Lamwo district human resource department incapacitated to manage payroll

Lamwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Poor management of the payroll is affecting the performance of workers in Lamwo district.

Raising the concerns to the State Minister for Economic Monitoring who is assessing government projects in East Acholi, James Okumu Bedijo, the Chief Administrative Officer of Lamwo said since the decentralization of the payroll management system, the government has been assuming that the human resource departments have the capacity to manage the payroll.

However, Bedijo said the human resource department does not have the ability to ably capture data, prepare staff lists and analyze payments for current workers and pensioners.

Bedijo cited that in Lamwo, the staff list is supposed to be broken down into seven wage categories; primary and secondary teachers, political leaders, primary health care, and traditional civil servants.

Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, the Lamwo Resident District Commissioner said the problem has been persisting for the past five years and is affecting the performance of workers.

Oceng said the past Chief Administrative Officers have been making attempts to address the issue but the problem persists.

Wilfred Nyeko, the Lamwo District Community Development Officer, said he has worked for 10 months and was only paid for one month, off the payroll.

“Until now I have not accessed the payroll. I’m happy immediately after the acting CAO came, he started pursuing my case. I had hoped that I would be put on payroll this month, but I think somehow it did not work out. So, he has given me hope that maybe early next year,” Nyeko said.

Nyeko explained that for the past ten months he has been following the case with the human resource department and he was told his data was captured but it is among the Kitgum staff, and the problem has not yet been corrected even after traveling to Kitgum for the same issue.

“As I speak now all my children remained at home. I am only surviving on operational allowances,” Nyeko said.

Bedijo argued that the incapacity of the human resource department makes it hard for all the over 1,000 workers on payroll to be paid regularly.

Bedijo revealed that another problem affecting the regular pay of workers is the reforms by the Ministry of Public Service such as migration from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management System-IPPS to the Human Capital Management System-HCMS.

Beatrice Akello Akori, the State Minister for Economic Monitoring agreed that there is indeed a lot of outcry on the salary and pension anomalies in the district.

Akori advised the CAO to write to the said, and she will ensure that the payroll of the district is investigated and resolved.

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