The leadership of the army in Uganda has resolved to increase salaries of high ranking soldiers and senior officers in which Army Generals will see their salaries enhanced by a 100% increase and 50% for Senior officers.
According to a press statement issued on Tuesday, the decision to increase salaries of Generals and Senior officers in the army, is in line with a resolution from the High Command meeting of 25 May 22, that had received a proposal for salary enhancement.
With this increment, UPDF Generals will see their salaries enhanced to 15million, Lt. Generals at 13million, Major Generals at 12million, Brigadiers will get 10million. The Senior officers including Colonels will get 8million, Lt. Colonel 5million and Major 2.5million.
The resolution, according to UPDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Felix Kulayigye, prompted a study by technocrats in the Ministry of Defence led by the Permanent Secretary, comprising personnel from and MOPs formed to study the proposed salary enhancement for UPDF personnel. The technocrats were to discuss the same with Ministry of Finance Planning & Economic Development on its implementation since the last enhancement in 2018/19.
At the High Command meeting of 06 Jul 22, and Chaired by President Yoweri Museveni, Kulayigye says the team presented a number of salary enhancement options that had been proposed to MOFPED. The meeting was informed that eventually a hybrid option of enhancing General Officers salaries by 100%, Senior Officers by 50% and Captain-Private by 33% had been agreed upon with MOFPED.
Kulayigye says the meeting also agreed with the recommendation of 100% enhancement for the Generals because they are few, they have served for long and many of them are set to retire this FY 2022/23. Museveni also agreed to the enhancement of Senior Officers (Colonel-Major) by 50% because they are also not very many and most of them are about to progress to the General Officer ranks.
This increment, he says, would require an additional annual amount of Ushs 517,907,737,434 for wages, Ushs 116,847,632,570 for terminal benefits, ultimately translating into a total additional annual requirement of Ushs 634,755,370,004.
However, according to PSST-MOFPED, the enhancement would be effected starting next Financial Year (2023/24) because the budget for the current financial year had already been passed and the item had not been catered for.
According to the statement, the technocrats ruled out enhancing the salaries of the lower cadres (Captain-Private) without considering other civil servants in their category, like the arts teachers saying it would be unfair and would attract unnecessary complaints.
The enhancement of salaries for lower cadres was ruled out because they are the majority and besides, their salaries had been enhanced in FY 2018/19 when some categories of civil servants’ salaries were enhanced. That time, the General Officers’ and Senior Officers’ salaries were not enhanced.
The meeting, the statement notes, guided that the team computes the enhancement for General Officers at 100%, Senior Officers at 50%, to be effected in FY 2022/23 in order to allow the planned retirement for that category to proceed as planned.
The chair said members would explain to the lower cadres (Captain-Private) that their salaries would be enhanced next FY 2023/24, alongside other civil servants as it was the case in FY 2018/19. That is why the retirement of Captain-Private will be rescheduled to next FY (2023/24), after their enhancement has been achieved.
However, the statement shows that if on the other hand funds to retire the selected category is not available this FY, the whole retirement exercise will be rescheduled to next FY.