No money to enhance local leaders’ salaries – Tayebwa

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, has told local leaders across the country that government will be unable to enhance their salaries in the coming financial year budget 2023/24, due to lack of enough funds.

“The issue of welfare of leaders I know it’s a big challenge, but I want to tell you our resource envelope is small. I don’t want to tell you lies because only 13.5 per cent of Ugandans pay taxes while others are waiting for service delivery. I have told parliament that they should not expect any salary enhancement, we agreed that we shall put more money for service delivery,” he said on Friday while officiating at a two-day Rwenzori/Tooro sub-region parliamentary outreach in Fort Portal.

“It's bad news to tell you leaders, but the truth is that there is no money to increase your salaries for the next three financial years because we have other obligations as a government we need to finish first. Even if we double your salaries, what voters are demanding of you are many. We shall support you through your saccos of Emyooga such that you can earn side income,” Mr Tayebwa added.

He was responding to the president of Uganda Local Government Association, Mr Richard Rwabuhinga’s appeal that parliament should allocate more funds in the forthcoming budget for the remunerations of local leaders.

Mr Rwabuhinga said the local leaders are still being paid using the salary scale that was passed in 2011, where a district chairman is earning Shs1.7 million while sub-county leaders are paid Shs 370,000 while district councillors are paid Shs250,000.

“As the parliament is going to pass the national budget, it should look into the issue of taxing the little money given to councillors in districts and also parliament should add money in the budget whether small for the remuneration of local leaders,” he said.

The Ntoroko District chairman, Mr William Kasoro, said districts continue to grapple with incomplete projects because they receive money towards the end of the financial year and end up failing to absorb the money.

“Some of the funds that were returned to treasury last financial year up to now have not been re-voted to districts and we are remaining with few days to end the current financial year. To our dismay, these monies will come towards the end of the financial year and we shall not be able to use it,” he said.

However, Mr Tayebwa said on Thursday the parliament passed a supplementary budget such that all the monies that were swept last financial year will be sent to respective districts next week.