Before his demise, Keith Muhakanizi, a seasoned government technocrat who had long served as the PSSTT and later transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), warned the technocrats at OPM never to listen to the political heads of the institution, or else they risked serving time in Luzira Prison.
His warning would later prove prophetic when Geoffrey Sseremba, the undersecretary and acting accounting officer at OPM, was arrested and charged by the Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo over the iron sheet scandal in June 2023.
While the real culprits who diverted the iron sheets in OPM walked scot-free, technocrats who had no constituents but worked on the orders of politicians were arrested and charged.
However, Muhakanizi was not alive to witness his warning come true.
His replacement, Dunstan Balaba, who boasts 32 years of experience in government, seems to have heeded the words of the late Muhakanizi.
Before his appointment as the new Permanent Secretary of OPM, Dunstan Balaba had been the Chairperson of all Chief Administrative Officers in the country and had served in several districts.
This means he had worked closely with Muhakanizi at a personal level.
Dustan assumed office at level 2 in December 2023 but was removed from the same position a year later in a mini-reshuffle announced by the head of Public Service, Lucy Nakyobe.
He is one of the few, if not the only, Permanent Secretary who didn’t complete his contractual term of three years.
Many Permanent Secretaries, despite poor performance or audit queries, have been given the opportunity to complete their contracts, with some even being granted contract renewals.
Highly placed sources in the presidential twin-tower building revealed that Dunstan, who is approaching 65 years of age, is more than happy with his transfer to the Ministry of Ethics, a lesser-known and underfunded office that runs as a department under Presidency.
“You would wonder why a career officer like him would be happy with a demotion. Remember, he had been coordinating an office with 13 ministers and the top leader of government business, the Prime Minister, Hon. Robina Nabanja,” said a source.
What went wrong?
According to a separate source, Dunstan immediately clashed with his superiors the moment he was sworn in as Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer of the institution.
“He warned the politicians that he would never release money without accountability, as politicians preferred,” said a source.
In government, political heads (ministers and others) often pressure technocrats to source funds for them without regard for accountability issues.
“It becomes a burden for accounting officers to create nonexistent programs as a means of justifying these funds,” said a source.
This situation explains why many technocrats have been jailed over accountability and audit queries, while politicians continue to enjoy luxury, plotting for the next election cycle.
“But Dunstan was not that type; he never minced his words to his superiors in the highest offices.
The politicians in OPM started resenting him and treating him as a significant enemy to the point that he was frequently removed from lists of those who would travel abroad for government work.
Because he had closed all cash taps in the Ministry, some politicians resorted to Indian moneylenders to quench their thirst for cash.
“There is a notorious PA who serves a powerful minister in OPM. Without respect, he would order the PS, despite his age, to find money for the politician as quickly as possible. And whenever Dunstan rejected the command, the PA would rush to the moneylenders,” a highly placed source said.
This explains why OPM is entangled in many debts with private businessmen.
Another powerful official in OPM revealed a shocking scenario when one of the influential ministers descended from office to level 2, where Dunstan sat.
This minister demanded money because there were pending activities, including a visit to the constituency.
After multiple calls to Dunstan for cash fell on deaf ears, the minister ordered office staff to open the safe, only to find Shs 60 million.
Inquiring about the purpose of the money, the minister learned that it had been set aside for the medical bills of a fellow minister who was abroad fighting for life.
“With no remorse, the minister ordered the PA to pack the money into a bag and they travel to the constituency,” an official said.
Faced with such actions, Dunstan informed the appointing authority that he was tired of serving in OPM due to his age and health and requested an immediate transfer.
In December, he sought leave and confided in those close to him that he would not serve another term if he remained in his position.
God answered his prayers when he was transferred to a department within OPM.
He is replaced by Alex Kakooza, a former PS in the Ministry of Education and, at the time of his appointment, the Principal Private Secretary in the Office of the Vice President.
Efforts to reach Dunstan Balaba for comment were unsuccessful as his known phone number could not be reached.
No official in the OPM was willing to comment on the matter when approached by this website.
The OPM publicist, Charles Odongtho, did not respond to our repeated calls and had not replied by the time of filing this report.
