There are big discrepancies in the salaries of the chief executives of parastatals, authorities and commissions arising from the legal frameworks which set up the entities, according to a report passed by Parliament last week.
The pay of the chief executives is determined by either line ministers or boards and is not guided by any policy, the report – prepared by the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) – says.
“As such, officers in some entities are paid half or quarter of the salary of their colleagues elsewhere to perform similar functions,” according to the report.
The highest paid chief executive named in the report – Bank of Uganda’s Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile – earns Shs53 million per month – while the lowest paid, UBC’s managing director, is paid Shs4 million a month. The document lists the pay of 36 chief executives.
Entity | Job Title | Executive | Salary (Shs) |
Bank of Uganda | Governor | Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile | 53.31 million |
Uganda Revenue Authority | Commissioner General | Doris Akol | 40 million |
National Social Security Fund | Managing Director | Richard Byarugaba | 39 million |
Vision Group | Chief Executive Officer | Robert Kabushenga | 37.33 million |
Uganda Communications Commission | Executive Director | Godfrey Mutabazi | 36.96 million |
National Medical Stores | General Manager | Moses Kamabare | 35.22 million |
National Information Technology Authority | Executive Director | James Saaka | 34.37 million |
Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd | Managing Director | Erias Kiyemba | 32.51 million |
Civil Aviation Authority | Managing Director | Rama Makuza | 30 million |
National Water and Sewerage Corporation | Managing Director | Silver Mugisha | 30 million |
Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd | Managing Director | Harrison Mutikanga | 26 million |
Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd | Managing Director | Joseph Katera | 25.30 million |
Rural Electrification Agency | Executive Director | Godfrey Turyahikayo | 24.79 million |
Uganda Development Bank | Chief Executive Officer | Adongo Patricia Ojangole | 24 million |
National Housing and Construction Company Ltd | Chief Executive Officer | Parity Twinomujuni | 20.92 million |
Uganda National Bureau of Standards | Executive Director | Ben Manyindo | 20 million |
Uganda Coffee Development Authority | Executive Director | Emmanuel Iyamulemye Niyibigira | 20 million |
Uganda Wildlife Authority | Executive Director | Andrew Sseguya | 19 million |
Cotton Development Organisation | Managing Director | Jolly K. Sabune | 18.62 million |
Privatisation Unit | Director | Moses Mwase | 18.2 million |
National Forestry Authority | Executive Director | Michael Mugisa | 18 million |
Uganda Investment Authority | Executive Director | Frank Ssebowa | 16 million |
PPDA | Executive Director | Cornelia Sabiiti | 15 million |
Uganda Post Ltd | Managing Director | James Arinaitwe | 13.75 million |
National Drug Authority | Executive Secretary | Donna Asiimwe Kusemererwa | 13.30 million |
National Planning Authority | Executive Director | Joseph Muvawala | 12.51 million |
National Environment Management Authority | Executive Director | Tom Okurut | 12.48 million |
Diary Development Authority | Executive Director | Jolly Zaribwende | 11 million |
Air Cargo | General Manager | Kyankya Guyina Fred | 10.25 million |
Uganda National Cultural Centre | Executive Director | Ojede Francis Peter | 10 million |
National Council for Higher Education | Executive Director | John Opuda-Asibo | 9.80 million |
Uganda Property Holdings Ltd | Chief Executive Officer | Martin Kihembo | 8.70 million |
Uganda Railways Corporation | Managing Director | Charles Kateeba | 8.70 million |
Namboole | Managing Director | Ssewanyana Jamir | 8.50 million |
Uganda Export Promotion Board | Managing Director | Elly Twineyo Kamugisha | 7.40 million |
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation | Managing Director | Winston Agaba | 4.10 million |
The committee takes issue with the differing salaries of executives handling entities with similar classifications. For example, the heads of the Uganda Revenue Authority and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority earn Shs40 million and Shs15 million respectively, yet both entities are authorities.
Similarly, the chief executive of Vision Group is paid Shs37 million while that of Uganda Property Holdings Ltd earns Shs8.7 million; both entities are corporations.
Accordingly, the committee recommends that pay “should be determined in accordance with the classification of the entity.” It adds: “All officers appointed to authorities should be remunerated in a uniform manner while those appointed to institutes, centers, commissions, and corporations should ordinarily attract the same pay.”
The report was finalised in May 2015. It looked at the audited accounts – of 2011, 2012, and 2013 – as well as the performance of entities in which the government has a stake, and regulatory bodies.