By Mulengera Reporters
IGG Irene Mulyagonja has furiously reacted to claims that she is vindictively hiding behind the impending organizational restructuring and staff rationalization at the Inspectorate to victimize IG employees she dislikes.
Reliable sources had told Mulengera News there is lots of anxiety in the Inspectorate of Government (IG) after the consultants recently completed and submitted their report calling for phasing out of some positions to enable the Inspectorate retain a lean but better remunerated and more efficient staff. There are concerns even some Directorates will be phased out and their functions transferred to others.
Sources further revealed that the consultants’ report is ready and only awaits ratification by the IG Board whose meeting has already been scheduled for next month September. A number of Board members talked to anonymously told Mulengera News they are looking forward to the September meeting to vote for reorganizational changes whose implementation could result into close to 50% of the more than 400 IG employees terminated.
The IG Board comprises of PSC representative Bitarabiho, ex-Police boss Jessica Orondrio, Hajjat Mariam Mayanja, Public Service Ministry’s Savia Mugwanya, the two Deputy IGG and Mulyagonja herself.
Some of the now anxiety-gripped IG employees (understandably speaking anonymously) said they don’t expect anything short of ratification of the report the way it is given the domineering influence Irene Mulyagonja has over the entire situation given that she also chairs the same Board just like Prof Mutebile does at BoU where he chairs his own Board. “That can’t be my problem because it’s the IG Act that makes the IGG also the Chair of the Board,” Mulyagonja said in an interview with Mulengera News.
In the same Mulengera news interview, Mulyagonja denied being a bully that shuts up other Board members during their meetings that will soon become more frequent as part of the implementation of the consultants report.
Mulyagonja furiously dismissed reports that she is vindictively planning to use that consultants report, duly sanctioned by the Board, to purge employees she is uncomfortable having around. She also denied reports that she abusively uses IG PS Rose Kafeero to unnecessarily keep cracking the whip on staff, something sources say has created fear and nervousness among staff.
Mulyagonja denied claims that she was very much feared by her own employees rather than being respected. “Who is that saying my staff fear me? They are to the contrary very free with me and I think some of those allegations are too nonsensical to merit any response,” she said.
Mulyagonja said some of the staff sources had enumerated to us as examples like Hajji Muzamir Aboni are employees who left much earlier on before even Rose Kafeero (her alleged hatchet man) joined the IG. Mulyagonja, whose own contract ends July next year, explained that Muzamir opted to leave the IG by declining renewal of his contract. He was Director Operations and these days he is employed by Parliamentary Commission. He had worked at IG for 20 years.
Downplaying claims that she is sometimes tribal in her actions, Mulyagonja said some of the victims of disciplinary sanctioning have been people from her own Busoga sub region including a one Mulyagonja who had to be axed for inappropriate conduct.
She confirmed restructuring was underway but demanded for evidence to prove that amounted to planning a purge targeting some people. Some IG Board members privy to the contents of the consultants’ report say many of the current employees are going to be affected including some as senior as Directors.
But some of the anxiety-gripped employees wondered why the Inspectorate had to require consultants to advise on staff issues when there is a permanent mechanism through the Kyagaba Kasirye-led Internal Inspection Unit which handles staff issues from time to time. Some accused the Inspection Unit of being used as an instrument to fix staff the top IG bosses aren’t comfortable having around. Sources say some of the staff that have previously been sanctioned have been vaguely accused of lacking integrity, being aged and possessing qualifications or competencies that won’t be accommodated or needed in the new structure.
It’s also being considered that in future all IG employees will serve under a four-year contract and employees under that arrangement will have diminished job security as management will reserve the right to terminate anyone’s employment during that period. Some Board members expressed fear of impending litigation as some of the employees have already prepared to engage top city law firms to drag the Inspectorate to court should they lose jobs under the new restructured Inspectorate in a manner that doesn’t respect prior existing employment contractual obligations.
One Board member likened the multiplicity of impending litigation resulting from implementing the consultants’ report to what Musisi’s KCCA endured as staffers rushed to courts challenging improper dismissals.
At some point during the Mulengera News interview, Mulyagonja advised those becoming aggrieved even before the restructuring process begins to either petition Parliament or the President whom she said is empowered to force her out of office even before her contract comes to an end.
Some IG employees are also grumbling about the circumstances under which the recent staff general meeting was held. It was on the afternoon of the day Finance Minister Matia Kasaija presided over the ground-breaking ceremony for the new IG offices. This was at Hotel Africana where all employees converged after ground breaking.
The meeting was chaired by Mulyagonja whose demeanor of toughness allegedly caused many employees to become terrified and abandon the idea to raise their originally planned tough scrutiny questions about the impending rationalization of jobs at the Inspectorate. In the Mulengera News interview, Mulyagonja dismissed allegations of being intimidatingly tough as being “a lot of nonsense.” In total when everybody including those at the 16 regional offices are counted, the IG currently has over 400 staff many of whom continue to be sleepless over the anxiety impending rationalization has created at the IPS Building-based Inspectorate. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
