governance 27 September 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Teso Districts Return Shs16.9 Billion to Treasury Amidst Recruitment Freeze
Local government units in the Teso sub-region have returned over Shs16.9 billion to the national treasury due to the government's failure to approve staff recruitment, severely impacting service delivery, particularly in education and health sectors. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/teso-returns-shs16b-to-treasury-after-govt-fails-to-approve-staff-recruitment-5611580
Eleven local government entities across Teso have collectively returned more than Shs16.9 billion to the national treasury. This significant sum was unspent because the central government withheld approval for crucial staff recruitments, leaving essential services in critical departments like education and health struggling.
Katakwi District alone accounts for Shs6.7 billion of the returned funds. District officials explained that despite having allocated funds for new health staff and secondary school teachers, they received no clearance to hire them. “Our repeated formal communication to the government through the line ministries to grant us the go-ahead to fill the staffing gap yielded nothing,” stated Katakwi LC5 Chairperson, Mr. Geoffrey Omolo.
This failure to recruit impacts districts directly. For instance, Katakwi had funds earmarked for teachers in four seed schools and for health workers, but the money had to be returned as the financial year closed without the necessary government approvals. Mr. Omolo further highlighted that with schools no longer charging fees, volunteer teachers are losing morale as institutions lack funds to pay them.
Other districts also reported substantial returns. Soroti City returned Shs1.99 billion, while Kapelebyong returned Shs2.11 billion. Soroti City Mayor, Mr. Francis Esudu, lamented that a fully constructed health facility remains non-functional due to the inability to recruit staff, even with allocated wage bill funds.
Public Service Minister, Gen (rtd) Katumba Wamala, acknowledged the issue, citing potential delays in fund releases from the Ministry of Finance and the ultimate requirement to return unspent money. He assured that the central government would address the delayed recruitment, recognizing its detrimental effect on service delivery.