By Aggrey Baba
Parliament has started covering burial expenses for former Members of Parliament in a move that many retired MPs say is a step in the right direction but still far from what they have been pushing for over the years.
The Parliamentary Pensioners Association (a group made up of MPs who served in Uganda’s first to tenth parliaments) recently held their general assembly at Parliament where this decision was confirmed, that government will now provide ugx 3.5 million to cater for the funeral costs of any former MP who passes on.
While the gesture has been received with gratitude, it has also reignited calls for government to go beyond just burial support, yet many of the retired MPs are now elderly and grappling with high medical bills, poor access to insurance, and what they describe as “neglected promises” made to them by the President in previous years.
The group, originally made up of 1,114 former MPs, now stands at 996 members after losing 17 colleagues in just the past year. With more of their members ageing and falling sick, the association is calling for urgent amendments to the Parliamentary Pensions Act to include comprehensive medical coverage and better retirement packages.
Currently, sitting MPs contribute 2% of their basic salary to a medical insurance scheme meant to cover them in retirement. However, members argue that the deductions are too little, and by the time they leave Parliament, the benefits are almost non-existent.
A sitting MP earns about UGX 7 million a month, and 2% of that amounts to just ugx 34,000 per month, a figure many say cannot support any meaningful health care in today’s Uganda.
During the meeting, leaders of the association emphasised the need for the government to top up these contributions and take on a bigger share of responsibility in covering the health needs of its retired MPs.
Former State Minister for Health James Kakooza, who now sits at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), has been among those calling for the government to match the MPs’ contributions.
His argument is that by the time a legislator retires, they are likely to be entering a phase of life where chronic illness becomes more common, and without proper medical cover, many end up suffering silently.
There are also concerns that the current pension scheme does not reflect the realities of Uganda’s healthcare costs. The leadership of the association has proposed that instead of only focusing on burial support, the state should introduce a robust retirement medical plan, as is done in other countries, or at the very least increase the MPs’ post-service health allowances.
The former MPs are also reminding the President of a promise he reportedly made in 2016 at a medal-awarding ceremony held at Kampala Serena Hotel.
At that time, Museveni is said to have committed to giving retirement packages to members of the ninth Parliament and those before them, a promise the association says has never been fulfilled.
The issue of retirement support for former MPs has long been a silent one, with many preferring to suffer quietly rather than appear to beg for state help. But with time catching up on them and more colleagues dying without proper care or support, the matter has now been brought into the open.
Some retirees have even joked that Parliament is now more prepared to bury them than to treat them while alive, a sentiment that has touched a nerve within the association.
For them, a decent burial is good, but it is far more important to be cared for while still breathing.
The association has now tasked State Minister for Privatisation Evelyn Anite, who represented the President at the meeting, to relay their concerns to the Head of State.
Among their key demands is a quick amendment of the pensions law, a proper medical scheme, and fulfillment of Museveni’s 2016 pledge.
For now, Parliament has done its part by setting aside ugx 3.5 million per deceased MP. But as the old saying goes, “what good is a cow when you can no longer drink its milk?” The former MPs insist that true appreciation should come not just at the grave, but also in the sunset years of life.
