A report of the Presidential Tripartite Committee has revealed how Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Mutebile irregularly recruited new staff in 2018 staff restructuring.
President Yoweri Museveni instituted a 10 member Committee following queries regarding the 7th February 2018 BoU staff reshuffles.
According to the report that was handed to the President in February 2019, it is alleged that Mutebile appointed six new staff from outside the Bank without interviews. It is also alleged that newly appointed staff were granted permanent and pensionable terms contrary to probationary policy.
Two new externally recruited staff, namely, Dr. Twinemanzi Tumubweine and Ms. Kande Sabiiti lacked the minimum academic requirements for entering the bank. Dr. Tumubweine was recruited as BoU Executive Director in charge of Supervision replacing Justine Bagyenda. It is said that the appointment of Dr. Tumubweinee was premised on nepotism, influence peddling and conflict of interest.
The Governor allegedly created five new positions that did not exist on approved structure of the Bank and that some appointees lacked job descriptions and also promoted nine staff members to Assistant Director level without conducting interviews. Two new directors were appointed to departments with substantive directors creating confusion as to what happens to existing directors, while one deputy director, Angela Kasirye was demoted to Assistant Director without justification.
As result of the complaints above, on the 23rd of February 2018, the Inspectorate of Government wrote to the Governor and requested that he responds to the allegations.
On the 6th of March 2018, the Governor responded to the allegations and wrote to explain that the appointment of new staff from outside the bank was done in accordance with the Bank of Uganda Act and internal recruitment policies of the bank.
He further explained that the staff in question were recruited through headhunting subject to the headhunting policy of the Bank as approved by the Human Resource and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors on 11th May 2016.
The Governor further explained that he had appointed new staff in accordance with Section 28(4) of the Bank of Uganda Act and also in line with authority granted to him by the Board of Directors on 30th May 2012.
The Governor then defended the appointments of Dr. Tumubweine and Ms. Sabiiti on the grounds that they possessed specialized skills which under exceptional circumstances can be approved by the Governor or the Board. He further defended their recruitment on the grounds that they had been brought on board from specialized institutions.
In its investigations, the committee observed that the Governor’s decision to move staff around was not irregular. However, whereas it was not irregular it was unusual that the Governor opted not to involve any Bank staff like the Administration Directorate staff and possibly concerned heads of department when it came to transferring bank staff.
