By Ocama Ongwech Ali Abba IV
Meritocracy is centred on the importance of an individual’s potential and talents in the quest for achieving success. This crucial concept seems to be absent in Uganda’s current job market. Whereas political loyalty, connections, nepotism and patronage have taken centre stage or gained a strong foothold in the administration of employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors, little has been done to mitigate their long-term impact.
The absence of merit-based appointments, widely practised in the developed world, has far-reaching implications for any nation’s human resource development and service delivery. It weakens the ability to identify, transform or deploy exceptionally gifted citizens where they could maximise their impact on national progress.
Uganda’s job paradigm continues to show that patronage and clientelism, rather than merit, have become institutionalised.
This phenomenon finds its roots in the 1995 Constitution and the Local Government Act. The 1995 Constitution of Uganda is blamed for vesting “too much power or authority” in the President (Article 99), while the Local Government Act devolves power to District Councils headed by LC V Chairpersons. District Councils hold the authority to appoint members of the District Service Commissions (DSCs).
This legal framework may appear innocent on the surface; however, it gives wide, unchecked power to office bearers who circumvent meritocratic institutions using this authority. The sad reality is that politicians—both in opposition and in the ruling government—have shown no difference at the local government level when it comes to job access.
They have manipulated lawful provisions to cushion and leverage their authority to control job opportunities indirectly and directly through their appointed agents in service commissions.
Researcher Vick Lukwago Ssali reported similar firm control by the central government, where cultures of dependency, loyalty and connections secure jobs. Though the research focused on the broader central government, local governments are equally complicit. Reports covering local governments do not absolve them of these syndicates.
Inspectorate of Government (IGG) reports on local government recruitment reveal that 85% of government jobs at the district level are obtained through bribery schemes, with many employees lacking the requisite qualifications. A case in point is Pakwach District, where about four district staff are under investigation by the IGG over forgery of academic documents and impersonation offences.
Local governments have become synonymous with perennial public outcry over allegations of rewarding political connections, relatives and affiliates without the requisite qualifications for public jobs.
Similarly, a September 2023 report by the Public Accounts Committee (Local Government) reaffirmed these findings, citing district bosses who conceal vacant positions in order to reserve them for their relatives.
The swift repercussions of this illicit system are far-reaching for the nation.
Firstly, it compromises merit-based recruitment and promotion, which should strengthen institutional growth. Instead, institutional integrity weakens, professionalism falls below acceptable standards, and accountability in the public sector becomes a mirage.
Conversely, systems for identifying exceptional talent and potential die. Talent that should be identified, supported, and further developed—either locally or abroad—for strategic deployment in critical public or private sectors is instead squandered.
Unfortunately, patrons, the super-connected, and nepotistic actors neither care nor mind. They prioritise their children, relatives and affiliates—fully aware that their abilities do not match the demands of deployment—while ignoring better-qualified citizens.
The ramifications are evident in daily life: delayed project execution, shoddy workmanship, conflicts of interest, embezzlement, fraudulent activities and corruption, all working together to erode trust in government institutions and projects. Institutional capacity is crippled, and qualified but unemployed citizens are demoralised.
In the private sector, about 75% of medium enterprises do not see their fifth birthday, partly due to similar practices in job access. It is not uncommon to find organisational CEOs and HR managers filling vacant posts with family members, friends and relatives outside formal human resource guidelines.
This practice further fosters a culture of impunity, ultimately weakening both the public and private sectors’ ability to deliver essential services.
According to a 2024 study by Brenda Kokunda and Zehou Sun on nepotism, 63.3% of respondents reported personal experience with nepotism. More than half (59.5%) obtained their jobs through nepotistic ties—36.5% through relatives and 23% through close friendships—rather than merit-based selection. The study also found that 79.5% of companies surveyed lacked formal anti-nepotism policies, creating environments where favouritism thrives.
The study confirms that nepotism negatively affects employee morale, trust and overall performance, as non-family staff often face unfair treatment during recruitment and promotion.
Another independent study notes that across Africa, social, economic and political conditions have made it difficult for meritocratic and autonomous bureaucracies to take root and flourish as they have elsewhere. Despite these challenges, appointing bureaucrats based on merit has a positive effect on public service delivery.
The study cautions that political leaders who undercut meritocratic civil services and expand patronage appointments do so at their own peril, due to the adverse consequences for government performance. Patronage appointments often sacrifice broader public gains for narrow political interests.
Counsel Manano Claudio summarised the absence of quick fixes as stemming from lack of political will, arguing that “governance deficits persist precisely because they lubricate the machinery of power, patronage, loyalty and control… This is the tragedy… reform is inefficient.”
Most importantly, respect for the rule of law, constitutionalism and democracy is the foundation of strong institutional safeguards. Institutions are not inherently perfect; deliberate effort to perfect them through respect for the rule of law and ethics is sacrosanct to a merit-based environment.
Until then, meritocracy will continue to elude us, with grave consequences.
If you would like your article/opinion to be published on Uganda’s most authoritative news platform, send your submission on: [email protected]. You can also follow DailyExpress on WhatsApp and on Twitter (X) for realtime updates.
