Recently, former MP Odonga Otto shocked his audience when he claimed: “My guess is the Speaker’s monthly earnings are about Shs 500m.” Wild as the guess may sound, it shows how tightly guarded financial matters have been run at parliament of Uganda.
But new speaker Jacob Oboth Oboth and his deputy Thomas Tayebwa promising to fight corruption and redeem parliament’s image, there is hope that there will be transparency including on the issue of the speaker’s and deputy speaker’s budgets.
While the salaries of the speaker and deputy speaker remain a top guarded secret, available reports indicate that the speaker earns a basic salary of about Shs192m every year and about Shs240m in allowances for the same period of time.
This translates into about Shs432m per year, and Shs36m per month.
Perks, per diems, and huge operational budgets controlled by the office of the speaker and deputy speaker make the earnings juicier.
For example, for foreign travel, the speaker earns per diem ranging between USD $1,000 and USD $1,250 per night spent on official duties classified as international. For inland Travel, the per diem is about UGX 450,000.
To do his work as the chairperson of the Parliamentary Commission, the Speaker reportedly gets Shs 5m per sitting.
Other benefits include an over Shs300m vehicle, given every five years, four additional official government vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz, limousine, pickup and Subaru lead car.
The speaker is also entitled to fuel, lubricants and oils, welfare and entertainment, and secretarial services.
The speaker and deputy speaker are also entitled to a Personal Private Secretary at the level of a director, two secretaries, an official driver, a Private Press Secretary, an Aide-de-camp (ADC), as well as six security guards.
The leaders of parliament also get free books, periodicals, newspapers, computer supplies and Information Technology, telecommunications, cleaning and sanitation services, money for motor vehicle maintenance, equipment and furniture, and budgets for donation.
You can see amount of money Anita Among will be getting after leaving speaker job and other benefits in her juicy package Here.
Read about Uganda’s speakers of parliament since independence Here.
The biographies of Speaker Jacob Oboth Oboth and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa are Here and There.
