KAMPALA – Junior officers in the Ministry of Finance, Planning & Economic Development have raised a red flag alfolowing a move by the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi to okay contract extension for long serving retiring top officers, blocking career development for upcoming talents.
In the spotlight are three retiring top officials – Fixon Okonye, the Internal Auditor General, Moses Kaggwa, the Director Economic Affairs, and Maris Wanyera, the Director Debt and Cash Policy.
The three are receiving a thank you stay contract issuance from Mr. Ggoobi amid wild murmurs of disapproval from disappointed junior staff, who believe the action will create career stagnation.
“It’s a bad culture,” one of the disgruntled staff said. “When someone at senior management level retires, it triggers promotion at all levels from senior, principal, assistant commissioner and commissioner,” the officier added.
He noted that many young officers are understandably unhappy and frustrated when they were looking forward to opportunities opening up, but now the trio in senior management are being “blocked from retirement and intend to seek for contract renewal and retention”.
The junior staff at the Ministry want President Museveni to intervene and direct the withdrawal of the contracts that PS/ST Ggoobi has offered to the trio of Mr. Okonye, Mr. Kaggwa and Ms. Wanyera.
They are also disgruntled over the fact that in the past, a number of senior members of staff have retired, and PS/ST Ramathan Goobi did let them go whenever they clocked 60 years. Examples include Mr. Godfrey Dhatemwa, Mr. Laban Mbulamuko, Ishmael Magona, Kakama Godwin, and Moses Zziwa.
