New positions to cost KCCA over UGX3B annually

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA will have to part with an extra Shillings 3.5 billion to pay the salaries off newly elected officers whose position were created under the KCCA Amendment Act 2020. The act created thirty new political positions at KCCA. The Act provides for a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Authority and the five divisions of Kampala.

This brings the number of speakers and their deputies to six. The Act also creates three positions of Executive secretaries at the Authority and the divisions hence bringing the number to 18.  These form part of the five member executive committee whose other members are Mayors and their deputies.

The mayors chair the Committee and are deputised by the deputy mayor. These shall operate as ministers and will help the mayors perform his over sight role over the Authority. A ministerial statement by KCCA shows that the Authority will spend more than Shillings 2 billion on the salaries of these positions. The Authority Speaker shall carry home a monthly pay cheque of Shillings 13.8 billion, which amounts to Shillings 165.7 million annually.

The deputy speaker will earn Shillings 11 million monthly amounting to Shillings 132. 5 million annually.  Each of the three executive secretaries at the Authority will also pocket Shillings 11 million making it about Shillings 135.5 million annually for each member.

Division Speakers shall earn Shillings 9.8 million a month, which makes its Shillings 118.1 million annually. This means KCCA will spend Shillings 590.4 million annually on the remuneration of Speakers of the five divisions. Their deputies and the three urban executive secretaries for each of the five divisions shall earn Shillings 7.5 million monthly and hence about Shillings 90 million annually.

This brings the figure to about Shillings 1.8 billion annually for all the 20 political leaders. KCCA will also spend over Shillings 1.6 billion on the support staff for the politicians annually.  All new political leaders are entitled to a personal Secretary whose salary is planned at about Shillings 3.4 million. Each takes home about Shillings 40.1 million annually and over a billion Shillings annually for all personal secretaries.  The Authority speaker and the five division speakers are also entitled to secretaries who will also earn about Shillings 3.4 million monthly.

This means over Shillings 242.4 million will be spent on all secretaries annually. The speakers are also entitled to an office assistant and driver who will be earning about Shillings 1.1 million per month, which makes it Shillings 13.5 million annually. The total expenditure on both positions is estimated at Shillings 163.1 million annually.

The Authority speaker is also entitled to a monthly allowance of about Shillings 2.6 million, Shillings 2.1 million for housing, about Shillings 182,000 for airtime and Shillings 230,000 for medical care.  The authority deputy speaker will receive a monthly car allowance of Shillings 2.5 million, Airtime Shillings 144,000 and Shillings 233,000 for medical allowance.

Each of the three authority secretaries is entitled to a vehicle allowance of Shillings 2.6 million, airtime allowance of Shillings 144,000 and medical allowance of 233,000 Shillings.  Urban speakers are entitled to airtime allowance of Shillings 182,000 and medical allowance of Shillings 233,000 while their deputies and urban executive secretaries will get airtime allowance of Shillings 144,000 shillings and medical allowance of 233,000 Shillings.

Personal assistants are entitled to a monthly airtime allowance of Shillings 20,000 and medical allowance of about Shillings 233,000. The other support staff shall receive 10,000 Shillings worth of airtime monthly and a monthly medical allowance of 233,000 Shillings.   The KCCA Spokesperson, Peter Kaujju, says some of these leaders have extra benefits. 

On top of the Shillings 3 billion, KCCA also has to make a once off expenditure worth about Shillings 5 billion to procure office space, cars and furniture among others. KCCA plans to buy Fortuners valued at Shillings 130 million each for each of the six speakers while the executive secretariat at both authority and urban level shall be given fuel of Shillings 1.37 million monthly and hence Shillings 98.5 million annually.

KCCA also needs Shillings 608.4 million and Shillings 500 million to renovate offices at city hall and the divisions respectively for the new leaders.  According to KCCA, they need to renovate wing A 4th floor and division offices where they plan to have new offices. Renovations, KCCA says shall involve grinding, polishing, painting, decorations, walling and partitioning among others. Also, Shillings 120 million is needed to install air conditioner for the offices both the City Hall and the divisions.

KCCA also needs over Shillings 551 million for furniture in all the new offices and Shillings 26.7 million on utensils.   The law comes into effect after the Finance has already issued a budget call secular. KCCA has since sought for a supplementary budget, which is yet to be approved.  For now, Kauju says they are using available funds to conduct business.

Political and Administration analyst Prof. Sabiti Makara says that when the KCCA Act of 2010 was enacted, the intention was to make the institution a corporate body yet now it still holds characteristics of a local government. KCCA just like local governments has positions of speaker and executive that works with mayor to monitor activities of the technical people in the institutions.

Makara says that the major concern is on service delivery.

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