Prime
100 presidential advisors paid for six months without contracts
Ms Esther Mbayo
Kampala-More than 100 presidential advisors and assistants have been sitting uneasy because their contracts have not been renewed for more than six months.
Two presidential assistants whose contracts have not been renewed for the past half year have told Saturday Monitor, however, that they continue to receive their monthly salaries and other allowances.
Presidential advisors and assistants earn salaries ranging between Shs2.2m and Shs7m.
As of April 2017, Mr Museveni had 145 advisors, but the presidency later sought parliamentary approval for a budget to facilitate the addition of 18 more advisors, which took the number to 163.
The annual wage bill for catering for the advisors, according to the ministerial policy statement for the financial year 2017/2018, is Shs29bn.
Sources close to State House told Saturday Monitor that an official raised the matter of the renewal of the advisors’ and their assistants’ contracts with the President as far back as August last year, but that the President had deferred the matter until the appointment of a substantive Secretary in the office of the President.
The position of Secretary in the Office of the President is equivalent to that of a Permanent Secretary or Accounting Officer in a government Ministry, but comes with a lot more power and authority than is enjoyed by most of the other permanent secretaries.
Besides working as the accounting officer and vote controller for the presidency, the secretary to the presidency is also charged with overseeing the appointment and deployment of resident district commissioners (RDCs) and presidential advisors and assistants, and paying their emoluments and allowances.
The Secretary in the Office of the President also oversees the appointment, deployment and promotion of government cadres and heads of government agencies.
The post fell vacant after the former holder of the office, Ms Deborah Katuramu, was elevated to take up the post of Deputy Head of Public Service and deputy secretary to Cabinet.
The post of Deputy Head of Public Service and Deputy Secretary to Cabinet had fallen vacant in November 2016 following the sudden death of the former office holder, Vincente Opio Lukone.
However, now more than four months after Mr Yunus Kakande took office as Secretary to the President, the contracts of all the presidential advisors have still not been renewed.
“He (President) only approved the renewal of about three or four contracts, all of them within the category of presidential assistants and told the minister to wait,” a source close to State House said.
Minister speaks out
Ms Esther Mbayo, the Minister for the Presidency, was evasive when asked about presidential advisors and assistants operating without contracts for more than half a year.
When we contacted her about the matter, she quipped: “So, what about it?”
On being reminded that it is illegal for the government to continue paying the advisors salaries when they have no running contracts, she said: “I am out of the country and cannot comment about it. We shall talk when I return next week.”
