EATING LIFE WITH BIG SPOONS: Huge Retirement Packages for Ex-VP Ssekandi, Ex-Speaker Kadaga Shock Fellow Politicians

Former Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi and ex-Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga are literally ‘eating life with big spoons.’ Their huge retirement packages at the expense of the Ugandan tax payers have left politicians in Uganda’s Parliament shocked – and it should not be surprising if a new law on emoluments of retired public servants is soon tabled before the house.

Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Public Accounts Committee have expressed their shock at the several pension packages that Kadaga and Ssekandi have been earning by the mere fact that they held different offices.

Ssekandi was deputy speaker and later speaker of Parliament before he was appointed Vice President, a position he held for a decade – from 2011 through 2021 when he was replaced by Jessica Alupo and handed an advisory role.

For her part, Kadaga was deputy speaker before she was elected speaker of Parliament. She currently serves as a deputy prime minister and minister in charge of East African Affairs.

So does any of these get packages for each of the offices they formerly held or do they get the package for the highest office they have previously held? This is just one of the many questions that MPs on the Public Accounts Committee asked officials from the Ministry of Public Service when they appeared this week.

The following is part of Ssekandi’s emolument package as former Vice President:

• Shs300m: annual housing allowance
• Shs350m for a vehicle every five years
• Pension: Shs80.4m every year
• Medical insurance including spouse and children: Shs6.4m
• Two police guards: Shs13.2M every year
• Personal Secretary: Shs10.8m every year
• Furniture: Shs10m every five years
• Utilities: Shs8.4m every year
• Two domestic servants: Shs8.35m for each, every year

Ssekandi would still other benefits as a former deputy speaker and another package that is meant for a speaker of Parliament.

Kadaga was deputy speaker and speaker – so she would enjoy double benefits.

The committee hasasked the Ministry of Public Service to seek legal opinion from the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka regarding officials earning more than one pension like Ssekandi and Kadaga simply because they held different offices as Deputy Speaker, Speaker and Vice President.

Ssekandi has been enjoying his retirement from active politics, sharing photos on outings with his wife Margaret. But his peace and joy seemed to have been disturbed by his alleged ‘second wife’ who accused him of chasing her and their two children out of his houses. There were also reports that Ssekandi had been rushed to a Dubai hospital in critical condition. (See Details Here, There and Over There).

You can see the list of Uganda’s most highly paid government employees Here.

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