Members of Parliament cry for more counties’ creation as they meet the Minister local government over the criteria used by government to propose new counties. MPs claim that many big constituencies were not divided for new counties yet small constituencies were curved out of new ones.

MPs comprising of Bugangaizi East MP Marbal Bakeine, Ignatius Besisira, Natumba district woman MP Florence Mutyabule and Busongola south MP Boaz Kafuda, said that the Minister of local government should be prepared to add more new counties on the proposed 39 counties so as all people benefit from taking service near them.

The Minister was appearing before the parliamentary committee on Public service and local government, explaining the criteria used to propose some new counties. The Minister of local government Adolf Mwesige said that many counties were left out because the district councils did not approve them as the law requires. He told MPs that there are no more counties when the district councils have not approved them for him to demand it from government.

Mwesige also noted that   some new counties were considered for reasons of calming down conflicts in communities of particular areas.

In a related development the chairperson of the Electoral commission Dr. Badru Kiggundu   said that the money is available for conducting elections for Members of Parliament in the counties if there are no new sub counties, villages and parishes.

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Makerere University Administration building

The parliamentary committee on public service and local government has directed government to kick start the negotiation with the universities’ non-teaching staff on pending strike over their demand for salary increase. The directive was issued by the chairperson of the committee Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny after the Minister of state for planning, David Bahati, told the committee that the government has no funds for salary increase for university support staff this financial year.

The university non-teaching staff promised to strike starting 3rd August this year if their salary is not enhanced as it was done to university professors.

Bahati said that the non-teaching staff salary increase will only be considered in the next financial year and added that the ministries concerned are to hold negotiations with the universities support staff to ask them to wait a bit for their salary enhancement. He however observed the need for government to have a comprehensive salary structure for each sector instead of handling them in bits.

The minister of state for sports Charles Bakabulindi said that university professors’ salary was enhanced on the directive of the president after observing a risk of losing them to other countries which have better pay for them. Members of Parliament warned government on segregation while considering salary rise in any sector because it causes losing out some staff. The MPs also queried why the Ministry of education did not use the university councils to make salary increase and allocation to different category of staff instead of using the Ministry’s technical officers.

The universities’ non-teaching staff salary enhancement requires 30 billion shillings.

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