Local governments are asking the government to substantially increase the monthly remuneration of political leaders, including raising the pay of district chairpersons from 2.38 million to 13 million shillings.
The Uganda Local Governments Association (ULGA) says the proposed salary increases are necessary to improve motivation, attract capable leaders and enable political leaders to effectively oversee local development and service delivery.
Presenting the association’s memorandum at the National Budget Conference for the financial year 2027/28, ULGA asked government to consider the salary adjustments in the next financial year.
The association says district chairpersons, who currently earn 2.38 million shillings per month, should receive 13 million shillings. It also wants the monthly pay of district vice chairpersons increased from 190,000 to nine million shillings, while district speakers should earn six million shillings, up from 724,000.
ULGA is further proposing that district and city executive committee members receive six million shillings per month instead of the current 620,000 shillings. For mayors and city division chairpersons, the association wants the monthly remuneration increased from 1.19 million to 13 million shillings.
The association also wants the pay of councillors increased, including raising district and city councillors’ monthly allowances from 250,000 to 500,000 shillings.
At the grassroots, ULGA is seeking an even bigger proportional increase for Local Council One chairpersons.
The association says LC1 chairpersons currently receive only 10,000 shillings a month and wants this increased to 150,000 shillings.
ULGA argues that local political leaders carry significant responsibilities in mobilising communities, overseeing development priorities, monitoring service delivery and strengthening accountability.
It says the current remuneration framework does not reflect these responsibilities or the rising cost of living.
The association warned that inadequate remuneration affects motivation and retention and makes it difficult for local governments to attract capable leaders.
ULGA says improving remuneration would strengthen the effectiveness of local political leadership and contribute to more responsive public service delivery.
The association has also raised concerns about disparities among technical staff in local governments following recent salary enhancements.
It says heads of departments on salary scale U1E and deputy chief administrative officers on U1SE are earning about 6.5 million shillings, while town clerks were enhanced to 4.5 million shillings.
However, senior assistant secretaries remain at about 1.3 million shillings.
ULGA wants government to raise the salary of senior assistant secretaries to at least 4.2 million shillings and review the remuneration of other technical cadres, including community development officers and parish chiefs. The association says the disparities are creating uncertainty and demotivation among technical staff.
It is calling for salary enhancements to be aligned with the respective salary scales to restore what it describes as fairness and consistency in the local government salary structure. But the government says the proposed salary increases must be assessed against other competing priorities and within the phased salary enhancement programme already approved by Cabinet.
Minister of Public Service General Katumba Wamala said government remains committed to salary enhancement, but warned against expecting all demands to be implemented at once.
“Cabinet already approved a phased implementation of salary enhancements. And we are still committed to this,” Katumba said.
He added that new proposals must be subjected to a comprehensive assessment. “Proposals for salary enhancements at various levels need to be studied comprehensively in view of other demanding priorities within the economy,” Katumba said.
Katumba also appeared to respond directly to the large increases proposed by local governments, cautioning against expecting government to move from the current salaries to the proposed levels in a single step.
He said, “People who are demanding and making proposals for moving from one million to nine million in one go” should not assume that government can simply meet such demands from oil revenues.
Katumba said oil revenues are restricted to infrastructure development. “Recall that oil revenues are strictly meant for investment in infrastructure,” he said.
He said the next budget must also maintain discipline in government spending, improve payroll management and prevent the accumulation of domestic arrears. Finance Minister Henry Musasizi also stressed that government has to make choices about where to direct limited public resources.
Musasizi said government should prioritise productive sectors and wealth creation, particularly agriculture, tourism and minerals, rather than allowing new spending commitments to undermine investment.
“I don’t want to be a cheap populist here. So let’s do ATMs,” Musasizi said, referring to the government’s priority sectors of agriculture, tourism and minerals.
He argued that investment in productive sectors would expand the economy and eventually create greater fiscal space for government. Musasizi was particularly critical of pressure to prioritise the financing of cities over productive investment.
“Between ATMs and cities, may I begin with ATMs,” he said. He added: “These cities are coming to eat our money.” Musasizi said government would continue supporting cities and municipalities, but only after prioritising investment in sectors considered central to economic transformation.
The scale of the salary demands has, however, not yet been matched with a publicly presented estimate of how much the proposals would cost government annually.
At the conference, officials noted that ULGA had presented the proposed remuneration figures but had not provided a simulation showing their total financial implications.
The conference chair said such a simulation would help government assess the proposals.
“What you did not do is a simulation for those numbers to know the implications each financial year,” Amos Lugoloobi, the State Minister for Finance, said.
The figures presented by ULGA therefore remain proposals for consideration in the preparation of the 2027/28 budget and do not represent approved salary adjustments.
ULGA is also asking government to transfer more funding for functions currently implemented by ministries and other central government agencies to local governments.
The association identified billions of shillings in road rehabilitation, agricultural extension and health-related programmes that it says could be transferred to local governments to improve service delivery.
But its principal demand at the budget conference was for government to review the remuneration of local political leaders and technical staff, arguing that the current structure is no longer adequate for the responsibilities they are expected to perform.
The proposals will be considered alongside other demands submitted during the national budget consultation process-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
