It’s hoped that technology can clamp down on corruption in Uganda’s local government hiring practices.

Hon. Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, chairperson of Uganda’s Committee on Public Service and Local Government, has painted a bleak picture of corruption and bribery influencing local government hiring practices in the country.

In an effort to stamp out such corruption, he has called for the introduction of a digital system.

Speaking during the sitting of the House on Friday last week, Mapenduzi said that his committee had heard evidence of corruption and bribery by the service commissions, during oversight visits to local governments.

He said the practice of bribery in exchange for local government posts had become so entrenched that citizens had lost confidence in recruitment processes, and he called for a digital system to remove human touchpoints.

“The Ministry of Public Service should roll out e-recruitment processes across all local governments. This will limit physical interactions between job applicants and the commissions,” he said.

This comes in addition to the Inspector General of Government having put recruitment processes on hold in several local governments, due to reported irregularities in the process.

The subsequent knock-on effect was that prolonged prosecution was impacting service delivery, and MPs have called for the expedition of cases.

Mapenduzi said of his committee’s investigations: “In some interactions, aggrieved persons provided state allegations against both political leaders and staff. During the radio talk show on Voice of Lango, a caller complained that the service commission asked for USh5 million ($1350) to guarantee jobs.”

A report by the committee into the matter cites political meddling in the recruitment process to be in contravention of the Local Government Act, which provides for independence of the commissions.

According to a report by the Inspectorate of Government, corruption is said to cost Uganda USh9 trillion ($2.4 billion) per year.

The country ranked poorly on Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index; 141 out of 180 countries.