COSASE Queries UCAA Under Over Questionable Staff Hiring Practices

The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) is on the spot for hiring staff whose competence is doubted.

Last year, the Auditor General revealed that some of the staff were hired without minimum qualifications and no interviews were conducted during their recruitment. UCAA, which is responsible for the country’s aviation industry, is said to have recruited 136 staff on a contract and permanent basis with a monthly remuneration of Shs254,579,39.

However, there’s no evidence of interview assessments. Additionally, there’s no evidence of decisions of relevant authorities on the competences and qualifications of the staff.

On Wednesday afternoon, the UCAA staff were grilled by MPs on Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE). The MPs wanted responses to these allegations and concerns.

“79 staff were appointed to various positions without meeting the minimum qualifications for the positions. The review of the staff files revealed that the Authority had neither confirmed nor terminated 9 employees. These had served for a period more than the maximum mandatory probation period of 12 months.” said Medard Sseggona, Chairperson COSASE.

Workers MP Charles Bakabulindi expressed concern about discrepancies in the written response submitted by the Authority. He said these were different from what the Human Resource Manager was verbally providing.

UCAA defend themselves

In her defence, Jennifer Etit said UCAA keeps records in two areas. Some of the records are stored manually and others in a digital system. She said prior to attending COSASE, UCAA compiled all records from the system and printed them. It is these records that they had provided to the committee.

Additionally, UCAA explained that staff often upgrade from internships and casual roles, hence no interviews. The interviews are not necessary because their competence is proven. However, they confirmed that qualifications are checked and updated. Bakabulindi questioned this approach, noting that it implies recruitment lacks a solid basis since qualifications are not initially required, relying instead on internal upgrades.