Parliament has advised Cabinet to rethink salary enhancements for security forces saying the current arrangement is unfair to junior officers whose welfare is continuously declining.
Legislators were discontent that whereas Parliament has often increased budget for the armed forces, with the view of elevating the status of junior officers, government has done the opposite.
“If the objective for enhancements was to improve the morale of the forces, it has done a complete opposite as salary enhancements are causing more harm than good; those in the rank are not seeing eye to eye with those in ranks below,” said the Chief Opposition Whip, Hon. John Baptist Nambeshe, during a plenary sitting on Wednesday, 07 August 2024 chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa.
Nambeshe was responding to a statement by the Minister of Public Service, Hon. Wilson Muruli Mukasa on the salary enhancements for the Uganda Police Force (UPF), Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF), Uganda Prisons Services, Internal Security Organisation and External Security Organisation.
Parliament learned that in the UPDF, the Government enhanced Salaries of senior officers from the rank of General to Major by 77 percent and left out lower cadres.
In the UPF, it was noted that the percentage increment for senior officers in ranks similar to those of UPDF was lower than the percentage applied to UPDF. These discrepancies, MPs said demoralise the officers and could ultimately pose security risks.
“Yesterday a prisons warder on hearing that Parliament has intervened in this matter called me in the morning and said; the senior officers who were not meant to be beneficiaries have instead received a large share. What we are planning is to go on strike such that the people you have sent us in Luzira Prison can come back and bring you to the level where you have kept us,” said Hon. Medard Sseggona (NUP, Busiro County East).
Members were particularly disturbed to learn that constables, the lowest ranking cadres in the police force who were to receive minimum salary of Shs 847,000 got a slight increment and still earn as low as of Shs 470,000 monthly net pay.
“When you arm a person and you do not pay that person, in essence you are telling that person to use the gun to go and look for survival. We cannot risk these people to go out with the gun,” said Hon. Betty Nambooze (NUP, Mukono Municipality).
Nambooze, also Shadow Minister for Internal Affairs, read out a text sent to her by a police constable narrating his ordeal regarding the paltry pay amidst numerous demands.
“A police man sent me this message saying this is how I spend my day; I earn Shs 465,933 net pay, Exodus SACCO takes Shs 30,000, breakfast is Shs 2,000, lunch is Shs 3,500, dinner is Shs 3,500, airtime is Shs 2,000 and transport of Shs 4,000 which means I have to permanently stay alone without children and a wife,” said Nambooze.
Padyere County MP, Hon. Isaac Otimgiw, said that with such salaries, the fight against corruption will be in vain. “Most of them are being evacuated from the free accommodation and are expected to pay for rent from that little salary. That is why the annual report of the Inspector General of Government always states that the Police is the most corrupt institution,” said Otimgiw.
Minister Muruli Mukasa reiterated that the enhancements were guided by a Cabinet resolution of 2017 in a five-year phased manner.
“Cabinet approved the Public Service pay policy principles as well as a five-year pay plan covering every person paid salaries or allowances from the consolidated fund or out of money appropriated by Parliament,” said Muruli Mukasa.
The minister noted that out of Shs 794.24 billion requested to implement the desired enhancement plan, only Shs 358.33 billion has been provided. As a result, salary for all ranks in Uganda Police and Uganda Prisons was enhanced at 40 percent as opposed to the desired 77 percent.
The Deputy Speaker asked the minister to table MPs’ concerns before the Cabinet in view of revising the big disparities between different ranks.
“The gaps in enhancements were big. You enhanced salaries in military from the rank of a Major and upwards but you did not do the same for Police. Go back as Executive, table these concerns to the Cabinet and report back in two weeks,” said Tayebwa.
