Africa-Press – Uganda. Councilors from the five districts that form Greater Bushenyi in western Uganda have asked the government to cater for their welfare by increasing their allowances (ex gratia) and providing them with vehicles to facilitate their work.
Speaking during the meeting in Bushenyi town on Saturday, the Councilors under their umbrella body, Greater Bushenyi Local Councilors Association (GBLCA) which comprises Bushenyi, Mitooma, Sheema, Rubirizi, and Buhweju, Mr Adnaan Tumuhairwe, the group chairperson said that their welfare has been ignored by the government yet they run big constituencies where they monitor government programmes.
“We lack transportation means to facilitate our movement. We have bigger coverage and our work is almost the same as that of Members of Parliament. Lack of transport therefore, limits our mobility. Others like MPs, and LCs have been given means of transport but our group has not been looked at,” Mr Tumuhairwe said.
“The monthly Shs250, 000 allowances we get is taxed and we take home only Shs170, 000. Imagine allowances being taxed! We want that money to be enhanced to at least Shs1.5 million. A good increment on our money will help us keep our integrity uncompromised, especially when monitoring programmes. We monitor officials with good money and this is a great temptation to us. We also need money,” he added.
Mr. Dickens Muhoozi, a councilor from Mitooma District asked the government to make amendments to the Local Government Act to cater to the welfare of the councilors from the local governments.
Ms Charity Turinawe, a councilor representing Rutookye and Bitereko sub-counties in the Mitooma district, appealed to the government to help solve the challenge of land conflicts at the lower governments which sometimes deteriorate into bloodshed.
Mr Tumuhairwe threatened to rally people against the government should it fail to address their issues.
“The government should listen to our concerns and have them addressed. Should this fail, we shall rally our people against the government until our voices are heard. The good thing is we have big followings. We shall reach out to our people and tell them the next step,” Mr Tumuhairwe threatened.
The group also asked the government to use the Civil Service Center in Jinja to induct the councilors into their roles since a good number of them have lower education levels and there is no limit on who becomes a district councilor.
What government says
The councillors demands comes days after the minister of Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, last month said said the government plans to increase the salaries of all local government leaders.
He made the revelation at the thanksgiving ceremony of Isingiro South MP Alex Byarugaba Bakunda at Kamubizi Primary School playground in Kikagate Sub-County in Isingiro District on on January 29, 2023.
Mr Magyezi said the government is planning to revise the salary structure of local government leaders starting with the village chairpersons who earn about Shs10,000 per month.
The move is expected to address salary disparities among the leaders.
He said President Museveni had tasked the ministry to prepare the remuneration framework paper to help guide the government on how to increase the salaries of local leaders.
According to him, different advocacy groups such as the Uganda Local Government Association have been urging the government to increase salaries for district chairpersons and councillors.
“But as I explained, it is not possible for the government to only focus on one category of leaders, so we are going to study the entire framework so that the whole structure is addressed within the public service reform programme,” he said.
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