*AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF UGANDA ON SALARY DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC SERVICE*
*By your Muzukulu*
*Peter Katusabe of* *Kagadi.*
First of all, ihave no credentials to say hello Shenkuru? Simply because i’m no body in government. I hold no special rank in UPDF, NRM or Local Government leadership, im simply an academician your excellency. Im simply an ordinary citizen born by a couple of economically vulnerable bafuruki immigrants in Ruteete Settlement scheme that hosts over 20000 former banyakigezi natives who were re settled in bunyoro in 1960s through the bilateral arrangement between Ngorogoza ( mukiga prime chief) and omukama Sir Winyi Tito Rukirabasaija of Bunyoro kitara in early 60s.
Mr president, my background as an imigrant descendant gave me courage to persue education to change the plight many of our ancestors faced when they turned down missionary education and opted to provide casual labor in tea plantations and construction sites. Many banyakigezi are scattered the whole country not because of their wish, but because their ancestors are everywhere as aresult of casual laborforce in factories and farm estates. A few lucky banyakigezi like Rugunda, Mbabazi, Mutebire, Nzeyi(RIP), Besigye, Mateke, Mulenga, Nuwagaba, Bahati, Nzeirwe, Bitature, keiwha, Kagonyera, the list is long your excellency, are a reflection of atrue banyakigezi generation that were able to obtain missionary education through good schools like Ntare, Butobore, immaculate heart, mbarara high, Nyakasura, Kyegobe, Mutorere among other powerful schools. The above gentlemen came from similar poor family backgrounds like me or even worse. What saved them was that the education sector by then was largely a government service and one’s head only stood for him or her.
Your excellency you remember your days in Ntare with my neighbor Matia Kasaija, your economic background never mattered but rather your level of intellect at Junior level. Junior education by then was purely in government hands and was an open space for every ugandan academically talented to showcase his capacity at the performance in the cambridge Junior exams. This is how the makerere university was then a centre of excellence for the country’s most cream.
With the coming of the beast of Washington codnamed *liberalisation* , Jaja you were misadvised by the imperialists whom you have for long opposed, to liberalise everything and let the market forces determine the future of every citizen.
Banks collapsed , you are aware KCB bank is the most successful foreign bank here mr president while UCB was swallowed by stanbic bank SA. Our Uganda railway corporation is in permanent hideout, our UTL is winding up, Our UTC transport company fell flat, everything was swallowed by imperialists and we got subjugated in 1995.
Your excellency, I would address you on anumber of things, but i am going to concentrate on your great love for Scientists against other proffessionals in the country
*THE COLLAPSE* *OFTHE ECONOMY* *OVER PERPETUAL* *SALARY DISPARITY**
Mr president, as soon as you privatised, the education sector was sold to imperialists.The intention of the brettonwoods institutions in New york is to create class strata where there is sharp class division between masters and servants. One class deprives the other of all its natural advantages and perpetually makes it its servant through the capitalist approach.
As soon as you left education to private sector, mr president the other first cream group of banyakigezi vanished. They got divided in to two. The masters and the slaves. Im sorry to use banyakigezi because i found them very familiar to me, since im one of them.
Liberalisation meant that government would nolonger determine merit of talent but rather one’s economic and political status.Primary education was left to dogs as soon as UPE was introduced and investment per capita on every pupil stood at 3000 Ush per annum.( UPE capitation grant). This affected learning in UPE coupled with high teacher pupil ratio and high textbook pupil ratio. Twaweza research findings of 2016 indicated that only 10% of pupils in P6 could read the P4 class English passage.Eventually since 1997 todate, UPE comfortably enjoys front position of pupils in failed grades and division four. UPE pupils rarely pass in division one and those who afford first grade in UPE like i did in 2003, are simply extra ordinary. Its of recent that a primary teacher started earning 400,000 monthly your excellency. We pay tribute to James Tweheyo’s spirited fight that saw 100℅ teacher salary enhancement.
Mr president, the poor pupils from UPE are immediately put aside of the sytem as the previous National merit schools like Ntare and Bweranyangi eliminate them through the cut throat competition where their lowest S1 entry grades are aggregate 4&5.
Your bazukulu from kyamate, Ruteete COU, mutunguru primary schools are shown red card never to enter the first world schools.
Those who enter first world govt schools like Buddo, Ntare, Mbarara high, SMACK, Gayaza, Nabisunsa, St Henrys, Uganda matyrs Namugongo are children of your cabinet ministers like Frank Tumwebaze, Robina Nabbanja, Cris Baryomunsi, Jim Muwhezi, Haruna kasoro, Peter Ogwang etc. These are primarily educated at Homisdallen, Flobetto, Kampala parents, Good times infants etc where school fees per term is 2M UGX as same ministers approve for us the economically vulnerable kids 8000shs per year in UPE schools.
Eventually mr president, your UPE bazukulu are dumped in 3rd world USE schools where learning never take place and the highly demotivated secondary teachers are ingaged in produce buying, boda boda, retail shops and rearing animals. Teaching in USE schools stand at 40℅ as 60℅ of time is never committed to learning. What happens at end of S4, your UPE graduates who constitute 90℅ of OLevel pass with flying colors of F9 in maths, English, chemistry, physics, biology and ICT. Mr president its on this level that politicians and technocrats get their children excell with agg 8, 9 and 10 in the other first class govt schools. These join S5 with PCB, PCM, BCM , PEM and at failure MEG.
Upon S6, they advance to makerere, Kyambogo, Busitema, Gulu and Mbarara to persue medicine, Engneering, Computer science and Veterinary. These scholarships are funded by my poor mother in Ruteete who is taxed on every household item such as sugar, soap, airtime, petrol, clothes, everything. The money mr Rujuki collects from me and my villagemates is what pays school fees for doctor students at makerere. These are children of katumba wamala, Jacob Oulanya, Edward Sekandi, Bright Rwamirama, Keneth Omona, Richard Twodong the list is endless.
On the other hand mr president, we your poor bazukulu from public schools are compelled to offer arts subjects like History, RE, Fine Art, Economics, Literature etc and our courses at University are SWASA, Development studies, Psychology, BBA, Arts with education etc.
Mr president, those who fail to get tax payers money at A level have introduced Students Loan scheme to borrow money from treasury and persue science courses(90℅) of the scheme and leave 10% to relevant arts courses.
Mr president, as soon as the children of your ministers graduate, are absorbed in civil service as Doctors, Engneeers, agriculturalists and researchers. Their fathers in your cabinet find it shameful for their children to earn 720, 000 UGX like i earn at the gombolola as a graduate Arts cadre officer and have instead convinced you to make their entry basic pay 2,500, 000UGX and classified their scale as U4science for justification of this impunity and capitalist symptom.
Consequently mr president, one officer like CDO at Gombolora is paid 600k monthly and is the focal person for sub county planning and cordination of all development plans and interventions like Emyooga , YLP, UWEP and parish model. The CDO is the clinical officer of rural transformation and has the onus of transforming the 68℅ households still battling abject poverty. All the huge investment plans in attaining vision 2040 are cordinated and implemented by the poorly remunerated social scientists at sub counties and parishes. Eventually they are not productive and not committed to their jobs but have rather adopted same style like secondary teachers i ealier mentioned who spend 60% on their errands and 40% teaching your poor bazukulu. The outcome of this type of education i have already analysed.
*LONG TERM EFFECT*
The long term effect mr president is that just as Karl max stated, capitalism breeds a system that eventually leads to its collapse. The notion that development will come from scientists alone is adisillusion, misguided and politically motivated egocentric mal advise given by the above rulers that get chance to reach you mr president. The duty to organise state development mr president is aresponsibility of planners and social scientists who research development policies and design their application. Unfortunately these are not engneers nor doctors. These are people who have mastered economics, history, geography and and public policy and can design development models like parish development model mr president.
As you are aware, the engines of implementation of the much anticipated parish model are parish chiefs mr president who by their background are arts students with public administration, Development studies or SWASA. I have not seen doctors and engneers being solicited to fill these vacancies at parish level mr president
Therefore mr president, owing to this very long discourse and practical analysis, i call upon an establishment of an independent Salary review commission to address the issue of Salary disparity in civil service and harness wagebills in MDAs.
I would recommend a 30% difference between the two cadres of same rank. Assuming a veterinary doctor at Gombolora earns 3, 000, 000,UGX Community Development Officer who share same U4 scale should earn 2, 100,000 and this becomes standard yardstick in all sectors of public service.
This should also be proceeded with radical public service reform including abolishment of duplicate agencies and authorities as you earlier recommended to avoid heamorage of state resources in paying redundant human resource duplicating services in public service and local governments.
I equally recommend that science teachers only advance 30℅ disparity against their arts counterparts for practical allowance other than proffessional ridicule on arts teachers.
Thank you your excellency, This is my humble opinion as your muzukulu who went through UPE, USE, Public University at Kyambogo on Govt scholarship, qualified with a first class in Development Studies and is currently a junior cadre humbly serving at degree scale of U4L that attracts 720,000 against my coleague science cadres of U4sc whom you pay 2, 400, 000 monthly your excellency.
Surprisingly its me mr president who cordinates their activities and ensure that your clarical call on poverty eradication is implemented as per your good vision for your bazukulu by 2040 where no muzukulu should be less than 1000USD per capita .
God bless you mr president, God bless your visionary leadership and God guide you in establishing an independent salary review commission.
Regards to you from your iron lady RDC Ruteraho Lilian of Kagadi, Your friend Ndugu Mfashingabo, Mrs Adrin Tibaleka your strong revolutionary cadre and thank you for granting us Kagadi and Kakumiro Districts and appointing our daughter Robina as leader of govt business. The Kigumba Kabwoya Kyenjojo turmack is also fully completed and Mubende Kakumiro Kibaale Kagadi muhooro road is in excellent shape. We are only waiting your good finance minister to fund Muhorro Ndaiga 40km stretch and have our region a next hub of economic growth your excellency.
Im sorry where i have offended any scientist, my honest opinion is based on rural experience and hands on experience of what is taking place in implementing vision 2040 as guided by HE the president.
I would also feel proud if you allowed me your excellency to work with the talented brains at the Parish model National secretariat and make this excellent program an international benchmark upon which developing countries would come here and be assisted on application of this model in five years from today.
Jifunze Kiswahili na mwalimu Johnpaul Arigumaho 