I retired early from the Public Service!

Many employees wait to retire on the attainment of the mandatory age of 60 years. In Uganda, this is as transcribed in law. Some few withdraw before attaining mandatory retirement. They do it on account of personal reasons. The rules provide that a person holding a public office may retire if authorised on medical grounds, or on giving a sounding reason, or on the attainment of the age of 60 years or if female on marital grounds.

After a successful 15 years in the Public Service, at last, I retired early. My main reason was to take good care of my ailing father, the Late Eliasaph Rwampakani. By retirement, I had acquired vast skills, experience and practical knowledge in the field of Human Resource Management. I had also contributed immensely to significant projects like the conceptualisation of the Uganda Civil Service College and the development of the Policy on the transformation of Uganda Public Service.

In addition to meeting my late father’s medical bills, I retired to take good care, my core family. Nursing my late dad was damn stressing. Financially I needed money to pay the many doctors that worked hard to see that my father lives well. This affected my performance. I would be away from duty for many days taking care of my dad. This significantly affected my performance. Consequently, I opted to seek to retire early.

Before the submission of my application, I consulted my family members. My teenage girls and their mother gave their inputs to the options I had. We prayed together about it. I was 45 years of age. We discussed cost containment measures. We reviewed every family expenditure line and agreed on coping measures together.

When the family allowed me to retire, I submitted my application. I was blessed with both approval and prompt payment of my gratuity. I appreciate the Government of Uganda for this favour. With the money, I took care of my family, my father’s medical bills and school fees for my three children.

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