By Juma Nsubuga
District Local Government planners across the country have unanimously urged the Equal Opportunities Commission chaired by Hon Safia Nalule Jjuuko to advocate for equity in salary enhancement by the Ministry of Public Service.
The angry planners made this appeal during a capacity building orientation for local government district planners on gender and equity planning and budgeting in Kampala.
They noted that government increased salary for statisticians by 300% and left others yawning.
“Government increased their Pay by almost 300% but others not, yet we go to the same markets and have the same academic qualifications” said Ngora district planner Morris Ochan adding that this leads to the rampant corruption in the country.
Buyende district planner Gideon Mugulusi said that “this is a salary discrimination and should be reversed because it has affected planners performances. Its very unfortunate that statisticians and economists in Uganda are given good salary than planners yet we all have similar education level” Mugulusi said.
The planners urged the EOC to intervene and find a solution to this problem.
On the equal distribution of resources, district planners said that government should distribute resources basing on the size and terrain of the district. “For instance, government gives one billion shillings annually for road rehabilitation but Kasese district has 41 lower administrative units but it receives the same amount with districts which has four Sub-Counties” Kasese district planner Monday Mundvalamira noted.
Ntungamo district planner Johnson Ahabwe on Parish Development Model (PDM) said that there is a need for equity basing on the status on ground especially the number of households in subsistence economy not by just allocating 100Mshs to all parishes. Other issues they asked for a review of funding include seed schools, money allocated for road maintenance among others, saying districts should be judged according to their size, number of Sub-Counties, kilometers among other aspects.
Meanwhile, The EOC principle compliance officer, Irene Nafungo appealed to the district planners across the country to consider the most needy and vulnerable segments of the population and other considerations while planning for their districts.
Meanwhile Equal Opportunities Commission communications officer Yusufu Muziransa told this news site that, “What district planners said is true but government is doing everything possible to rectify the matter”
He said that in 2018 the Commission produced a report on salary disparities and it was forwarded to the relevant government ministries, departments and agencies, adding that it was after this report that government raised salaries for scientists and promised to review salaries for other public servants.
EOC has today interfaced with local government district planners from Ankole, Kigezi, and Tooro subregions to discuss various community development initiatives. As part of their outreach, they also touched upon the topic of local regulations and emerging trends, including how YesOn732 online casinos might impact regional economic activities. The discussion highlighted the importance of understanding new industry dynamics and ensuring that local policies align with evolving online gaming regulations.
