Gen Aronda Nyakairima's first six days as minister of Internal Affairs have come with changes that have caused panic amongst the employees at the ministry.

Our sources at the ministry told us that in meetings with staff to acquaint himself with the work environment, the former army commander vowed to eliminate 'thieves,' extortionists and reduce client inconvenience caused by long queues of passport applicants. Aronda says he will not tolerate any tendency by ministry staff to fleece Ugandans.

The minister, insiders sources say, has set a militaristic tone at the ministry, which everyone is supposed to abide by. Gen Aronda, who started work on July 24, according to sources, has asked commissioners to park their cars outside the premises of the ministry to create space for Ugandans who flock the headquarters to receive passports, and he has also ordered for the introduction of electronic passports to help quicken the process for clients.

Aronda says acquisition of passports should be a service that his officers should provide without inconveniencing the clients. Impeccable sources have told us that Aronda, in a meeting with top staff at the ministry on July 26, said there are so many underhand deals in the department of Immigration that must be checked and that thieves and corrupt officers would be dealt with accordingly.

Before Aronda came in, Uganda earned a bad name in the international community as a country whose diplomatic passports were found in the hands of wrong people. Back home, the work permit scandal also rocked the ministry with accusations that the officers at Internal Affairs just dish out work permits to the highest bidder without following the proper criteria.

Insiders in the ministry told us that corruption had become the order of the day. People keen to bribe ministry officials get passports in one day while those who don't have money suffer in long queues. Now, Aronda wants that to stop. The Observer has been told that under the new changes, Aronda wants two new passport centres created in Mbale and Mbarara by October this year, and that they be fully-fledged to issue passports just like the ministry does.

Aronda's argument is that opening these two centres and strengthening the upcountry offices will make the processing of obtaining passports much faster and also reduce on the queues at the ministry headquarters. Sources have told us that Aronda has also decreed that the immigration department should only issue passports in the morning and receive applications in the afternoon.

However, The Observer understands that what has caused a stir in the ministry is the order that commissioners should park their cars outside the premises to ensure that space is created for people who want to access passports. Under this arrangement, one parking slot originally meant for one of the commissioners has been allocated to Aronda's escort car. From his days as Army Commander, Aronda has been a down-to-earth general who moves with one escort car.

We have also established that Aronda has directed that the entrance to the ministry of Internal Affairs headquarters be changed from Jinja road to Old Port bell road. Aronda told staff that Jinja road is too crowded.

This shift, we have been told, commences in August.

When The Observer visited the Internal Affairs ministry yesterday, the situation was tense for both workers and people seeking services. There were rigorous check points. The minister also told staff that the introduction of the national ID system will ease passport acquisition because clients will not require the local council endorsement and that verification of applications will be done internally and those who have passed the test will be given an electronic notice and then invited to the passport centre in Kampala, Mbarara or Mbale, to pick their passports.

When The Observer interviewed Jacob Siminyu, the public relations officer of the ministry of Internal Affairs, he confirmed the new changes, but argued that some of these changes were already in the pipeline before Aronda came in.

"These changes have come because of limited space. That is why we are dividing the process of acquiring passports into two phases--morning and evening. We want to minimise on the crowds," Siminyu said.

During his handover ceremony on July 24, Aronda threatened to bar politicians from holding protests, especially in markets and roads, saying they were trampling on the rights of others. He also threatened the media--cautioning journalists to tread carefully, especially on matters of security.

Aronda, who replaced Hilary Onek, said his priority areas would be identification cards, strict enforcement against foreigners dealing in retail businesses and hawking, restraining non-governmental organisations engaging in activities different from those they registered for, and enforcing stricter media regulations.