The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Otuke district has dismissed 14 civil servants from work over allegations of absenteeism.
The affected workers are both junior and senior workers including; Mr. Kenneth Otuke (vector control officer), Mr. Samuel Omara (road inspector), Moses Alele (entomologist), Mr. Benson Otucu (fisheries officer), Ms Alice Amolo (land officer), Mr. Patrick Ochero (education officer), Mr. Gyvira Okello Musoke (position not mentioned), Mr James Obira (sports officer and Mr Richard Nyendo (physical planner).
The junior officers are; Ms Polly Akullo (a secretary /stenographer), Ms Jacquline Auma (office attendant) Mr Isaac Ayikobua (law enforcement officer), Ms Joyce Awino (a stenographer/secretary) and Ms Lucy Abeja (a porter).
Mr Simon Peter Akileng, the newly posted accounting officer has already directed his human resource officer to delete the officials’ names from the government payroll.
“It has come to my notice through attendance list analysis that some staff have continued to absent themselves from work without permission from their immediate supervisors hence putting service delivery in jeopardy and breaking Standing Orders for Public Service of Uganda,” Mr Akileng said in a letter dated September7, 2022.
He added: “The purpose of writing this letter is to request you to delete the following from the government pay of Otuke.”
Mr Francis Abola, the Otuke LC5 chairperson, said the affected workers are of three categories, including those who have absconded from work for nearly one year but they have continued to earn salary. There are those who work for only three days in a week and the third category are those from the education department who took pupils for athletics and music dance and drama competition in Kyotera district.
“They went for official duty, but since they were away and unable to sign the staff arrival books, the CAO mistook them to be among absentees but that one is going to be corrected,” Mr Abola told Daily Monitor on Wednesday.
He said the problem is in Otuke just like any other district in Lango sub-region where most civil servants live in Lira city and not in their respective workstations.
“They work for only three days in a week because they normally leave Lira on Mondays and report for work on Tuesdays and on Fridays they work half day and go back to their homes in Lira,” Mr Abola said.
He warned the workers that they would be dismissed if they continued operating from Lira which is over 60 kilometres away, explaining that the district has given them accommodation.
“I am the district chairman but I stay in Otuke together with the Chief Administrative Officer and most of the time I am available in the district to receive visitors,” he added.
