The ruling NRM party secretary general Justine Kasule Lumumba has this afternoon announced a restructuring of the party’s staff members across the country, citing financial crisis and need to have professional workers.
Addressing a press conference at the party offices at Plot 10 Kyandondo Road in Kampala this afternoon, Ms Lumumba said they will lay off workers with an exception of a few.
“Those who will not be laid off include the general secretary; the assistant general secretary; the two directors, Legal and Finance and Administration, the chairman NRM electoral commission, vice chairperson of the electoral commission and the commissioner of the electoral commission,” she said.
Asked why the massive lay off, Lumumba explained the there is need for a professionally-managed NRM.
“When we took over responsibly as the secretariat [in 2015], you could find a graduate as an office assistant. Then you find a certificate holder in IT. We want to realign people based on their qualifications, because it is disheartening to be a degree holder earning less than a certificate holder,” she said.
Lumumba added: “As we talk now, we don’t have a human resource manager. We are going to have a human resource manager so that the staff are managed professionally.”
On how many staff members are to lose their jobs, the secretary general said about 200 staff will lose their jobs in two months.
These, she said, will each be paid salary arrears for the past seven months and will be laid off two months from now.
However, Lumumba said the staff members who lost jobs can reapply and be reemployed because of their experience from working with the party.
In the new structure, she said the Secretariat will be more involved in supervising the implementation of the NRM manifesto by government.
“We want a team that we can give instructions to make sure they give reports on the status of the implementation of the NRM manifesto in their respective districts, at the same time to be able to advise the secretariat and the party on the best programs for their particular areas,” Lumumba said.
