New recruitment sparks chaos @ Pride Microfinance, UETCL & DDA
If you take the temperature of how several staffers at Dairy Development Authority (DDA), Pride Microfinance Ltd (MDI) and Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) are feeling at the moment, the scale would likely read “uneasy.” They have good reason to feel anxious.
Top bosses there have alerted them to prepare psychologically and physically for the impending recruitment process. Some are now worried that their jobs may be on the chopping block.
DDA & UETCL
Recently DDA, a semi-autonomous agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) responsible for developing and regulating the dairy industry in Uganda externally advertised over 10 job positions which include that of Manager internal audit, Principal Dairy development officer, Principal procurement officer, Principal accountant, senior accountant, senior Diary Development Officer, Senior Diary Inspector, Human Resource officer, Diary Development Officer, and Diary Inspector. Some jobs were advertised internally.
However, a section of staffers are not happy with what is going on.
There are allegations that the ongoing recruitment is focusing on frustrating and kicking out people who were close to former ED, Dr Michael Kansiime, who died in November last year after a long illness. He was replaced by Samson Mpiira in an acting capacity.
Similar allegations are being raised at scandal ridden UETCL as the power transmitter continues to reorganize itself after enduring a period of bad media and investigations by Mps, IGG and others because of too much rot there. All this culminated into the firing of Mzei Peter Ucanda led board and as well some top brass in management led by then MD George Rwabajungu. Some old staff continue to exit.
To salvage UETCL’s image and put it back on track, the new board and management recently embarked on reorganizing troops by redeploying, firing and hiring.
34 positions were lined up for grabs and they include among others Chief Finance Officer, Chief Auditor And Assurance Officer, Chief Technical Officer, Head Commercial, Assistant Surveyor, Administrative Assistant To The Head HRA, Head Of Projects Implementation, Head Grid Development And Planning, Operations And Maintenance, Business Applications Support Officer, Dispatch Engineer Reconciliation Reports Outage, Civil Engineer, Hardware Engineer Backup Control Centre, Information Systems Officer –Software, Information Systems Auditor and Investigations Clerk.
However, some old staff view this as a move to purge them by the new bosses.
Whereas some are quitting voluntarily those who have nowhere to go feel they are being forced out.
And in the grand scheme of things, these must be replaced with friends, allies, acquaintances, spouses, relatives, tribe mates, girlfriends, boyfriends of some officials there.
It has been reported that a public service consultant has been hired to set a certain bar for UETCL employees, a move that some see as deliberate to kick them out. And one of them is setting high requirements and standards which can’t be met by the incumbent staff. That some positions which previously required at least a bachelor’s degree have been designed now to accommodate only those with a masters degree. That in doing so, most experienced employees who have been there for five to ten years are likely to be kicked out in favour of Johnny-come-lately.
MDI NOT SPARED
The same chaos has also been reported at Pride Microfinance Ltd (MDI). Some of the advertised jobs include that of ICT security manager, Risk manager, Systems Administrator, Senior credit manager, Regional manager, Branch manager, ICT security officer, Driver, Credit officers-individual and agricultural lending and as well community banking for central, west, east and north.
MDI was recently hit by financial fraud where some monies were stolen. Investigations reportedly pointed to an inside job. Now some staffers feel the recruitment seeks to purge some staff so as to be looked at as incompetent when in actual sense it is a cover up for alleged perpetrators inside the bank.
“A lot of money was lost through the mobile banking system. Some staff now have to pay a price by losing their jobs. They have been branded as incompetent and hence a reason to chase them away. Yet in actual sense it is a cover up for some officials to get off the hook,” said an insider.
That this could explain why ICT related positions are among those up for grabs.
HOW THE FRAUD HAPPENED
According to reports, hackers in May this year gained access to the institution’s Mobile Money account system, stealing money in a range of shs1bn to 2bn.
The stolen money was then sent to random Airtel Uganda phone numbers on Airtel money and later withdrawn.
It is not clear if it was an inside job syndicated between Airtel and MDI.
Before the hackers could withdraw all the monies (totaling to shs1.8 billion), Airtel and Pride Microfinance detected the fraud and the former moved and blocked all phone numbers, and later withdrew whatever cash it found there indiscriminately. A case was reported at Police CRB 523/2023 by MDI.
Airtel Uganda recorded an official complaint opened at the Police Cyber and Counter Electronic Measure Desk at Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) headquarters in Kibuli, Kampala.
A case file, SD/REF:74/09/05/2023, was also opened at Kiira Road Police station.
However, we understand the hackers completed transactions on over 1000 registered SIM cards before the daring raid was stopped in its tracks.
The telecom, we are told, accused whoever received cash on their numbers as having a hand in the hack job.
Airtel money agents protested.
Airtel has since returned some of the affected people’s cash (after mounting pressure from these particular individuals) but many are still desperately demanding for their money.
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