Job losses loom as Unra, URF tangle over rationalisation

Controversy has continued to brew over the government’s Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (Rapex) with the Uganda National Road Agency (Unra) and Uganda Road Fund (URF), the latest entities to show a stomach for fighting to the bitter end.

With as many as 1,613 jobs approved to be affected by the Rapex, gloves were taken off this past workweek in the House as the top brass from both Unra and URF flexed their muscles.

 To add to the chaotic outlook, two ministers from President Museveni’s Cabinet furnished the House Committee on Physical Infrastructure with contrasting figures regarding the terminal benefits of 1,577 Unra staff approved to be affected by the Rapex. While processing the UNRA (Amendment) Bill, 2024, lawmakers heard from Public Service Minister Muruli Mukasa that the terminal benefits will set back the government's Shs46.44 billion. 

 This was in stark contrast to the figure with which junior Works and Transport minister Musa Ecweru was conversant. Minister Ecewru cited “a one-off payment in terms of terminal benefits to Unra affected staff of Shs196 billion. He further disclosed that the Shs196 billion “was estimated initially” and since it is the duty of the Public Service ministry “to compute payments” its officials saw it fit to “technically c[o]me up with Shs46 billion.”

Who’s fooling who?

Ms Allen Kagina, the Unra Executive Director, holds that the Shs196 billion is an accurate estimate, adding that it was arrived at based on the relevant laws of Uganda.

"The Employment Act states that a severance package is a negotiation between the employer and the workers. The employer—[the] Unra board—sat and made a package for its staff. This package was communicated through our ministry (Works and Transport) to Public Service. That was a few years ago when the discussion of rationalisation started,” Ms Kagina said.

“That package has been under debate and has changed in number because over the years, some people have left and others have joined. So the package has not been static. The most recent we calculated up to December 2024 because we were getting indications that we would stop in December and we gave an indicative figure of Shs196 billion which we transmitted through [the Works and Transport ministry] permanent secretary, showing how it had been arrived at through the board, including board minutes,” she added.

Mr Tonny Awany, the deputy chair of the House Committee on Physical Infrastructure, confirmed that “three certificates of financial implication came with different figures.” Remarkably, he disclosed, without giving further details, that the first certificate of implication “came up with a figure of Shs11 billion.” Mr Dan Kimosho, the chair, ruled this week that his committee captures the “irregularities” in the report that will be furnished to the whole House.

URF drama

There was more drama when the lawmaker put the Uganda Road Fund (URF) Amendment Bill, 2024 under the spotlight. Mr Andrew Naimanye, the URF Executive Director, made it abundantly clear that the Public Service ministry acted in error when it opted to collapse the agency into the Works and Transport ministry. The Finance ministry, Mr Naimanye added, is by far a better fit.

“I have raised this from day one, but now it is a decision [of the government] and so I just follow. It is a Fund. The mother of the Fund is [the] Ministry of Finance; not [the] Ministry of Works. [URF] is income generating,” Mr Naimanye protested, adding another layer of chaos to the Rapex.

Documents show that 36 staff from the Fund will be cut loose, with their terminal benefits estimated to be slightly more than Shs2 billion.

No, please!

 The other entities being considered for the Rapex include the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), the Uganda Law Reform Commission (ULRC), the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) and the Electricity Disputes Tribunal (EDT). They have brought forth countless sticking points. A proposed merger between the TAT and the EDT has been hotly contested on grounds that the existence of the tribunals is predicated on the fact that they are issue-specific. Bundling the two together, opponents argue, will be akin to attempting to mix oil and water.

 This past workweek Mr Julius Mukunda from the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) told the House Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that merging the EOC with the UHRC would be a bad idea. 

“If merger must occur, we urge that the new entity be named the Equal Opportunities and Human Rights Commission rather than the proposed name,” Mr Mukunda said, adding, “This would reflect the unique functions of the EOC and preserve its vital work, ensuring that the fight equity and justice remains robust and unimpeded.”

Appearing before the same committee in a separate interface, the Law Development Centre (LDC) opposed the plan to collapse the Uganda Law Reform Commission (ULRC) into the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

 Elsewhere, on Thursday, the Bugisu Parliamentary Caucus and the Buganda Parliamentary Caucus urged the House Committee on Agriculture chaired by Linda Agnes Auma to oversee the Uganda Coffee Development (UCDA) Amendment Bill, 2024. The Bill seeks to collapse the entity into the Ministry of Agriculture.