By: Ismael Kasooha

IGANGA

PM Nabbanja (2nd left) joined the Bishop (4th left) and other dignitaries to cut the cake at the commissioning of the church

Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja has warned District Service Commissions against selling jobs to Ugandans.

Commissioning St. Jude’s Catholic Parish Namusisi in Iganga District on Saturday, Nabbanja said she had received several complaints against District Service Commissions in various Local Governments for taking bribes in exchange for jobs. The public service jobs, she said, should be given to Ugandans on merit.

“I have been getting numerous reports from the public indicating that District Service Commissions are selling jobs to Ugandans,” Nabbanja said. “So whoever pays the biggest bribe gets the job. This habit must stop,” she added.

Investigations

Nabbanja told the Iganga District Chairperson, Ezra Gabula, who was at the event, that she would send a team to the Local Government to investigate the complaints.

“Our people are supposed to get jobs on merit not because they have paid,” the premier said. “This is causing inefficiency and corruption because those recruited have to recover their money,”

High-value crops

The Prime Minister advised the people of Iganga and Busoga region, in general, to engage in intensive farming as the size of land owned by each individual was reducing.

“If you own less than four acres, you don’t need to go into sugar cane growing because if you do, you will have condemned yourself to poverty,” Nabbanja said.

She encouraged people with less than four acres of land to grow high-value crops like onions and tomatoes. The Prime Minister also discouraged the people from the practice of land fragmentation and encouraged families to use their (land) collectively.

Development

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, who is also the Kigulu North County MP, asked the people to live in harmony to facilitate the development of their area.

“I urge you to be peaceful and engage in production to increase household incomes for socio-economic transformation,” Kyakulaga added.

The Bishop of Jinja Catholic Diocese, Charles Wamika, who celebrated the mass, asked married couples to promote peace in their families. He installed Peter Mubiru as the first Parish Priest of St. Jude’s Catholic Parish, Namusisi.

End