Mega Fm & Agency
The Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, has directed all district and city local governments to fully constitute their District and City Service Commissions by August 30, 2026, in a move aimed at accelerating the recruitment of substantive staff and addressing persistent staffing gaps that have undermined service delivery across the country.
In a directive addressed to District Chairpersons, City Mayors, Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and Town Clerks, the minister said the deadline follows consultations with the Ministry of Public Service to fast-track the recruitment of more than 800 approved vacant positions in local governments.
The directive comes amid growing concern over staffing shortages caused by disputes and court battles involving District Service Commissions, which have stalled recruitment, left critical positions vacant and resulted in billions of shillings in wage allocations going unutilised.
According to the minister, the prolonged absence of fully constituted Service Commissions has weakened institutional capacity, slowed the implementation of government programmes and forced many officers to serve in acting capacities for years.
Barugahara said the continued reliance on acting appointments has undermined accountability, supervision, project implementation and career progression.
