The Executive arm of Government needs to be serious with issues in Uganda. The other day a group of Councillors from Kampala city were in arms against the Executive Director's powers and gross salary. Before the salary issue is completed, a story is run in Bukedde newspaper where it is alleged that the gross salary of the Lord Mayor is Shs 27m. If there was a complaint about a gross shs11m for the Executive Director, what does giving shs 27m to the Lord Mayor mean? Is it meant to bribe him so as to foot the NRM line? At least what the Executive arm as well as the Legislature need to clear first is who is the top executive in the city. Simple logical would point to the Lord Mayor as is elsewhere in many other countries, because he is the elected People's representative.
We really need a serious Mrs Jenifer Musisi, but what Government ought to know is that Musisi is supposed to implement what the people want and with her technical team see that the technical issues are observed.
if we want to clean the dirt in the city and other areas of Uganda's economy, the favoritism MUST stop. The contract to manage Kampala city parks MUST be tendered the right way that is how accountability has to be enhanced. It is wrong for Jennifer Musisi to tell us that UTODA was cleared for so many years, when the contract papers are no where to be seen. These tendencies are part of the reason why countries like Uganda will remain lagging.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
MPs CONFRONT KCCA BOSS OVER MAYOR POWERS
By Mercy Nalugo
Posted Wednesday, August 17 2011 at 00:00
Parliament
Parliament yesterday quizzed the Kampala City Executive Director Ms Jennifer Musisi for allegedly sidelining Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.
The MPs on the Presidential Affairs Committee at a meeting with a KCCA team, accused Ms Musisi of hijacking all activities in Kampala yet the Lord Mayor is the political head of the city, directly elected by the people. “How can you treat the Lord Mayor with disrespect yet he has the mandate of the people? You cannot dominate everything in the city. You cannot develop the city alone, however much you want to appease the appointing authority,” Ms Betty Nambooze (Mukono North) said.
Ms Betty Aol (Gulu Woman) encouraged Ms Musisi to respect the Lord Mayor and initiate a cordial working relation with him instead of doing everything solely without consulting him. “It was not easy for the mayor during campaigns and you should not reduce his powers and those of the elected councillors,” Ms Aol said.
Ms Musisi had earlier told the MPs that she has summoned the Lord Mayor to her office several times for talks but he has often turned down her requests. “But the city boss cannot summon the Lord Mayor. It should have been the executive director to go to his office. A Permanent Secretary cannot summon a minister to his or her office,” Mr Steven Ochola (Serere) said.
Ghost accounts
Ms Musisi, however, boasted of having asked to retire but said she was stopped by the President. “I was not looking for a job and I should not be frustrated when doing my work,” she said. Ms Musisi also reported to the committee that they have unearthed fraud at KCC, and found 31 ghost accounts with billions of tax payers’ money. “Former KCC officials handed us 122 bank accounts but we discovered 31 others. Altogether there are 151 bank accounts with a balance of Shs58b,” she said.
Government has also asked Ms Musisi to give them two weeks to find another house for the coordinator of intelligence agencies, Gen. David Tinyefuza. According to information before MPs, Gen. Tinyefuza has agreed to vacate the house on August 31.
Meanwhile, the Minister for the Presidency has suggested that the Lord Mayor receives a monthly salary of Shs27 million. In her letter to the Finance Minister, Ms Kabakumba Masiko suggested that the Lord Mayor be paid at least Shs27 million and his deputy Shs22 million.
KAMPALA CITY DIRECTOR SETS LORD MAYOR'S SALARY
Posted by Robert Mwanje & Hadijah Mwanje
on Saturday, July 2 2011 at 00:00
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Jennifer Musisi has moved to set salaries for the Lord Mayor and the division urban council mayors.
In a May 23 letter addressed to the Lord Mayor, Mr Erias Lukwago, the executive director outlined the entitlements of the lord mayor with a basic salary of Shs2.8million.
The mayor is also entitled to accommodation worth Shs2.5 million, medical treatment of Shs150,000 and transport in form of a car. The same letter grants the division mayors a basic salary of Shs1.8million that is also taxable.
The decision taken by the city director has already been criticised by the division mayors who accuse her of acting beyond her powers. Kawempe Urban council mayor Mubarak Munyagwa said the powers to determine salaries of the political leaders fully lie with the line minister which position is currently vacant.
“In the absence of the minister, does the executive director take over…? What the executive director is doing is illegal and she knows it,” Mr Munyagwa said.
He advised Ms Musisi to put the appointing authority on pressure to avail the minister. But Ms Musisi said this was done to cover up the gap left due to the absence of the minister, promising that the mayors’ emoluments will be revised if the minister takes over.
When contacted, Mr Lukwago said: “At the moment, what matters to me is cleaning the city. I will go with whatever I’m given,”Lukwago said yesterday.
He added: “At the moment I want to tackle issues to do with illegal sale of KCC property and the corruption that has eaten up this city and to me that’s all.”
Silent on matter
The letter, however, remained silent about the deputy lord mayor’s pay and division councillor’s allowances and emoluments. Early this month, elected city councillors petitioned Ms Musisi over the meagre allowances allocated to them, demanding an adjustment in the KCCA budget submitted to the central government.
During the first Authority meeting chaired by Mr Lukwago ,the councillors expressed discontent over the Shs400, 000 allocated to each councillor per month, saying it was a pea nut .
According to the passed KCCA budget for 2011-12 financial year, Shs25 billion is allocated to KCCA staff while top managers will consume Shs13.4 billion in salaries.
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