Governance expert and COIN-10 co-chair Javas Bigambo
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The issue of ethnic composition within public institutions has remained a menace. This has taken root because of the entrenchment of favouritism, disregard for merit and failure to publicly share information about opportunities.
Opportunities are then made known to selected people who are favoured to benefit from them.
These so-called internal advertisements, even when external, have limited circulation. At times, the advertisement is created in such a manner as to suit a particular person whom they have in mind, rather than for general circulation.
When leadership within organisations thinks opportunities are meant to benefit them solely, that mentality stifles merit in the sharing of opportunities.
Of course, we know that job opportunities are limited. But the fact that they are limited should inspire the consideration of merit. Beyond that, it is also something learnt from institutions that are filled through political considerations.
For certain opportunities where political leverage determines who gets them, the political leadership gives lists of individuals from their communities.
We need to come up with measures such that no person should employ people from the same tribe as them during the period they head those institutions.
For instance, look at Cabinet Secretaries or Principal Secretaries. You will realise that a CS has all the advisers from their tribe. They do not pick based on merit; they pick somebody from their community.
If we establish guidelines such that no Cabinet Secretary should have an adviser from their own community, it will be part of an effort to weed out such practices.
Alternatively, we could have regulations stating that no person in public office, such as the President, Deputy President, CS or Governor, should have personal assistants or advisers from their tribes.
Such a move would help bring in merit.
There is also a need for five per cent of the workforce, but we have not seen critical efforts by the leadership to ensure that it is adhered to.
Even members of the report only show dissatisfaction when such reports are released, and then everyone forgets.
We need to have an online tracking system for every ministry to monitor distribution during every recruitment exercise.
The governance expert and co-chair of COIN-10 spoke to the Star.
