STAY IN YOUR LANE: Speaker Among Refuses to Reveal Salaries of MPs, Parliament Staff to Public Service, EOC

Speaker Anita Among has refused to grant two requests, one by the Ministry of Public Service and the other by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), to reveal salaries of MPs and Parliament staff.

Speaker Among argued that Parliament is an independent arm of government that is not accountable to commissions like the EOC. And Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka supported her, overruling dissenting voices like Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.

During plenary on December 03, 2024, Among said clerk to Parliament Adolf Mwesige had received requests from EOC and Public Service to furnish them with parliament salary structure.

They particularly wanted to see how much each MP and staff at parliament earns every month and every year.

Speaker Anita Among reasoned that MPs and Parliament staff do not belong to the country’s civil service, and that EOC and Public Service should never forget about the Principle of Separation of Powers.

“The Uganda Parliamentary Commission is a standalone. We don’t belong to Equal Opportunities Commission. We aren’t civil servants for Public Service to start asking for salaries of MPs,” she said, urging AG Kiryowa Kiwanuka to tell the EOC and Public Service to stay in their lane.

“When you look at Article 85, emoluments of MPs, that is self-explanatory. Is it correct for Equal Opportunities to go beyond its powers and come and start investigating on what they aren’t supposed to?”

When he stood to speak, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka agreed with Speaker Anita Among, reminding EOC of its mandate and not to turn themselves into a court of law.

“The mandate of EOC is restricted to persons who are marginalized on the basis of gender, age disability and other reasons created by history, tradition or customs. I think that is going to be an extension because they are going to start being a High Court and Court of Appeal,” the AG submitted.

“I think they need to maintain the level where they are supposed to be and we shall advise them and we have advised them consistently. It is a line that needs to be drawn carefully so that they know because this Equal Opportunities Commission is supposed to help with affirmative action.”

MP Ssemujju disagreed with both AG Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Speaker Anita Among. He argued that looking at the salaries of MPs and parliament staff would help the EOC make comparisons and determine how vulnerable average Ugandans are when their earnings are juxtaposed with those who work in the legislative arm of government.

“Vulnerabilities sometimes are established by comparison. If you want to know that people are marginalized, you look at those that are not [marginalized]. So if you stop Equal Opportunities Commission to compare with other people and Parliament, where are you sending them? To compare them with Kenya and Rwanda?” Ssemujju asked.

“Within the same environment, comparison is what will show you the vulnerabilities. Are you now stopping them from making that comparison?”

AG Kiryowa Kiwanuka then laboured to argue that the comparison should be limited to marginalized groups. In his view, if the EOC does not stay in its lane, they may end up making what he thinks are unnecessary comparisons.

“I am telling [those at the EOC] that they can only compare where you say, that men shall have 10 per cent and women shall have five per cent: that is the marginalization they deal with. They are not entitled to compare everything and anything. They are supposed to compare marginalization because of gender, disability, and other matters created by history,” he submitted.

“If we aren’t careful, we may start saying that we now have Equal Opportunities because everyone must drive the same car; everyone must be of the same height. That was not the Equal Opportunities Commission that was anticipated here. It was supposed to ensure that we don’t write laws or implement policies that one gender shall be given better treatment as opposed to another gender.”

We have previously reported what we know about salaries of Ugandan MPs Here.

You can see Uganda’s new salary structure for FY 2024-2025, and its addendum showing increment for science head teachers as well as low-cadre police and prisons officers Here and There.

See the juicy salaries at NDA, Uganda Airlines, for Museveni Aeroplane crew as well as list of Uganda’s most highly paid government employees Here, There, Over Here and Over There.

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