Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has established a comission to review the salary discrepancies for the country’s civil servants.
The president revealed a day after officiating at the International Teachers’ Day in Moroto town.
“I have set up the Salary Review Commission to address the discrepancies in pay for civil servants. Teachers, soldiers and health workers will be big beneficiaries of the harmonised salary structure,” the president revealed.
The function was attended by First Lady, Janet Museveni who also doubles as the country’s education minister.
Below is the president’s statement posted on his Facebook page
Officiated at the International Teachers’ Day in Moroto town. I congratulate the teachers on this occasion.
About the issues of teachers’ welfare, it is important we understand the context. We inherited a collapsed state and we had to do many things at a go.
These included restoring security, re-formalising the economy, repair and expand infrastructure, revive the social service sector, attract and retain investments & expand tax base.
We have been able to do most of these, but in a phased manner. It is through prioritisation that for example we were able to tarmac the Moroto Nakapiripirit road.
We are now working on the Nakapiripirit- Muyembe road and we have extended electricity from Patongo to Kaabong.
Sectors like security are critical because without it, you cannot do much in the other areas. You cannot construct a road in an insecure area or build electricity lines.
So don’t say government has forgotten teachers, because even God created the world in phases.
We had to do the above so that the economy is running well, then look into other things.
Now that we have recovered, the issue of salaries for teachers, medical workers and soldiers will be dealt with.
I will also ensure the Micro-Finance Support Centre releases the money meant for the teachers Sacco that government provided.
Finally, I have heard schools have begun charging fees on UPE pupils. We must discuss this. Are parents whom we considered poor, now able to pay fees?
