Statement by the Secretary General, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko on the alleged corruption in the ongoing EAC recruitment process

Posted in Official Statement

The Secretary General of the East African Community has through a report by NTV Uganda received news that the lawmakers of the East African Legislative Assembly sitting in Zanzibar have halted the ongoing recruitment process of over 30 senior officers of the EAC Secretariat due to allegations of corruption and influence peddling in the process.

First and foremost, the Secretary General commends EALA for its outstanding work in executing its oversight mandate on the operations of the Community. EALA is established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community with the principal function of furthering EAC objectives, through its Legislative, Representative and Oversight mandate.

Secondly the Secretary General wishes clarify and set the record straight on matters pertaining to the recruitment process as follows:

1. In the past, recruitment at the EAC Secretariat was done in close collaboration with the Partner States. This involved combined efforts between the EAC Secretariat staff and a pool of experts from Partner States throughout the recruitment process.
2. However, in 2014, during its 28th meeting, the Council directed EAC to engage the services of a reputable external consultancy firm to take up part of the recruitment process in a bid to enhance transparency and fairness. The Consultancy firm would undertake the preliminary steps of the recruitment process, prepare a shortlist and present it to the EAC Secretariat who would then constitute a panel including representatives from the Partner States to interview the shortlisted candidates. The list successful candidates would then be presented to the Council for consideration and appointment. This was a mandatory directive for all professional positions in EAC.
3. Subsequently, in a bid to implement the Council directive and following a transparent procurement process, EAC engaged the services of Deloitte and Touché in 2014. Since then, this consultancy firm has been involved in the recruitment of professional staff in EAC.
4. In 2016, as part of the ongoing implementation of the EAC Institutional Review, an EAC Adhoc Service Commission was established. The Commission is made up of representatives from each Partner State and is established to deal with all matters pertaining to recruitment in the Community. It is an independent Commission and reports directly to the Council of Ministers. Following the establishment of the Commission EAC has now served a notice to terminate its contract with Deloitte and Touché.
5. With regard to the most recent interviews conducted by the Adhoc Commission, the shortlisting of candidates was done by Deloitte and Touché because at the time their service contract was still valid. However for the ongoing recruitment the shortlisting was done by the Adhoc Committee and they are now preparing to conduct interviews for the shortlisted candidates. Thereafter the Commission present their report to the next Council of Ministers meeting.

In light of the above, the Secretary General wishes to emphasize that the EAC Management’s role as directed by the Council is to facilitate the EAC Adhoc Service Commission to execute its mandate. The recruitment process is undertaken by the EAC Adhoc Service Commission.

However, the Secretary General is dedicated to ensuring transparency with regard to the systems, processes and operations of the Community. The concerns raised by EALA are very grievous and alarming and if true will require urgent action. In this regard, The Secretary General has written to the Rt. Hon. Speaker for more information on this issue with factual evidence so that an investigation can commence immediately.

Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko
SECRETARY GENERAL