The Ugandan government has formally unveiled its salary structure for the 2026/2027 Financial Year, confirming a fresh round of pay enhancements targeting thousands of public servants as part of its phased salary enhancement programme.
The new salary structure is contained in Circular Standing Instruction (CSI) No. 3 of 2026, issued on June 30, 2026, by Permanent Secretary Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire of the Ministry of Public Service.
The circular provides the official framework that ministries, departments, agencies and local governments will use in implementing salaries beginning July 1, 2026, while also outlining the various schedules covering virtually every category of public servant—from political leaders and teachers to police officers, medical workers, judicial officers, university staff and aviation personnel.
According to Bitarakwate, government has significantly increased the national wage bill to finance the latest salary review.
“An allocation of UShs. 9,708,926,074,002 has been appropriated for the wage bill in the Financial Year 2026/2027. This represents an increase of UShs. 1,087,922,490,025 from the wage bill of Financial Year 2025/2026, which amounted to UShs. 8,621,003,583,977,” Bitarakwate states in the circular.
The circular shows that the largest share of the wage bill will continue going to the central government, while local governments account for a substantial portion because of their responsibility for teachers, health workers and other frontline staff.
Bitarakwate further notes that the Local Governments’ wage allocation has been divided across payroll categories including agriculture extension workers, primary health care workers, primary and secondary education staff, decentralized tertiary institutions, urban authorities and unconditional wage grants.
Salary enhancements
The Permanent Secretary says the latest adjustments are part of government’s long-term commitment to gradually improve public sector pay.
“Government continues to fulfill its commitment to enhancing the salary of all Public Officers in a phased manner,” Bitarakwate says.
According to the circular, Shs736.9 billion has been earmarked specifically for salary enhancement for selected categories of public officers.
Those benefiting from the latest phase include:Â Deputy Chief Administrative Officers; Deputy City Town Clerks; City Division Town Clerks; Assistant Commissioners; Heads of Department in Local Governments; Public Officers on Salary Scale U2; Primary school Head Teachers, Deputy Head Teachers, Senior Education Assistants and Education Assistants; Secondary school Head Teachers, Deputy Head Teachers and teachers with humanities backgrounds;
BTVET Heads and humanities teachers, instructors and tutors; and Ferry captains, ferry operators, grader operators, mortuary attendants and X-ray attendants.
The announcement comes just days after government confirmed salary increases for primary school teachers and arts teachers, whose pay had lagged behind that of science teachers following earlier enhancement programmes.
How the salaries were determined
The circular explains that the 2026/2027 salary structure was prepared after considering staffing levels and planned recruitment across government.
According to Bitarakwate, the wage calculations were based on: “Staff in post as of 30th June 2026.”
They also considered: “Recruitment of Heads of Department in Local Governments and other critical positions as per the approved recruitment plan.”
In addition, government factored in: “Recruitment for newly constructed Schools and Health centres supported by the Karamoja Infrastructure Development Project II (KDIP II).”
Finally, the Permanent Secretary says the salaries reflect: “Salary enhancement in accordance with the Government strategy of phased approach to salary enhancement for the categories listed…”
Effective immediately
The Ministry of Public Service says the circular took effect at the beginning of the new financial year.
“This Circular Standing Instruction will come into effect on 1st July 2026,” Bitarakwate states.
“The purpose of this Circular Standing Instruction is to communicate to Responsible Officers and the Service in general the Salary Structure for FY 2026/2027 for implementation. Responsible Officers are required to communicate the contents to all Public Officers for their information and/or compliance.”
Every government employee category covered
The circular contains detailed salary schedules covering nearly every government institution and profession.
These include: Political leaders; General Public Service employees; Primary school teachers; Secondary school teachers and laboratory staff; BTVET and teacher training institutions; Uganda Police Force;
Uganda Prisons Service; Medical workers and health tutors; Judicial officers; Directorate of Public Prosecutions;
Legal professionals; Local government political leaders; Specified officers; Aviation personnel;
District Service Commission chairpersons; and Public universities.
The publication of the new salary structure marks another phase in government’s long-running policy of gradually increasing public sector wages, with officials arguing that the approach balances improving workers’ welfare against maintaining fiscal sustainability.
While some categories have received salary enhancements over recent years, disparities remain between different professions, particularly between science-based and humanities-based cadres, although the latest adjustments narrow some of those gaps.
You can see How Much Arts Teachers, Primary Teachers, Arts Headteachers and Primary Headteachers Will Be Earning Monthly Starting July 2026 HERE and related reporting Here.
The lists of most highly paid government officials are Here, There and Over There.
