Kapelebyong CAO, District Service Commission Chairperson Disagree on Staff Recruitment

The Kapelebyong Chief Administrative Officer- CAO, David Lubuuka has disagreed with the District Service Commission (DSC) over the planned recruitment of new staff in the district. 

The district advertised 23 positions and among the positions include 5 head teachers and deputies, 19 teachers, senior Assistant Town Clerk, Information Technology Officer, Principle Commercial Officer, and health workers.  

But in a twist of events, the CAO has distanced himself from the advert that was published in the media. In a press statement issued on Friday, Lubuuka notes that his office didn’t approve the advertisement. 

“Our attention has been drawn to the Job Advert placed in the New Vision News Paper of Friday, May 26, 2023, purportedly by Kapelebyong District Local Government. The irregularly published advert on page eight of the New Vision titled: ‘Job Vacancies- External Advertisement’ invited for applications from suitably qualified Ugandans to fill the vacant posts that are purportedly available in Kapelebyong District Local Government,” the Press Statement reads in part. 

Lubuuka adds that there is a suspension on the recruitment of staff in the district due to the ongoing validation exercise of all public servants across the country. He notes that he didn’t author the advert, urging interested applicants to wait until further notice. 

“Disassociate the District Administration from the advert published since it was not authorized by the CAO who is mandated to sanction any publication in the media, on behalf of the district. The advert should therefore be treated with the contempt that it deserves,” the statement adds. 

But Herbart Otim, the Kapelebyong District Service Commission Chairperson has also trashed the CAO’s letter as baseless. In a public notice written in response to Lubuuka, Otim maintains that the job advert running in the Newspaper is genuine and those interested should apply before the expiry of the deadline which is June 25, 2023.

“The Commission wishes to inform the general public that the letter written by the CAO has no legal basis and should be treated with the contempt it deserves,” the notice reads in part. 

Otim says that there were selfish interests advanced in the recruitment drive, something he notes, caused the outburst from the accounting officer. 

“Those positions advertised were submitted to the DSC by the CAO but he had ring-fenced them for some people,” the notice continues. He adds that, unlike other districts, Kapelebyong delayed advertising for the jobs because the CAO clandestinely planned it for personal reasons. 

“However, the DSC, in exercising the principle of equity and fairness, and its legal mandate couldn’t be a party to such underhand methods and took a decision to open the jobs for the national competition,” Otim adds in his notice written on Friday evening.

Some sources that declined to be named in Kapelebyong district said that the CAO had guided the vacant positions to be filled through cross-transfer methods since the district didn’t have adequate funds to facilitate external recruitment. 

But our reporter couldn’t verify the claims with the CAO whose contact was not available by the time of filing the story. 

District local governments can recruit through external advertising, internal advertising, and cross-transfer for applicants already in the government system or payroll.

The source also indicated that the acting secretary to the DSC, Jessica Acor declined to sanction the job advert after getting guidance from her superior, the CAO.