Kitgum district allocates shs23.8 billion for staff recruitment in its 2025/26 budget

Kitgum district allocates shs23.8 billion for staff recruitment in its 2025/26 budget.

As the Kitgum district council prepares a budget estimate of shs41.2 billion for the fiscal year 2025/2026, shs23.8 billion has been set aside for the recruitment of new employees in the coming fiscal year.

According to Lapyem Emmanuel, the district vice chairperson who also serves as the Secretary of Finance, Planning, and Administration, the recruitment process will begin in July 2025.

Lapyem added that the district management would oversee the technical procedures, and that the job postings would be published as soon as the new fiscal year began.

He also expressed appreciation for the combined efforts of the district’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the LC5 chairperson, members of the district council, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Members of Parliament, the Ministry of Public Service, and the Ministry of Finance, among others.

Lapyem further mentioned that Kitgum currently has a staffing gap of 58%, with many positions unfilled.

Earlier, the CAO, Stella Abyeto, explained that recruitment efforts had stalled due to the Ministry of Public Service and the Ministry of Finance not yet approving the necessary wage ceiling.

Abyeto pointed out that the district cannot recruit new staff without clearance from these ministries.

At the moment, the district has only 837 staff members, leaving a gap of about 413. To bridge this gap in the education sector, the district is expected to have 1,250 education assistants and head teachers.

Arwai Christopher Obol, the Kitgum district LC5 chairperson, stated in his 2024/2025 State of the District Address that the gap in education staffing resulted from the government’s failure to allow districts across the country to conduct recruitment for the last three years due to COVID-19.

He stated that the department of education and other departments would continue to suffer until the government lifted the recruitment ban.

 By Vincent Kaguta