The Inspectorate of Government has uncovered irregularities in the recruitment and management of staff at Parliament, including the recruitment of 182 employees without advertising the vacancies, in a human resource audit commissioned following complaints about the institution’s recruitment practices.
The report, submitted to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni by Inspector General of Government Justice Aisha Naluzze Batala on September 11, 2026, found that the Parliamentary Commission had bypassed competitive recruitment procedures, with some employees reportedly lacking the minimum academic qualifications required for their positions.
However, the sections of the report available do not establish that Speaker Anita Among personally smuggled ghost workers onto Parliament’s payroll. They document recruitment and human resource management irregularities but do not identify the 182 employees as ghost workers or directly attribute the recruitment decisions to Among.
According to the report, the Parliamentary Commission, at a meeting held on September 16, 2021, resolved to recruit staff through headhunting or by using lists of former interns, contrary to the Commission’s Human Resource Policy Manual.
“Consequently, vacant positions were not advertised, and a total of 182 staff were recruited without an advertisement of the vacancies,” the report states.
The Inspectorate said the failure to advertise vacancies between October 2021 and June 2026 denied eligible Ugandans an opportunity to compete for employment at Parliament and prevented the institution from accessing the best available skills through a competitive recruitment process.
The report raises questions about the transparency of recruitment within the Parliamentary Commission, which is responsible for the administration of Parliament and its staff.
Some employees lacked required qualifications
The audit also found that some of the staff recruited did not possess the minimum academic qualifications required for the positions they occupied.
The report did not specify, in the sections provided, the number of employees affected, their names, the positions they held or whether any of them were receiving salaries without performing official duties.
It further established that the Parliamentary Commission’s Human Resource Policy Manual did not provide clear rules or guidelines governing staff promotions.
The Inspector General of Government told the President that, in some instances, recently recruited employees had been promoted at the expense of long-serving staff.
The findings raise concerns about the criteria used to recruit and promote employees, particularly where established procedures for equal opportunity and career progression were not clearly defined or followed.
The report recommends that the Clerk to Parliament review the personal files of all employees to establish whether they possess the requisite qualifications for the positions they hold.
IGG questions four directors’ roles
The audit also questioned the relevance of four director positions provided for under the Office of the Clerk to Parliament.
According to the report, although Parliament’s approved structure provided for the four directors, the audit found that they were redundant and did not have clear schedules of duties.
“It would be proper that the salaries and other benefits paid to these redundant directors are deployed to more critical functions of Parliament,” the report states.
The Inspectorate recommended that the Parliamentary Commission review the four positions with a view to abolishing them from the established structure if they were found to be unnecessary.
The report also identified a potential conflict of interest in the management of Parliament’s financial operations.
It noted that the Finance Department superintends over three independent functions—finance, procurement and inventory management—all of which report to the Director of Finance.
The Inspectorate said this arrangement created a potential conflict of interest because the three functions were answerable to the same director.
The audit further found that existing job descriptions and person specifications were generally outdated and did not meet current Public Service standards.
Parliament has 120 vacant positions
The report established that Parliament had an approved staff establishment of 893 employees, of whom 773 positions were filled, leaving 120 positions vacant.
The figures indicate that approximately 86.6% of the approved establishment was filled at the time of the audit.
The Office of the Clerk had 26 employees against an approved establishment of 25, while the Office of the Speaker had five employees against an approved 11 positions.
The Commission Secretariat had 10 employees against 27 approved positions, while the Office of the Leader of Government Business had 25 employees against an approved establishment of 24.
The Department of Clerks had 46 employees against 49 approved positions, while the Finance Department had 29 against 33.
The Communication and Public Affairs Department had 46 employees against 55 approved positions, and the Corporate Planning and Strategy Department had 39 against an approved 42.
Other departments also had staffing gaps. Human Resources had 18 employees against 25 approved positions, Information and Communications Technology had 32 against 37, and Library Services had 18 against 24.
Research Services had 61 employees against an approved establishment of 63, while the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms had 103 employees against 125 approved positions.
The staffing figures show the overall distribution of employees across Parliament’s departments, although the report excerpt does not establish that the 120 vacant positions were connected to the recruitment irregularities.
IGG orders reforms
To address the findings, the Inspectorate recommended that the Parliamentary Commission ensure all recruitment is conducted through competitive processes to give Ugandans equal employment opportunities.
It also directed the Commission to prioritise the establishment of a clear staff promotion policy and align job descriptions and person specifications for common-cadre positions with those used by the Public Service.
The Inspectorate further recommended rationalising Parliament’s staff and administrative structure to reflect its core functions of legislation, representation, oversight and appropriation.
The audit was conducted against the background of Section 2 of the Administration of Parliament Act, which establishes the Parliamentary Commission and provides for its composition.
The Commission comprises the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of Government Business or a nominee, Leader of the Opposition or a nominee, the Minister responsible for finance and four members of Parliament.
While the findings point to weaknesses in recruitment, staff qualifications, promotions and organisational structure, the report sections available do not detail any financial loss arising from the irregularities or identify individuals responsible for particular recruitment decisions.
They also do not establish that Anita Among personally recruited ghost workers or knowingly facilitated the payment of salaries to employees who did not exist or perform duties.
The Inspectorate’s recommendations place responsibility on the Parliamentary Commission and the Clerk to Parliament to review staff records, strengthen recruitment and promotion procedures, and align the institution’s structure with its mandate.
