Public Service Commission presents 2017/18 annual report

The operationalisation of E-Recruitment has recorded extensive gains with the pilot programme having 4,000 candidates sitting for an e-interview, Justice Ralph Ochan, the Chairperson Public Service Commission (PSC) has said.

Ochan made the revelation while presenting the PSC 2017/18 Annual Report to the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, on Monday, 19 November 2018.

“It’s worth highlighting that the Commission progressed with operationalizing the E-Recruitment system, which has recorded substantial efficiency gains. This reduced the workload from six weeks to one week and candidates were able to view their results instantly,” Ochan said.

Ochan explained that in order to improve service delivery, they organized a regional stakeholder’s conference, starting with the western region, which brought together District Chairpersons, Resident District Commissioners, Chief Accounting Officers and Town Clerks, who highlighted the weaknesses and irregularities of the method used to appoint the District Service Commission.

“In pursuit of improving service delivery, we held a regional meeting where the district leadership opened up to the source of corruption, nepotism, bias and conflict of interest. This opened our eyes to the irregularities and as such we shall hold another workshop in the eastern region so as to come up with stringent rules while appointing the District Service Commission,” he added.

Kadaga, in her response, welcomed the change to E-Recruitment but was concerned about persons with disabilities that cannot access e-mail.

“We acknowledge the changes in the E-Recruitment programme and hope it will improve your work. However, last week, the Chair Equal Opportunities Commission and a group from Cheshire Homes complained that the e-applications were not suitable to the blind. When will you get the braille system for them? Can we look into this area?” she said.

Kadaga further urged the Public Service Commission to spearhead the recruitment of special needs teachers and health workers, since 12 per cent of the population comprises persons with disability.