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Nsibambi Denies Museveni Payraise Demand
(AllAfrica.com English Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Kampala, Sep 19, 2006 (The Monitor/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --PREMIER Apolo Nsibambi and his deputy, Mr Henry Muganwa Kajura, yesterday took turns refuting a report that President Museveni is seeking a salary increment.
It is the second time the government is rebutting Daily Monitor's September 13 cover report that spoke of a Cabinet meeting in which the ministers reportedly said the President expected his remuneration to be reviewed. President Museveni is entitled to Shs3.6 million per month, according to the Presidential Emoluments and Benefits Act (1998).
Nsibambi and Kajura told a press conference at the Media Centre yesterday, that Museveni is the frugal leader who "never asked for a pay raise". But Mr Kajura, who is also the minister for public service, conceded that there had indeed been a "recent" Cabinet meeting in which salary issues were variously discussed.
"What happened was an exchange of ideas," he said, in response to a reporter's question on what really happened in that meeting. It turned out that the second denial was in response to the wave of continuing critical debate on the President's alleged salary expectations.
"Following the allegation..., His Excellency the President has been unfairly criticised by the mass media services especially CBS on its talks show called Mambo Bado," Nsibambi told the press conference. "In conclusion, I must inform the public that there is no way the Cabinet can make a final decision on the President's salary and other benefits without the approval of Parliament."
Daily Monitor reported that during a Cabinet session that debated the proposed Public Service Bill, the President raised the salary issue, a proposal that was reportedly received with enthusiasm by his ministers. The report said Mr Kajura had been assigned to prepare a comprehensive paper on how the salary review for the entire Cabinet would be handled.
"It [Shs3.6 million] is not too much...we are still working on it. It involves a lot of consultation. The process is on but there is nothing complete," Kajura was quoted as saying.
Kajura has since denied most of his previous account. Yesterday, he said the President was not the type to engage in a wage bargain because "when these [salary] issues come up, he has always counselled us".
Nsibambi said while the President was entitled to a salary increment, if meritorious, he still would not go out of his way to seek an improvement that does not take care of other public servants. "His [Museveni's] position is that he does not want a pay raise before other people who are getting inadequate remuneration are uplifted," Nsibambi said.
The President has, in the past, been critical of leaders who join politics to make money. During the debate on the Presidential Emoluments and Benefits Bill in 1998, he was passionate about how politics is not a job but a service, saying a sitting president or former head of state should not expect so many privileges.
Any increment, however, would bring President Museveni's salary closer to that of his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete, who earns an equivalent of UgShs6 million but far short of Kenya's Mwai Kibaki's Ksh2 million (UgShs50 million).
Copyright 2006 The Monitor. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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