Commission members were the primary culprits.
Key drivers of this recruitment corruption crisis include high unemployment, nepotism, political interference, and a lack of transparency, worsened by the manual and underfunded recruitment processes which place applicants in direct contact with recruiting officials.
The ombudsman also pointed to weak oversight mechanisms and inadequate training of DSC members as key enablers of the graft. The report recommends major reforms including; changes in DSC appointment procedures, adjustments to the composition and qualifications of Commission members and enhanced funding and better remuneration for service commission personnel
Commenting on the gravity of the situation, Martha Chemutai, advocacy manager at Twaweza, said: “The practice of recruiting medical personnel through bribery, in a context where health services and corruption are already top citizen concerns, has terrible ripple effects. It not only directly compromises quality healthcare, pushing citizens into further poverty, but also entrenches a culture of corruption.”
Meanwhile, President Museveni, in his State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) delivered Thursday, promised to confront the growing levels of corruption during his upcoming 2025/26 Budget speech. He also urged the country to embrace manufacturing as the antidote to the unemployment crisis that is partly fuelling corruption in public service recruitment.
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