Any Vacancy in KCCA??... "Man Eateth where he Worketh"

Per New Vision 9th March 2011

The Ministry of Public Service has approved a new salary structure for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), staff the New Vision online has learnt.

President Yoweri Museveni approved the salary structure in December last year, in which the lowest paid employee (tea girl) earns sh1.1m per month.  The public service ministry was tasked to prepare an administrative structure for the Authority.

Under the structure, Jennifer Musisi is entitled to a monthly salary of sh36m while the Lord Mayor bags sh16m.

The deputy executive director and other directors earn between shs22m, the deputy Lord Mayor sh11m; division mayors sh10.7m and their deputies shs8.2m.Division councilors are entitled to sh3.5m while district (LC5) councilors earn sh4.45m.

The release of the new administrative structure paves way for the recruitment of over 1,000 employees by KCCA.

KCCA spokesperson, Peter Kaujju said the Authority would roll out a programme to cater for employees who will opt to leave the institution. The Authority will, however, allow existing employees to reapply for the available positions.

"We have waited for that approval for a long time and the institution needs staff so that work can move," Kaujju said.

The orientation of staff to the new structure will take place on Friday at the City Hall Gardens.

In a memo from the KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi to KCCA staff dated March 7, she wrote: "This is to inform you that the Ministry of Public Service has approved the KCCA organization structure, staffing and salary structure."

" Man Eateth where he Worketh"

State House, Seriously??!!

State House needs more Shs 92Billion in funding Vs Nodding Disease

Media Reports indicate that the Ministry of Health is struggling to find Shs7 billion to help thousands of children stricken by the nodding disease which has claimed hundreds of lives in northern Uganda and shamelessly State House yesterday asked MPs to approve Shs92 billion in more funding for the Presidency.

“If it is true that Shs92 billion is going to State House when our people are suffering with nodding disease without any serious response, may God have mercy on us,” Mr Okumu said.

“To my colleagues in Parliament, if you approve this money the people of northern Uganda will never forgive you. It does not matter whether State House has already spent the money or not, this money shouldn’t be approved before getting money for the children who are suffering with the nodding disease,” he said.

Just five months ago, Parliament approved another additional Shs66.6 billion for State House. If approved, the State House budget will balloon to more than Shs158.6 billion— more than twice the 2011/12 Budget for Mulago National Referral Hospital. This money would meet the Shs75 billion required to answer teachers’ demands for a 100 per cent salary increment. - Daily Monitor!

Now am going to use my head hoping my emotions wontrule me!!!!

Honestly with the above developments, no tax payer would take this light. This is branding our superiors insensitive to the happenings around them. By the way dont be suprised if the House approves this mega budget.
Just out of curiosity, what is the statehouse spending on these amounts of money?? Hardly six months have elapsed and another supplementary is in the house for approval! Honestly what do you want the citizens to think?

This comes after the crazy amounts of MPs cars. Ugandas are dying in hospitals, roads are horrible, teachers need a salary increment, health workers are taking to the streets, schools are in bad shape, but state house is in need of a hefty 92 billion when people in the North are dying!! If you have seen pictures of children suffering from the nodding disease, u would feel sorry for them yet they need about 7bn.

SAD at how the Nodding Disease has been ignored!!!!!!!!!!!

What is happening to our leaders? have you forgotten the people you represent?
I will say this again, God save our nation!

My Opinion!!

God Save Our Nation

MPS RECEIVING 103 MILLION FOR THEIR CARS

Reports indicate that MPs have each started receiving Shs103 million as part of a generous car scheme which has been kept quiet for fear of provoking outrage at a time when poorly paid teachers and doctors have failed to win sensible concessions from the government.

With the current crisis in the country, people are poor, roads in bad shape, teachers crying for a salary increment so they can meet their needs, health workers striking due to poor pay make you wonder if the Members of Parliament receiving of 103Million shillings and keeping quiet are representing the people or their personal interests.

When we look at the high numbers of Members of parliament and the money given you feel for our country Uganda. Priorities have changed and the ordinary person ignored and left to rot in poverty. Over 275 MPs receiving 130Million shillings means the government will be spending over 28,325,000,000bn. If this money forexample is put in the road network or in the health centers we would have no more deaths of mothers giving birth and the roads would be easily accessible making transportation of goods to markets easy hence reduction in food prices and poverty levels.

With this kind of development one cannot help but think that MPs are being selfish and inconsiderate to the people they represent.

God Save Our nation

KCCA decisions Vs Planning

KCCA Decisions Vs Planning!

Kampala City Council Authority is the legal entity which is established by the Ugandan Parliament and is responsible for the operations of the capital city - Kampala. It should be noted that the affairs of  Kampala have been brought under the direct supervision of the central Ugandan government. The City Clerk, formerly the highest financial officer in the city was replaced by the Executive Director - Mrs Jeniffer Musisi, who is answerable to the Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority.

The city has faced several challenges like gabbage, potholes, over population, Traffic managemnet, etc. Recently KCCA made a decision to put gabbage containers all over the city to curb down the littering which decision was highly welcomed because we all need a clean city. This was made after it was discovered that the city generates an estimated 1,500 tonnes of garbage daily, but has capacity to pick up only 500 tonnes a day which has caused garbarge to accumulate in neighborhoods, on street corners and in local markets with resultant health risks and other environmental concerns.

This was a remarkable achievemnet to KCCA and especially to Jeniffer Musisi who everyones praises apart from the Lord Mayor and his following (Clear intentions) and all patriotic citizen should be in position to embrace this.
However, we cannot sit back and let KCCA have its way without pointing out the loopholes. It was stated that whoever is found littering will be arrested and taken to prison (Which in my opinion i think is not reasonable punishment). Some people fell victim and were picked up by hostile KCCA officials on their pickups after afew beatings.
To me being a good cause especially for our city there is need for proper sensitization and communication to the general public before they are manhandled and taken to away in sheer ignorance keeping in mind that what most people call common sense is not common to everyone.

And now the conflicting issue of city busses (by the way which will be here anytime from now) That only means that no matter what, they are here to stay and do business.
You will agree with me that the city is too crowded and hence the busses could solve this. However, the question goes to KCCA as to whether they analysed the situation carefully. There are so many taxis in the city and they have employed so many people which means many get their daily bread from this business. The question is, what happens to all those whose taxis will be put off the road? Any alternative by the council?
Much as i welcome this idea of having buses in the city i think there is need for proper planning of the council foe easy running of the city for the benefit of Wanainchi not increasing on the already existing level of unemployment.

As for the demolitions .............. thats a story for another day!

But credit is given where its due hence we say keep it up JM, but the welfare of the ordinary citizen is paramount..

Jennifer Musisi - ED KCCA

Take or Leave Opinions!!

Special attention to health workers needed...

Government should give special attention to the health workers  

Uganda is one of the ten countries globally which contribute the biggest proportion of the annual global figures on maternal, newborn and child mortality. Every day 16 women die in Uganda from pregnancy and child birth related causes. This translates 600 maternal deaths every year! In addition, 121 children under the age of one month die every day, which translates to 44,500 neonatal deaths annually. Furthermore the annual death of children under the age of five stands at 94,400. All these death are largely preventable with low cost high impact intervention. 

Health   is a key element of social and economic growth and its one of the major sectors that can directly impact on poverty eradication. Over the last four years, this sector has on average received over 9.6% of the total national budget, which is still far below the threshold of 15% agreed upon by African leaders in the Abuja declaration of 2001.

 We are concerned that Uganda’s health sector only covers 1/3 of what is needed to meet the minimum health package yet health remains an important perquisite for economic growth.  Out of the $28 per capita required to fully finance the minimum health care package only about US$ 10.4 is provided. This is far below the per capita health expenditure of US$34 for low income countries. More than 90% 0f Ugandans live in rural areas and these are the ones most affected by the weakened referral systems and equitable distribution of doctors. They are being cared for by less than 10% of Uganda’s   3600 or so available doctors –manpower.

Despite the national rage of policies and heavy investment in agriculture in rural areas, thousands of people continue to die needlessly. It’s therefore, not surprising that out of desperation many patients resort to seeking   health care from quack doctors such as faith healers, witchdoctors while others simply remain at home. 

 The acute shortage of  medical personnel has affected the performance  of clinical officers and nurses  in that  they have inevitably been called upon , from time to time , to assume tasks that are beyond  their competence  and which  would have been carried out by doctors , often which disastrous  consequences arise. The current consolidated  health workers facilitation allowance  of Ugsh 91,555  for  senior  levels  and  78,475 for junior  staff and the monthly  lunch allowance of UGX66,000 is  too meager to cover the basic amenities for which they were instituted .

 In regional referral hospitals where there are donor projects such as SUSTAIN that contribute to staff salaries, the health workers have stayed. This is proof that improved   pay leads to retention. Hospitals like mulago and butabika which are in Kampala find it easier to retain health workers due to more opportunities for supplementing low salaries like  participating in research ,consultancies and private practices .Overall 40% of the health workers in Uganda are working in private sector. In fact it’s estimated that 22% of these health workers are contracted by PNFP and 21% by the private sector. 

Government should come in and increase on recruitment of health workers to allow deployment, retention of medical personnel   as well as increasing their salaries. Increase the coverage of antenatal care from the current 42% to 70 %, provide basic emergency obstetric and newborn care at all health centers ,reduce the  unmet need for family planning services from the current 40% to 20% by increasing the number of service delivery points and access to commodities. 

By Adellah Agaba

Debt Burden Vs National Development

Debt Burden undermines Economic Growth and National Development

By June 2010, Uganda had a total external debt stock of US$ 2,343 billion according to the Semi Annual Report on External Assistance to Uganda(MoFED).Considering that recently the World Bank approved credit worth US$50M to finance the national Budget, and with the challenges in Aid Management identified in the Development Cooperation Uganda Report 2008/2009, it is difficult to determine how effectively this credit will achieve the objective of improving service delivery and poverty reduction as said by Chris Kassami, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance and Secretary to the Treasury. The credit being disbursed into the consolidated fund provides government lee-way to flexibly allocate these funds to its priority areas yet widespread mismanagement and corruption cited in the Development Report undermines efficient resource utilization. As a result, some donors are reported to have reduced on disbursements pending their analysis of human rights and good governance.

Uganda has been a beneficiary of several debt burden relief since the 1980s and also benefited from debt cancellation under the first Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative of about US$ 650 million in 1998 and the Enhanced HIPC of US$ 660 million in 2000. Debt accumulated from the 1970s was as a result of  borrowing for economic recovery and stabilization programmes given the political unrest in the period but debt cancellation, provided an avenue for borrowing more external credit. This also portrayed Uganda as a risk free country prompting donors again to lend to her increasing  debt stock annually but the more relief we get, the more compelled to borrow yet by the time of the relief, the debt burden tends towards unsustainability. Does this mean we learn nothing and forget everything?

Government’s frequent acquisition of credit which is accumulating annually may drift us back into the Pre-HIPC Initiative era. HIPC savings were intended to facilitate poverty reduction programmes yet poverty is reported to be highest in rural areas; one is bound to wonder whether these funds really achieve their objectives not withstanding other inequalities whose gaps keep increasing by the day. But the big question still remains; how differently we’re going to manage the incoming credit funds and service this debt as expected since good debt servicing is attributed to good debt management and governance. Cases of poor service delivery especially in the rural settings have frequently featured where little or nothing has been done to improve the situation.

Accumulation of debt stock is attributed to new loans disbursements together with on-going loans. Good debt servicing is strongly attributed to good debt management and governance but a permanently growing debt status may undermine economic growth and development since resources used to service debt contribute to the crowding out of investment. A large debt burden requires more funds for repayment thereby draining the economy of what would have otherwise been used for development. 

As a result of poor financial management and indiscipline, the burden is transferred to the future generation. What makes us think that we should remain on the receiving end of a “white man’s hard saved taxes” just to be extended to us and mishandled since its impact is almost invisible. We need government to act as expected and fully hold the duty bearers accountable, punishing them to deter others from further misuse of funds. 

Where there is a will, there is a way.  

#Just saying...

Alternatives to rising inflation...

   Alternatives to rising inflation

The current crisis in Uganda is a result of rising inflation rate, unpredictable exchange rates, which continue to be a challenge increasing debt burden for Uganda. With the rising cost of living, Uganda’s economy is persistently falling into the debt trap both domestic and foreign causing financial hardship, joblessness and decline in personal earnings. 

The current debt burden stands at $4.3b (close to 10 trillion) up from $1.4 billion (about 3.2 billion) in 2006/07. Since   2006/07 financial year public debt has been increasing steadily growing at an average of 17% per Annum and projected to increase by 20% in the medium term due to increased new borrowings to finance infrastructure projects required to enhance productivity in the country.

Economy is suffering under the 29.2 % inflation rate in 2012 which is the highest since 1993 when it was 24.9 %. The country’s inflation steadily moved from 14.1 % in April to 16.0% in May reduced slightly in July to 15.8% to 18.7%in August 2011 and now at 29.2% in January 2012 yet the shilling has not gained full momentum hence the exchange rate is expected to remain volatile due to dollar scarcity (which is hoped to improve this year 2012).

Inflation has been enhanced by reduced food supplies to most markets, increased transport costs and reduced supply of consumer goods in the country due to importation of consumer goods from countries with high inflation. Food inflation rose from 33.4% in June to 40.6% in July 2011 though its stated that prices are beginning to stabilize in 2012, some families have not witnessed the difference.

High or unpredictable inflation rates are regarded as harmful to an overall economy. They add inefficiencies in the market and make it difficult for companies to budget or plan long-term. Inflation acts as a drag on productivity as companies are forced to shift resources away from products and services in order to focus on profit and losses from currency inflation.

Uncertainty about the future purchasing power of money discourages investment and saving. This prompts employees to demand rapid wage increase to keep up with consumer prices.

Inflation leads to further inflationary expectations which escalate inflation levels like hoarding where people buy durable and non-perishable commodities to avoid losses expected from the declining purchasing power of money creating shortages of the hoarded goods.

Inflation can lead to massive demonstrations and revolutions. In particular food inflation is considered as one of the main reasons that caused the 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution and the 2011 Egyptian revolution according to many observatories including Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank. Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were ousted after only 18 days of demonstrations and protests soon spread in many countries of North Africa and Middle East.

With the current crisis, business owners should invest in increasing exports to boost dollar inflows.  Our investment choices need to shift from bulling houses and importing goods which reduce the amount of dollar in circulation to investing in fish farms and agriculture that bring foreign exchange into Uganda.  The government should maintain good programs to help the farmers become more productive considering that increased input in agriculture sector will bring food prices down through increased supply to markets.

The government needs to set their priorities right and reduce on the unnecessary spending and give focus to Uganda’s back bone-agriculture and ensure that the roads are in good shape to help farmers transport goods to the markets. There is also need to increase   tariffs on goods which are imported from countries with same problem of inflation indoor to control imported inflation.

#My Opinion