Opinion: Who is really behind local government job scams?

By Wabwire Andrew Goole

Kaliro District has this week been trending on TikTok over corruption-related allegations involving the District Service Commission and the LC5 Chairperson. This prompted a lady on TikTok from Buluya, called Liz, to post a forged, threatening WhatsApp message and later close her comment section after releasing several videos this week, which she termed “exposing the corrupt.”

But as our brothers and sisters continue discussing the Service Commission and the LC5 Chairperson on TikTok, is it true that the money you, the victim, gave to middlemen reached the Service Commission? Did your money reach the LC5 Chairperson?

I am concerned about this because I have witnessed it many times during my time in Kaliro. Middlemen collect money from people and fail to deliver it to either the Service Commission or the LC5 Chairperson. For reference, the Acting Personnel Officer once arrested Musiba for obtaining money from a desperate primary school teacher, yet that money had not been given to the LC5 Chairperson.

The government should revise the way District Service Commissions are appointed to avoid them being manipulated by District Chairpersons.

Yes, it is true that both offices can, at times, ask for money, but it is also true that there are people who have obtained jobs without being asked for money.

In most cases, middlemen collect money from desperate job seekers by claiming they are related to members of the Service Commission or that they are close to the LC5 Chairperson. They collect money without the consent of either the LC5 Chairperson or the Service Commission.

Because they are perceived to be close to these offices, many people trust them and give them money after they claim to have helped many others. They take advantage of desperate job seekers, and many applicants willingly give them money, believing they will secure employment, only to end up being scammed.

Jobs to Relatives, Political Camp and Social Connections

I have seen many people discussing jobs being given to relatives of members of the Service Commission, friends, or people who subscribe to the political camp of the LC5 Chairperson of the time. Yes, it is true. Who among you, if you were on the Service Commission, would not consider helping your relatives? Who among you, if you were the LC5 Chairperson, would not wish to appreciate those who made you LC5 Chairperson?

Why can’t we learn from the story of Bamuturaki, the former Executive Director of Uganda Airlines? Why do we fail to learn from the war veterans of President Museveni? Why would he continue appointing them and their relatives? If an LC5 Chairperson fails to help those who put him or her in power, how would he or she expect to return to office?

The political challenge we are seeing in the District Service Commission started when the government gave the district council, headed by the LC5 Chairperson, the mandate to approve members of the District Service Commission. The moment commissioners go against the wishes of the approving authority, they risk going against the terms of their service. The mistake was made there, and the District Service Commission will continue dancing to the tune of the LC5 Chairperson, whether we believe it or not.

What Can Be Done?

Job seekers should, before claiming that the Service Commission ate their money, ask the middleman to deliver the money to the member of the Service Commission or the LC5 Chairperson in their presence. But as long as middlemen continue collecting money and claiming they have delivered it, this vice will not stop.

These middlemen collect money and manipulate applicants by claiming to be relatives or close associates, hoping the LC5 Chairperson will not ask them for money. In the end, they eat your money, while another applicant who takes money directly to the Service Commission or the LC5 Chairperson gets the job.

The writer is the ONC Coordinator for Kaliro District.