By Our Reporters
As indicated in all the stories we have previously published on this news website, all isn’t well at Kololo-based National Identification & Registration Authority (NIRA) where a section of current and former employees are aggrieved and have reported the matter to Speaker Rebecca Kadaga. Besides being unfairly gotten rid of from work, the employees also protest unfair deductions of money from their meager salaries which nobody is explaining. But most notoriously, a group of long serving staffers categorized as ID Enrollment and Issuance Officers (IOs) are up in arms specifically attributing their misery (including being summarily dismissed) on close to 200 NRM cadres that say were specially inducted at Kyankwanzi to come and gradually take over NIRA. In some extreme cases, the Kadaga petitioners claim that some of the so-called young NRM cadres got the jobs without doing interviews.
It’s claimed that whereas the advert required a University degree as the minimum qualification, some of the cadres newly recruited as Assistant Registration Officers (AROs) don’t possess degrees but ordinary diplomas which is a diversion from the minimum standards NIRA itself set. “There is a young lady I know very well because we grew up together. She graduated at KU late November 2017 and there is no way she could have qualified at the time the advert went out and people did interviews. She was doing internship at NBS TV and wasn’t qualified at the time recruitment was done,” said one of the aggrieved IOs. “We are also cadres and worked on the ID project since 2014 when Gen Aronda Nyakayirima and then NSIS Project Manager Brig Steven Kwiringira first recruited us for mass citizens’ registration. What has made matters even worse are the claims that some of the so-called cadres [mostly youth leaders who lost polls in 2016] have been bragging to everybody how they joined NIRA as a result of orders from above. Each time we challenge them, they say where were you guys when we were campaigning for Mzee and other NRM candidates? It’s really very traumatizing and angering us very much.”
DIPLOMA vs. DEGREE HOLDERS:
“There is someone I know who failed interviews and got 22% but got the job yet some of us who had been assured by [recruitment firm] Profiles International that we had qualified were maliciously removed from the list and our positions given to these so-called cadres than whom we are more qualified and experienced,” ranted one of the IOs adding that some of the newly recruited cadres are so ICT illiterate they can’t even switch on a computer. In what appears to be a much bigger problem for the NIRA top management, even the much-resented younger NRM cadres are actually grumbling that despite being flattered with promises of a good pay cheque of Shs2.7m per month (see appointment letter in our previous story titled New Twist in NIRA job Scam), they haven’t got their salaries for now three months. They were recruited in January and have been working at Kololo and in the districts yet they haven’t got any salary so far. NIRA management says they have no money because their wage bill was cut by the Finance Ministry from Shs25bn to just Shs15bn creating a shortfall of Shs10bn.
The MPs, who are supposed to prevail on the Finance Ministry, will most likely not be acting in NIRA’s favor because their Speaker was last week petitioned by aggrieved staffers (mostly the terminated IOs) protesting bad HR practices at NIRA. “We really don’t expect much hope in Parliament too because some of the MPs are beneficiaries because they recommended some people on that list of the so-called cadres and that partly explains why the NIRA management doesn’t fear Parliamentary sanction anymore. This is why I have been telling colleagues on our whatsapp group and in meetings that the best way is to hire Counsel Rwakafuzi to take these people to court for wrongful dismissal because we have a good case,” said one of the disgruntled NIRA IOs whose anti-NIRA mobilization activities in the districts have since attracted the attention of ISO DG Gen Kaka Bagyenda who on Thursday directed DISOs to investigate the matter. As for the AROs/the cadres missing their salary, this news website has seen whatsapp discussions in which the affected AROs have furiously been bashing their Supervisors including a one Darius Turyahikayo who serves as the Senior Registration Officer (SRO) for Central region.
Some have been using their deep State House connections to report their plight to the President. “We all know how expensive life is in Kampala and its funny how [NIRA ED] Judith Obitre Gama continues to comfortably sit in office as NIRA CEO and enjoy our posh government car when people’s children can work for three months without salary. It’s really embarrassing such a thing happening in a government agency for which Parliament appropriates money to cater for all these things,” ranted one of the AROs/cadres who are now disgruntled as well regarding NIRA’s failure to pay their salaries.
Mulengera news website is still investigating reports, disclosed by equally disgruntled members in the NIRA top management, that board chairman Prof Peter Kasenene became so frustrated with the situation and signaled his resignation three weeks ago. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755!
