Uganda: Ministry officials in acting capacity for long concerns Members of Parliament (MP)

 

Legislators on the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) have put the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to task over failure to appoint substantive officials in different administrative positions.

In a meeting held on Monday, 23 February 2026, a team from the ministry led by the Deputy Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Patrick Ocailap  appeared before the committee to respond to queries in the final audit report for the financial year 2024/2025.
It was however, observed by Members of Parliament that most of the ministry officials have served in acting capacity for longer than the legally stipulated six months.

Hon. Asuman Basalirwa (JEEMA, Bugiri Municipality) said acting officers in government offices affect the accountability processes noting that substantive heads of department are expected to report to Parliament.
“As Parliament, this is not a practice we should condone. The PSST should explain in writing how we got there because someone must take responsibility for these irregularities,” Basalirwa said.

The Committee Deputy Chairperson, Hon. Gorreth Namugga alluded to the staffing levels across government entities that stand at an average of 35 per cent adding that, the high unemployment rate in the country is imposed by failure to fill available positions.
“You have one person in charge of three positions. If the officer was substantially promoted and appointed to the position in which they are acting, they would create space for someone else to take up their current substantive office,” Namugga said.

She tasked the ministry leadership to avail a list of all staff serving in acting capacity.
“Going forward, all the entities we shall handle must submit a list of all their officers who are in acting capacity. This could help us to reduce on the staffing gaps in these ministries, departments and agencies,” Namugga added.

Tororo District Woman Representative, Hon. Sarah Opendi said continued service of government officers in acting capacity indicates a management gap that should be addressed.
“There is something fundamentally wrong in this sector and we need to ask either the PSST or the minister who supervises all these people to explain,” Opendi said.

According to Ocailap, the delay to confirm the acting directors in the ministry is attributed to a 22015Cabinet decision that sought to eliminate the positions across all ministries.
“The review of this decision by the ministry has taken a long time and it was recently decided that directors are retained only in our ministry,” said Ocailap.

He added that the confirmation of the acting officers to substantive positions is dependent on completion of the government restructuring processes.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.