(L-R): Hon. Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny - Dollo with Dr and Mrs. Pius Bigirimana at the book launch
The Office of thePresident's auditorium came to life on Friday afternoon with published works ofJudiciary Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr Pius Bigirimana,dotted on the side-walks. The set up was ideal for the launch of Dr Bigirimana'sfifth title, "Unchained: A public servant with a private sector mindset".
The event drewJudicial Officers from all court levels, several senior government officialsincluding technocrats and politicians. When the Chief Justice, Hon. Justice AlfonseChigamoy Owiny - Dollo arrived at about 3:00pm, everybody rose to their feetand the anthems were played. This was followed by a prayer by the author's son.
In his message whichwas delivered by the Chief Justice, President Yoweri Museveni tasked the publicservants to serve people's interests saying it is their core mandate. ThePresident elaborated that the role of public servants is to serve the interestsof the people of Uganda and not foreign or imperial or selfish interests."Their interests include development, peace, wealth creation, market access,education, health among others and these are the legitimate interests of thepeople of Uganda regardless of tribe, religion, gender, age, colour, regionamong others," President Museveni noted.
The Head of Statenoted that in order to fulfill the people's aspirations, the ruling NationalResistance Movement (NRM) anchored four principles and these are patriotism,Pan Africanism, social-economic transformation and democracy.
"I commend PiusBigirimana for sharing his insights on how to improve public service delivery.The yardstick for measuring relevance of the public service is the degree towhich it is responsive to the interests of the population," the Presidentnoted.
The book, which is DrBigirimana's fifth book, can be reduced to one sentence, a public servant candeliver best possible quality of public service if he or she takes on a PrivateSector mindset.
"My main argument inthe book is that at the individual level, there is a lack of conceptual clarityto have a deep understanding of one's work. For example, if you are a permanentsecretary, do you know the work of the permanent secretary? If you are ajudge, do you know that you are a judge? That's why I am saying induction mustbe done for all public servants," the PS/SJ said.
In his remarks, theChief Justice described Dr Bigirimana as a big asset for the Judiciary, who hasaided its transformation. "Bigirimana is the only non-judicial officer who ispart of the Judiciary Top Management...He is a great asset to the Judiciarybecause he has understood what the Judiciary is and what is required ornecessary to move it forward," CJ Hon. Justice Owiny - Dollo said.
The head of theJudiciary pointed out that it is because of Dr Bigirimana's tireless effortsthat the Judiciary budget was enhanced to more than Shs375b. "We have come along away, our budget for many years had never gone beyond Sh200b but becausewe were able to put a case to the Head of State, by one stroke, the budget wasraised to about Shs375b and because of this we have been able to embark on thejourney of transforming the Judiciary landscape in Uganda," he said.
The Chief Justiceshared that the main agenda for the Judiciary is to afford the citizens accessto justice in a timely manner. "We have recruited hundreds of judicial officersin the hope that in a couple of years or so, we should have a Chief Magistratein every district, a Magistrate Grade One in very constituency.
He applauded DrBigirimana for not being a desk officer as many public servants do, which hascreated a paradigm shift in the Judiciary from the traditional way ofconducting business. "When he talks about unchained, he is talking about aparadigm shift in handling public affairs. I want to thank you because you haveoverseen the construction of the appellate court and I am very sure this willbe benchmarked for a very long time because once it is complete, it will showthat it is possible to utilize public funds and there is value for those funds.You will be remembered for this," the CJ said.
Adding that DrBigirimana should be remembered for more than anything else for being awhistleblower against corruption. Hon. Justice Owiny - Dollo encouraged people towrite books saying authors never die as they remain points of reference fordecades.
The Head of PublicService, Ms Lucy Nakyobe, who wrote the foreword of the book, commended DrBigirimana for writing it saying it delivers a message to public servants thatthey can deliver quality services provided they can tune their minds to thosedriving the private sector. "If you read this book, you find this is possible.I therefore, call upon fellow public servants to read this book such that wecan borrow a leaf and drive the public sector in that line," she said.
Ms Nakyobe said DrBigirimana was better suited to write the book because he is a career publicservant with vast experience of more than 40-years. "By virtue of what he hasgone through, he stood at a vantage position to write this book," she noted.She pointed out that the book makes a very comprehensive account of the historyand the future of the public service and it is important for the development ofthe public service as it will fill the public gap and offer full understandingof the public servants' role in delivering quality services to the citizens."We need to inspire trust, leading by example, we need to be more humancentered, agility, data driven to challenge the status-quo such that we candeliver the best to our citizens," she said.
Adding, "I believethis book will enrich our knowledge and enhance our understanding of the publicservices and there is no doubt in my mind that the book will serve as a goodreference on Uganda's public service and I therefore recommend it for generalreadership for the public servant, university student and people in authority."
Dr Bigirimana salutedPresident Museveni for his leadership and mentorship that has enabled him towrite several books. "It is by his (President Museveni) enabling inspirationthat we have grown in our offices and developed confidence to resourcefully applyourselves for the growth of our country. I hope that books such as this onewill do fair justice to his legacy and the historical context in which hisgovernment has operated," he said.
Straight fromUniversity in 1984, Dr Bigirimana joined the public service and he has servedin different government departments and ministries since then.
"The public service Iknew as we grew up was filled with hardworking, selfless, innovative andprincipled cadres beyond the regards of duty calling to ensure that the populationfelt the actual presence of Government on a daily basis. But today it is notuncommon for public servants to say I work for the Government while others saythat the government will solve your problem. But can the Government exist if wepublic servants don't fulfill the role entrusted to us?" Dr Bigirimanawondered.
"Public servants mustact as oil to service private sector growth. They must have conceptual clarityof their business and I propose a return to the colonial public service systemby copying the good practices," he said.
To Dr Bigirimana, thereason for relative degradation of the public service is historical, technical,cultural and spiritual and there is need to repent.
He also decriedmandate migration in the public system saying it is one of the biggest problemsthat needs to be fixed.
"You find a publicservant leaving out what ought to be done undone. Some people are creatingpositions of directors to fight commissioners but why? People should haveenergies where they are best suited and weevils must be fired so that theydon’t intoxicate the rest," the PS/SJ said.
Mr Julius CaesarSseremba, who edited the book, said it is an important bank that should beplaced at the disposal of every public servant. "It ought to be used in inductioncourses," Sseremba said.
About The Book
UnChained: A publicservant with a private sector mindset, is a journeying of narratives exploringthe meaning of service and its transformation in Uganda right from thepre-colonial period. It culminates in a modern-day examination of where theproblem is in Uganda’s Public Service today.
The authoracknowledges that the Ugandan workspace has evolved substantially over theyears. Nonetheless, Conceptual Clarity (deep and wholesome understanding ofone's work) and an Abundance Mentality (a positive mindset) remain veryimportant tools for the modern-day Public Servant. At the institutional level,Mandate Migration (doing what ought not to be done and leaving what ought to bedone undone) plagues the cohesive operation of Ministries, Departments andAgencies.
Using his personalexperiences, as Permanent Secretary, he demonstrates that a positive attitudeand thinking "outside the box" are free of charge and cost a good workernothing to expend. It is without doubt that the Public Service in Uganda hasfundamental flaws (exacerbated by endemic corruption) that must be addressedbut that is no excuse for the indifference, unresponsiveness and negativity ofsome of Uganda's public servants. These should be fought and be defeateddecisively in order to bequeath the future generations with a fruitfulinheritance.
The book is availableat Aristoc Booklex at Shs50,000.
Posted 26th, August 2022
