{UAH} UPDF officers set for huge pay rise
- Written by OLIVE EYOTARU
UPDF soldiers of all ranks are set to receive a massive salary raise in the 2017/18 financial year, which starts on July 1, The Observer has learnt.
According to figures that this newspaper has obtained from the ministry of Defence headquarters in Mbuya, the biggest beneficiaries will be officers holding the two most senior ranks in the army.
A General is set to receive an 86 per cent salary increment, raising the pay from about Shs 2 million to Shs 3.77m, while a Lieutenant General will receive an 83 per cent pay rise, from Shs 1.87m to Shs 3.4m.
The salary of a Major General will rise by 40 per cent from Shs 1.7 million to Shs 2.4m while a Brigadier will receive Shs 2m, up from Shs 1.6m (a 33 per cent rise). Soldiers' salaries are not taxed.
All the other ranks, right from a Private at the bottom of the military chain to Colonel, will also receive a considerable improvement in their earnings, which is set to further bloat the army's already large salary and wage budget.
MINISTER CONFIRMS
The minister of Defence, Adolf Mwesige, confirmed the army's salary enhancement plans during a meeting with the parliament's Defence and Internal Affairs committee yesterday.
"We have a proposal which has been blessed by the High Command and Defence Council to make sure that the minimum a private should get is at least equivalent to a primary school teacher's salary," Mwesige revealed. "That decision was adopted and we want the committee to support it so we get funds to pay our soldiers. We know it is not enough but we could begin from there."
Mwesige, who was flanked by senior ministry staff and senior UPDF officers, was in Parliament to defend the Defence ministry's Shs 1.396 trillion budget proposals for the 2017/18 financial year, which they had earlier submitted as part of a ministerial policy statement.
In the policy statement, the minister noted that one of the defence ministry's medium-term plans is to "gradually and affordably increase the salaries of soldiers until they come in line with the salaries of teachers and medical workers." The statement says they also plan to enhance the salaries of scientists attached to the UPDF.
"The salary of the UPDF personnel is still low; there is need to raise the salary of the Private to equate to that of a Grade III teacher. This will go a long way in improving the morale and welfare of the soldiers," he said.
According to our source, the issue of salary increments for army officers has been discussed by the army's senior leadership, right from the High Command, Army Council, and top management of the defence ministry.
In addition to salaries, UPDF members also receive allowances, food rations, medicare provided to the troops and their families, as well as formal education provided to the children of all the soldiers.
PIECEMEAL INCREMENTS
In the 2017/2018 financial year, Defence is set to receive Shs 1.396 trillion, up from 1.263 trillion that was allocated to it in the current period. According to the ministerial statement, about half of the budget (Shs 641 billion) will go into paying wages and salaries of the soldiers.
However, according to the ministerial statement, the government is unlikely to enhance the salaries of all the UPDF officers at the same time. This will mean that some of the proposed salary increments will only be effected in the subsequent financial years.
It is not clear which ranks will be catered for in the next financial year, as the Defence ministry did not delve into the matter at Parliament. However, according to the ministerial policy statement, the initial salary enhancement would require Shs 87.594 billion. Yet, due to inadequate funds, the ministry intends to provide only Shs 43.594 billion in the 2017/18 budget and the rest of the money in 2018/19 financial year.
The chairperson of the Defence and Internal Affairs committee, Judith Nabakooba (Mubende Woman), said Parliament will have the final say on whether the Shs 43.595 billion should be included in the next financial year's budget.
TOO LOW?
Minister Mwesige let the cat out of the bag at Parliament after Ntoroko MP Ibanda Rwemulikya raised a concern over the low salaries hitherto paid to the soldiers.
Later, when The Observer took Rwemulikya aside and offered details about the proposed increments from its own sources, the MP was not impressed.
Focusing his discussion on the lower ranking soldiers, Rwemulikya said the government must work to raise the salaries of privates to at least Shs 700,000.
"The Shs 400,000 they are proposing is too meager," Rwemulikya pointed out. "These people have families and need to save. While we welcome the small increment, it should be further enhanced over the next financial years."
Shadow Defence Minister Gilbert Olanya (Kilak South) was alarmed at the discrepancies in the salary increments, noting that the percentage increment for top ranking army officers was disproportionate to those of the low cadres, which creates a large salary gap.
"While it is commendable to enhance their salaries, this is still too low," Olanya said. "If you look at the soldiers at the rank of a private, most of them engage in battles in Garamba and South Sudan, risking their lives while the Generals sit in air conditioned offices. But look at their miserable pay!"
NO. | RANK | CURRENT SALARY | PROPOSED salary | PERCENTAGE INCREASE |
1. | Gen | 2,029,154 | 3,768,835 | 86% |
2. | Lt Gen | 1,870,496 | 3,419,578 | 83% |
3. | Maj Gen | 1,692,520 | 2,369,300 | 40% |
4. | Brig | 1,561,070 | 2,081,031 | 33.30% |
5. | Col | 1,216,070 | 1,624,934 | 33.62% |
6. | Lt Col | 1,004,178 | 1,201,688 | 19.66% |
7. | Maj | 924,741 | 1,004,232 | 8.59% |
8. | Capt | 813,452 | 933,461 | 14.75% |
9. | Lt | 733,595 | 876,222 | 19.44% |
10. | 2Lt | 543,690 | 798,667 | 46.89% |
11. | WO1 | 491,715 | 805,352 | 63.78% |
12. | WO2 | 474,332 | 700,146 | 47.60% |
13. | S/Sgt | 423,808 | 643,941 | 51.94% |
14. | O/Cdt | 414,175 | 643,941 | 55.47% |
15. | Sgt | 414,175 | 588,239 | 42.02% |
16. | Cpl | 404,544 | 555,100 | 37.21% |
17. | L/Cpl | 394,912 | 503,837 | 27.58% |
18. | Pte | 385,279 | 469,355 |
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