Premium Tears as Museveni Government Fires All REA Employees

President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni’s government has fired all the employees of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. 

The Ruth Nankabirwa-led ministry, through its Permanent Secretary Irene Batebe, has made it very clear to the REA staff that their job contracts will be terminated in a matter of months and that they should prepare to leave and find jobs elsewhere.

In her letter to REA, PS Batebe reminded all staff that government issued Statutory Instrument No. 29 of 2021 detailing a cabinet decision to mainstream Rural Electrification Agency to Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

As such, the Permanent Secretary has informed the staff that their employment contracts will be terminated with effect from October 19 2022.

She further noted that this decision by the Museveni government may in some cases see some staff absorbed into the mainstream Public Service.

But Batebe added that the absorption would depend on whether the staff have the requisite qualifications and experience needed for available jobs in the mainstream Public Service. The jobs will be available, and subject to the terms and conditions for vacancies in the approved Rural Electrification Department structure.

But most of the staff who will be unlucky will have to seek jobs elsewhere since the new department of Rural Electrification cannot absorb all staff that have been working for the agency.

Those leaving the department — because they cannot be absorbed — will get their duly accrued benefits as stipulated in the laws of Uganda and in line with their terms of contract.

With about two months left to the date when all contracts of REA staff will expire, PS Batebe has reminded the employees of the need to hand over their offices and all government properties they have been using such as vehicles to their immediate supervisors in line with Section 6.10 of the Rural Electrification Agency, Human Resources Manual.

Meanwhile, the lucky employees of REA who will be absorbed into the newly formed department in the ministry of energy will be paid according to the recently released new salary structure for the 2022-2023 financial year. (See New Salary Structure Showing How Much Each Government Employee Will Be Earning Every Month HERE).

This is not the first time that government will be firing employees on a large scale. In March 2022, it emerged that the Ministry of Health had fired about 700 health workers after failing to secure funds to pay them. (Read Story Here).