Public Service In Uganda

Article 175(a) of the Constitution defines a public officer as any person holding or acting in an office in the public service. “Public service” is defined in Article 175(b) to mean service in any civil capacity of the Government the emoluments for which are payable directly from the consolidated Fund or directly out of monies provided by Parliament.

In the Employment Act, it means service by or for the government of Uganda and includes persons employed in the public service, parastatal organizations and local authorities but does not include a member of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces.

Public servants are recognized in these categories:

Public Officer

Article 257(1)(x) defines it to mean a person holding or acting in any public office. According to the Public Service (Negotiating Machinery) Act, S.1(f) this does not include a public officer who under the Trade Unions Act is not eligible for membership in a trade union or an employee’s association affiliated to a trade union.

Public Servant

By inference, a public servant is any person who is in the services by or for the government of Uganda and includes persons employed in the public service, parastatal organizations and local authorities but does not include a member of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.

The above must be read with article 257(2) (b) which states: “(b) a reference to an office in the public service does not include a reference to the office of the President, the Vice –President, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, a Minister, the Attorney General, a Member of Parliament or a Member of any commission, authority, council or committee established by this Constitution.”

Civil Servant

There is no Act that expressly defines who a “civil servant” is. However, the Black’s Law Dictionary civil servants as the group of people employed by the administrative branches of government. Civil Servants include nursing officers, civil engineers and social workers. The civil servants are responsible for delivering public services to the public.  The government of Uganda has over 320,000 civil servants in its various departments and agencies for the purposes of delivering the services to the public.

The first schedule of the NSSF Act stipulates persons exempted from contribution to the social security fund. Among many other stipulated categories of exempted employment, public servants pensionable under the Pensions Act do not contribute to the social security fund.