Prime
MPs double own pay to Shs24m
What you need to know:
- Pay issue. The Parliamentary Commission says there is no request for the raise but adds that it might meet President Museveni on MPs’ facilitation.
Kampala.
The government will need an extra Shs90b to cater for salary increment of 452 MPs who are set to raise their salaries more than 100 per cent to Shs24m from Shs11m.
The increment will raise the Parliament’s annual wage bill on only MPs’ basic salaries by 218 per cent to Shs129b from Shs39b.
A leaked supplementary request that Daily Monitor has seen indicates that Parliament wants an additional Shs90b to cater for MPs’ salaries at Shs24m every month.
The projected budget of the Parliamentary Commission for Financial Year 2018/19 is Shs459b and Shs86.9b will be for salaries of MPs and Parliament staff.
According to a report by the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Shs305.67b is for non-wage and Shs67b is for development budget.
Taxpayers will have to fork out an additional Shs33b to cater for the increment in the salaries of 121 Women MPs, who will have their wage bill shooting up from Shs1.3b to Shs34b.
Five Youth MPs will have their annual wage bill increase from Shs55m to Shs1.4b. The government requires an additional Shs1.3b to cater for the annual wage bill of MPs representing PwDs.
The wage bill for Youth MPs, Army MPs and Workers MPs is similar because the three special interest groups are all represented by five MPs each.
Ten army MPs currently use up to Shs110m in salaries and will require Shs2.7b if their salaries are increased.
The annual wage bill of ex-officio MPs will increase from Shs 187m to Shs4.8b. Parliament wants an extra Shs4.7b to handle the annual salaries of ex-officio MPs. An additional Shs2b will be required to cater for MPs from the six new districts that become operational in July 2018.
Usuk County MP Peter Ogwang, who is a Parliamentary Commissioner for Finance and Planning, yesterday insisted the commission had not submitted a request for salary increment for MPs.
“As far as the Parliamentary Commission is concerned, we do not have a plan to increase even by a single coin the salaries of MPs or any Parliament staff. MPs are aware of what the country is going through,”Mr Ogwang said.
He, however, said the Shs429b allocated to Parliament for 2018/19 financial year is inadequate and suggested the commission may seek the audience of President Museveni to discuss the facilitation of MPs.
Mr Chris Obore, the Parliament’s Director for Communication and Public Affairs, said the Parliamentary Commission did not make a request for MPs’ salary enhancement, but admitted the request may have been “introduced at some stage”.
“A budget has many stages and I am not privy to all the stages. It may have been introduced at some stage. There is a general feeling that comparatively our MPs are paid less and comparatively, our MPs face more financial pressures from their constituents than others in the region,” Mr Obore said.
Finance ministry spokesperson Jim Mugunga said he could not give a definitive position on the proposed increase of MPs’ salaries.
The increment in the wage bill for MPs will escalate the cost on the taxpayer as each MP has already pocketed Shs200m as part of the car grant.
Last year, MPs were paid Shs29m as facilitation to carry out consultations on the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill that led to the removal of presidential age limits from the constitution to allow President Museveni stand for re-election aged above 75.
