For decades, the local governments in Uganda have been lamenting of the poor funding as the genesis of below par service delivery country wide.
Local governments remain stricken in deplorable operational conditions due to inadequate funding. This has seen the road infrastructure deteriorate, urban councils choking on garbage, poor health, education among other services.
Leaders of local governments starting from the the Local Council V chairpersons, their councillors downwards to Local Council I lament about the little remunerations from the central government. They say their wage doesn’t tally the services they offer government.
Last month, the head of state inaugurated the 7th Local Government Finance Commission appointing former minister, Hon Isaac Isanga Musumba as its chairperson deputised by the former Butambala Woman member of Parliament Hon Mariam Nalubega.
Musumba’s appointment to the advisory body to the president on local government funding was celebrated by his friends in Kamuli.
The colorful ceremony in Kisozi-Buzaaya was mostly graced by local government leaders.
In his congratulatory oration, the Kamuli district chairperson, Maxwell Kuwembula said that they have hope in Musumba that he shall revise salaries of local government leaders.
“I, as the district chairperson annually am paid less than a half of an MP. It is really disturbing. Take an example of the municipality MP who has only two sub counties earning over 40million shillings a month which money I earn less than half of it in whole year although I reach out to more people than her,” he said.
But Kuwembula was optimistic that with Musumba at the whelm of the Local Government Finance Commission things would change for the better.
“With you sir, our own, I know that during your tenure the issue of salaries at local governments shall be revisited,” said the former teacher.
Kibombo Eria the chairperson Kisozi town council is yet to believe the essence of local governments. Giving an example of his area of jurisdiction where they operate on a budget of 1.5milliin shillings annually, he said they are handicapped to offer any services like garbage collection, infrastructural development among others.
Kibombo is also against the centralisation of funds by government which he says rendered local governments useless as they can’t have effective planing and implementation.
However, Hon Isaac Musumba said that with his appointment as the chairperson local government finance commission, all the above lamentations shall come to an end.
He said, they are considering revisiting the financing polices of local governments in Uganda.
“In the financial year 2024/2025 the country shall see some changes not only in increased funding to local governments but also an increment on the renumeration of local government leaders,” said Musumba.
The former Buzaaya County MP added; borrowing a leaf from Kenya, the local governments finance commission intends to advise government to drop the policy of centralisation of funds but rather take on a certain percentage from the collections by local governments and give them the autonomy to plan according to their needs in the remaining funds.
The populace in Kamuli commended the president for identifying the son of the soil as the suitable person to chair the local government finance commission.
