The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party has appealed to the government of Uganda to open up for Ugandans to access job vacancies in different public entities in the country, including the Ministry of Health.

According to John Kikonyogo, the FDC Spokesperson at Najjanankumbi, there are several empty spaces in the government entities that deserve many unemployed, educated young blood. He added that it has become the norm for government positions of responsibility to remain vacant for a long time without being occupied.

“It is becoming a bad habit for the government to wait for contracts of government employees to expire and leave vacancies for many years without replacing them,” Kikonyoga said.

Kikonyogo made the remarks during a weekly press conference held at the FDC party headquarters in Najjanankumbi on Monday, March 4, 2024.

According to Kikonyogo, the labour vacuum in different government entities reflects inefficiency in the command structure of the government.

Referring to the recent Auditor General’s report, Kikonyogo said that the 6,847 vacancies in the public service, if occupied, can employ many Ugandans, including fresh graduates from different universities in Uganda.

“Do you know what it means now to get 6,847 Ugandans employed? Many lives can be transformed, but they are sitting on those jobs, making people poorer, yet they have applied for such jobs severely,” Kikonyogo said.

In an interview with Emmanuel Ainebyona, the Senior Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health, he said that it is not true that the ministry is sitting on vacancies.

“That is not true because there has been a ban on recruitment and the Ministry of Public Service has indicated that where there is a wage, let the position be declared through the Health Service Commission. The process is ongoing, and advertisements will soon be made available,” Ainebyona said.

He added that the ministry can’t sit on vacancies, but the challenge has been that there has been a ban on recruitment because the whole of last financial year, the Ministry of Finance, working with the Auditor General, was doing the audit on the payroll.