By Mulengera Reporters
During their Tuesday meeting with the Ministry of Public Service delegation that was led by Minister Gen Katumba Wamala and PS Catherine Birakwate Musingwire, MPs who are members of the Public Service & Local Government Committee demanded to know why the Ministry wasn’t doing enough to uniformly enhance the welfare of lower rank officers working under Uganda Police Force, the UPDF and Uganda Prisons Services.
One after the other, the MPs demanded to know why it hadn’t been possible for all lower rank officers to have their remuneration and general welfare enhanced to the levels its already happening with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
Led by Committee Chairman Herbert Edmund Ariko and his vice Rose Obiga, the MPs demanded to know why it hadn’t yet been possible for each one of them to have a monthly take home salary of Shs1m as is already happening with game rangers working under UWA.
Whereas Musingwire didn’t say much, Gen Katumba said he needed time to respond to such a question after carrying out consultations because its many years ago since he last served as IGP for the Uganda Police Force and as the CDF for Uganda People’s Defense Forces. He admitted when he was there, the welfare was generally poor (police constables earned Shs180,000) for everyone because of the poor state Uganda’s economy was in but there were efforts to mitigate the problem.
Obiga had also demanded to know why there is glaring disparity especially inside the Uganda Police Force whose top leadership she accused of enjoying good salaries and remuneration as the lower rank cadres languish in misery, poverty and deprivation. She said she had been raising this question during the meetings of the Defense & Internal Affairs Committee always only for the top Police bosses to claim it’s only the Ministry of Public Service than can credibly and authoritatively answer that question. She said she was disappointed that the Ministry delegation hadn’t satisfactorily answered her question.
She said this was a big problem citing countless lower rank police men and women who she said keep confiding in her about their financial problems and deprivation. “Gen Katumba I know you also have such lower rank men serving as your escorts. Kindly find a way to speak to them and you will hear for yourself,” said Rose Obiga wondering why such meager salaries don’t become tax exempt.
The MPs commended UWA for trying its best to ensure that everyone enjoys proportionately a good pay as opposed to the same being monopolized by only the big men and women in top positions. Katumba Wamala and Musingwire were implored to see to it that other security forces find a way to emulate the UWA example when it comes to fair and inclusive remuneration policies.
At the instigation of PS Musingwire, Commissioner Victor Bua from the Ministry of Public Service explained the struggles of gradual salary enhancement for lower rank men and women in both police and UPDF. He said this had been on but gradually since the 2014. He recalled the days when Katumba Wamala was the IGP when police constables used to earn Shs180,000 per month and contrasted that with today when the same has since been enhanced to Shs580,000. This isn’t taxed and Bua said it wasn’t bad pay given than many such police constables are just S4 drop outs. This was contrasted with University graduates whose public service joining monthly pay is just Shs600,000.
He commended UWA for acting equitably when determining staff remuneration to the extent that the lower rank rangers currently earn a cool Shs1m per month. He also thanked the leadership of the country for ensuring that inside UPDF, priority first went on lower rank soldiers as Generals like Katumba Wamala had to wait up to the FY2024/2025 when their monthly remuneration was raised from mere Shs1.2m.
On the positive note, Bua called on MPs to be optimistic and hopeful for a better future because salary disparities in Uganda, which he admitted to be such a big problem, are going to comprehensively be addressed through the Public Service Amendment Act, which is soon going to be tabled in Parliament.
Under the new law, the National Emoluments Review Board is going to be created and its core mandate will be to harmonize remuneration of all officials who are paid monthly remuneration from the consolidated fund. The MPs will be learning more about all these reforms and much more during the joint retreat Gen Katumba Wamala and Musingwire ordered the Under Secretary Mr. Kaija Rogers Irumba to organize at the beginning of next year. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
