District political heads under their umbrella organization, the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA), have urged the central government to allocate them more funds in the financial year 2018/19, and to also increase their salary to Sh15 million.
The leaders made the call yesterday in Kampala during the national consultative budget conference for the financial year 2018/19.
While presenting ULGA’s position paper on the National Budget Strategy for financial year 2018/19, George Mutabazi, the association’s president and Chairperson of Lwengo District, said the central should government allocate more funds to districts in order to boost service delivery.
“Local governments strongly urge government to increase funding and release funds timely to promote effective budget execution,” Mutabazi, whose association represents more than 110 districts, said.
The leaders argue that government should allocate them 38 percent for the annual national budget resources as opposed to the current 10 percent, saying that local governments are crtical in implementing manifesto and development programmes.
“An increased allocation of a minimum of 38% to local government service delivery can no longer be debated,” Mutabazi said, adding that such an appropriation shields local governments’ share from deductions.
According to ULGA, countries like Kenya and Thailand have such arrangements where local governments receive a particular share of the national budget resources.
The district leaders also want to operate their own separate accounts for local revenue instead of despositing it on treasury single account. In addition they want government to start remitting 1 percent of the 18 percent VAT rate including arrears, come the financial year 2018/19.
“ULGA continues to remind government that whereas the VAT rate was increased from 17 percent to 18 percent in financial year 2005/6, the revenue from the additional 1 percent share for local government funding as had been proposed and agreed was never remitted to local governments despite its buoyancy in terms of being an opportunity for annual growth in local government funding,” a statement reads in part.
They claim they cannot build schools, bridges, roads and other services with limited funding.
And, as government finalises the harmonisation of salaries for all government workers by October, district chairmen say their salary should been upped to Shs15 million, more than four times of their current salary per month.
They also want district speakers and district executive committee members to be paid monthly Shs 9 million and 6 million, respectively. They have also recommended salary increments for district and sub county councilors.
However they want sub county and municipal chairpersons and councilors to have minimum qualifications of O’level, saying this is good for their work of deliberations and supervision of projects. They argue that the universal primary and secondary education has and continues to produce citizens who can serve government at that level of education.
“Now is time the government put trust in her education system and put in place local leaders and in particular district and municipal councillors and the sub county chairperson with at least an O’level certificate,” they argue.
