As he continues to argue for the rationalization of ‘parasitic’ agencies, President Yoweri Museveni has spoken out on increasing salaries of non-scientists, running the public service like the army, and reducing tax evasion to meet the huge wage bill.
Museveni also briefly responded to a recent piece by former finance minister Prof Ezra Suruma on the rationalization of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra).
Here is what Museveni wrote: Real shocking information about the parasitic Agencies and Authorities. I had given you the figures of money spent on ministries compared to the money spent on the agencies and authorities. You remember, the figures were sh.2.6trillion for the Ministries and Sh.2.2trillion for the Agencies and Authorities by 2016, according to the Saleh committee that woke us up. In our usual resistance culture of always being guided by facts, I have now inquired more.
What was the number of employees in the respective clusters this money was being spent on? The answer: In Agencies and Authorities, the employees were 3,905!! In Ministries, the number was 18,532 plus the undisclosed number of soldiers. Our army was smallest in number in 1991 after the Reduction in Force (RIF) of that time. At that time, it was 41,000. By 2016, when these figures were captured, it was more in numbers.
This was because, the Public Servants in Ministries were getting small salaries, allowances and having less operational funds. We have now adjusted the salaries of the government scientists and, to some extent, the soldiers.
As our revenue collections improve, which they will after removing the corruption in URA, which is itself an Authority but collecting only 13.9% of GDP as tax, we shall be able to pay the other Public Servants better. The European countries that are giving aid to Ugandans collect as much as 40% of their GDP in taxes. Some of these countries are: Denmark (46.3%); France (45.4%); Belgium (42.9%); Sweden (42.9%); Norway (40%), etc.
Yet, our wonderful URA on which we are spending so much, has, all this time, been collecting only about 11% of GDP as tax. There is a lot of tax evasion. We are insisting that they must collect, at least, 20% of GDP in taxes. By the end of this financial year, our GDP will be USD 57.5 billion. 20% of that would give us USD 11.5 billion.
At the exchange rate of Ug.sh. 3,700 per dollar, that would give us tax revenue of Ug.sh. 42.55 trillion. If we hit 25% of GDP, then the situation will be quite different. To give more information about the categories of budget recipients, there are those who are paid, not through the Ministries, not through the Agencies, but through the Local Governments.
These, by 2016, were getting Ug.sh. 3.35trillion. Who were those? Those were: the Government teachers, the Government Health Workers, the Local Government employees, etc. And they were 192,160 in number!! See the madness in this formula.
I need to rescue this money to complete our infrastructure transformation. Buli muntu yena, kyasiga, ky’akungula (Whatever a person sows, that is what he reaps), it says in the Book of Galatians chapter 6 Verse 7. When, in 2006, I insisted on okusoosowaza (prioritize) electricity and roads, you see the results. Uganda now has surplus electricity instead of load-shedding.
I was about to have a showdown that time with the misbudgetors, especially Parliament. Fortunately, we agreed and you can see the results. I can assure the country that with the consolidation of the government structures under the Ministries, Departments and Local Governments, with our revised SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) known as standing orders in the civilian language and with improved pay, the Public Service will be as efficient as UPDF.
That is why I do not accept the concept of contracts for our Public Servants. I do not want them to be on tenterhooks, having to ingratiate themselves with the bosses, etc. They should remain permanent and pensionable but the Standing Orders, like those of UPDF, should make them fully and promptly accountable. You do not work, you will be dismissed or worse, promptly.
With such a public service, we shall not kwefuuza (regret losing something), the just death of the Authorities and Agencies. If you take agriculture, there will be a vet and an agricultural Officer per sub-county or even more. lf I remember our bush sub-counties of Gombe, Kirolo, Makulubita, Semuto — Kapeeka, the distance between Matugga and Kapeeka is 28 miles.
If you divide that by 5 sub-counties, you encounter on the way, that means a diameter of 5 miles for each. How can one vet and one agricultural officer, not to talk of a possible bigger number, fail to monitor crops and livestock in that area if they are equipped with a pikipiki each, with enough fuel?
They can, moreover, use the Miruka chiefs to monitor in the parishes or even village-based agents. This is a cheaper and more comprehensive structure to deal with crops and livestock and is more reliable. Besides, there is another question: “Do people know why Robusta coffee is called Kiboko?” It is because the colonial government used kiboko to make the people grow the coffee.
The NRM, through political mobilization by OWC, has expanded the growing of coffee and also other crops as already pointed out in my earlier pieces of writing. In the Kisozi area, I have not seen UCDA or DDA. With crops, I am always with Kakwenzire, Balemezi, Nalwanga, etc.
With cattle, I am, sometimes, with Kaddu and other vets. I have never seen DDA in my battles with nature and the livestock.
I have read the pieces of Dr. Suruma. It is good that he is reminding us of how Coffee Marketing Board (CMB) was about to kill the coffee industry by misdirecting crop finance to corruption instead of paying farmers. At one time, I had to borrow USD 100 million, I think, from Muammar Gaddafi to provide crop finance. I solved this by liberalizing the buying of coffee.
I remember, even that time, some people were opposing us. Nothing new.
*** It should be remembered that Prof Ezra Suruma has warned Museveni against throwing away UCDA like paper towels, calling for a referendum on the matter, as Museveni insists that these agencies are parasites which must be removed. (See Details Here, There and Over There).
*** See juicy salaries of Museveni’s aeroplane crew, NDA where a driver earns more than a secondary school head master, and presidential advisors Here, There and Over There.
FORGET! Museveni Delivers Bad News to ‘Greedy’ Science Teachers & Other Scientists Applying for Juicy Early Retirement Packages
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