KCCA Rot Explained PIII: Children of Technical Know-Who and How Unmerited Appointments in Government Translate in Rotten Fruits on Our Plates

In my life so far, I know of only one thing which we get without meriting; that’s the grace of God. For all other things that one may have in life, they must work. Indeed, where corners are cut, there will be consequences – for, actions have consequences – and the results will always show that what you have, you did not merit.

Now this writer does not imply that all things in one’s life will have been merited. No, there are things such as gifts from loved ones, ejusdem generis, that we do not merit. Yet, an argument is still sustainable that gifts are a return on social investment. I need not explain further, lest I digress. However, there are spheres of life in which nothing which is not merited should ever be given.

One such sphere is government which is, at its core, a sphere of public service. Truly, if we were to dissect the core problem of the government’s short comings in service delivery, I dare say that we will find the primary culprits to be ineptitude and incompetence. These will often arise where the individuals to whom authority is given, have not merited it.

This phenomenon is best exemplified by the “rot in KCCA” (not my words). In a series of communications among the offices of, inter alia, the KCCA ED, the Minister for Kampala Capital City & Metropolitan Affairs, the Public Service Commission, and the Resident City Commission for Kampala, it was revealed that a great deal of mishandling of authority has occurred in KCCA. I need not get into the details of such abuses as these have been well elaborated by this very website.

Precisely, due to failures in certain departments within KCCA, mandates have remained unsatisfied in some areas and exceeded in others. Who has suffered for this? Look no further than the muntu wa wansi. People working in the markets have lost revenue due to power outages attributable to pending arrears. Also, water disconnections have occurred for similar reasons. Purely avoidable reasons if the people in ‘charge’ had been apt to administer their authority.

How does merit tie into all this? It has been alleged that the occupant of the top office at KCCA is a smidge underqualified for the job. Not only this, she is claimed to have a ‘psychological’ challenge (not in any sense a disease or condition) rooted in ego. Often, when one is underqualified and surrounded by people of better qualifications, the result is a contentious work environment.

Such a person will find other means of asserting his/her dominance; which in their mind will be an assertion of authority. Consequently, tensions become palpable followed by a rising of defensive walls culminating in a breakdown of communication. A brief perusal of the qualifications of the occupant of the top office at KCCA shall suffice to establish a premise for this article’s argument. I’ll spare you the details of the irrelevant primary and secondary levels results. She acquired a Pass Degree in Law from Makerere University in 1987 which was followed by a Diploma in Legal Practice from LDC.

One wonders what considerations are made for admission to this institute which ensures the quality of national legal practice. Anyways! Her Diploma was followed by two Masters Degrees to wit; a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and Management from Uganda Christian University, and a Master of Arts in Leading Innovation and Change, awarded by York St John University, in the United Kingdom. As for her career prior to being appointed as KCCA ED, she had worked in several posts and positions which I must say are incredibly impressive. Understandably, one would look at that academic and career background and be awed by it.

Indeed, one would conclude that she is over-qualified for her task. Now, I’ll proceed to doubly and analogously illustrate why such a conclusion can be challenged. First, no man in his senses would let a lawyer operate on him; that is a task reserved for surgeons. Nor would I permit a surgeon to be my attorney in court and any man that would might need a visit to a different kind of doctor. Second, no reasonable man, after hearing that the surgeon assigned to him has lost all but one of his patients in the operating room, would refuse an option of having a more qualified surgeon operate on him.

If he did, there would be more than meets the eye in that choice; perhaps a prior personal connection between him and the less qualified surgeon. It is in this respect that this article argues that the occupant of the top office at KCCA is underqualified; there were better qualified individuals who, if merit had been the primary (as it should be) consideration, would have got the job instead of the person now in charge.

Consequently, due to that aforementioned psychological phenomenon which informed a rather offensive attitude towards her co-employees, many people working within KCCA felt slighted by the conduct of the ED. Now, if the root is bad, so the fruit will be. It is alleged that hiring in KCCA is so irregular; manifesting as unqualified hires. Little surprise then that the work of the Authority has become a mess.

There is reportedly a great deal of aggrieved employees whose half-hearted effort, a product of bad leadership, has resulted in a mess of KCCA activity within the city; some of which has been stated above. A revision of policy is necessary in government. Lest the country be handed to the dogs, unqualified hires must be done away with. This kind of hiring practice may be stomached in a private entity. However, where the people are concerned, it is important to hire on basis of merit. Let the best person get the job. Nor should you appoint a doctor to argue your case in court. Then again, who I’m I to speak; I’m only a twenty-something year old slighted by the ‘rotten’ fruits which our masters feed us.

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Joel Kenneth Ndawula

Joel Kenneth Ndawula is a Christian, and a Lawyer currently undertaking his LL.M at Uganda Christian University. As an avid reader and writer, he offers incisive legal commentary on current affairs. He can also be reached via email: [email protected]