Counting the cost of Museveni’s directives on security

Some of the “at risk” MPs have received bodyguards.

Implementation of several directives made by President Museveni as a solution to the growing insecurity in the country will cost taxpayers more than Shs2 trillion in the short run and much more in the coming years.

Controversy, however, still rages over the ultimate size of the bill for the proposed measures and their effectiveness in curbing urban crime, especially the brazen assassinations of public figures and the rampant murders of citizens across the country.

Debate on this has, however, been stifled by a search for answers in these chilling and brutal crimes. Irrespective of the cost, the priority of almost every citizen is on when and how to stop the crimes. Fewer ideally expected questions are being asked on the cost of the directives.

The directives, including installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, provision of army snipers and bullet-proof escort cars to legislators and deployment of Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel are already piling more pressure on the cash-strapped government.

The shooting of former Buyende District Police Commander Muhammad Kirumira, who was gunned down on September 8, is the latest reminder in the killings that have claimed lives in the hundreds and left many more in perpetual fear.

With the benefit of hindsight, government officials, including President Museveni, have on such occasions as Kirumira’s killing made pronouncements deemed to end the killings only for the cycle to continue in an almost similar fashion.

Necessary costs?
Already, taxpayers have started shouldering the burden of about $124m (about Shs458b) needed to purchase 5,552 CCTV cameras to be installed in all urban centres, borders and highways. The quoted price is exclusive of the cost of manning the same and other monetary requirements yet to be quantified. Insiders say the same can run into billions of shillings.

The first batch under installation was delivered by Huawei, a Chinese firm and is being installed in different areas of the Kampala Metropolitan area. It followed Parliament passing a Shs60b supplementary budget in May to fund part of the project.

Until the June 8 assassination of former Arua Municipality legislator Ibrahim Abiriga, the CCTV cameras had repeatedly been suggested by Mr Museveni as the magic bullet to the spate of crime in the country. With Abiriga gone, Mr Museveni appeared to have abandoned the idea of the cameras as the super solution. Not entirely.

A month after Mr Kirumira’s assassination, President Museveni on October 9 proclaimed that it was game over for criminals who he has since characterised as pigs. He was commissioning a CCTV Monitoring Centre for Kampala Metropolitan Police Area at Nateete Police Station in Rubaga Division, Kampala.

“Let’s keep the faith. The problem of urban insecurity perpetuated by armed assassins riding boda bodas will be solved. What we needed were eyes, ears and a nose to sense them. It is what the cameras will do. Once we see these criminals, we shall get them,” President Museveni justified the need for the cameras.

“This problem is not as complex as fighting a war for example. It is an issue of intelligence. We just need to know who did what. Once we know, these thugs cannot resist us. The game will be finished. Cowards die many times before their death,” he added.

Snipers, armoured car escorts
An earlier survey by this newspaper on the cost of, another of president Museveni’s orders, to provide army snipers and bullet-proof escort cars for MPs showed that the taxpayer would cough at least Shs1 trillion to implement the directive.

To procure bullet-proof Land Cruisers for the 456 MPs at Shs1.9b each, this newspaper revealed, government would pay out Shs866b while to acquire 2017/18 bullet-proof Hilux model at Shs630m each, it would cost the taxpayer Shs287b.

The implementation of this directive remains unclear although some of the “at risk” legislators have received the bodyguards and other such amenities contained in President Museveni’s directive.

Scanners
In June, government through the Finance ministry borrowed more than Shs58 billion from China, money officials said was to be used to acquire cargo scanning machines to be used by Uganda Revenue Authority. The purchase was in line with one of President Museveni’s 10-point directives on security in the country.
The incumbent had previously noted that due to the inefficiency of the customs department, many illegal products, including guns are smuggled into the country.

Electronic plates
President Museveni also wants all motor vehicles and motorcycles to get new, electronic number plates which are equipped with a tracker. The electronic number plates, it is envisaged, will have a signal in them which can help track that vehicle wherever it is. The cost of acquiring the number plates will be at the user’s cost.

The trackers, Mr Museveni said, “will be so tuned that if you try to interfere with the plate, the central monitoring system will be alerted and the registration will be cancelled, and we shall go for the offender.”

Currently, to replace one of the two number plates, if lost or stolen costs Shs223,000 for cars and Shs123,000 for motorcycles. This implies that the average cost of two number plates is Shs420,000 and Shs246,000 respectively.

If the directive is implemented, the cost could be higher or lower. Already, President Museveni has directed the National Enterprise Corporation, the business arm of the army, along with the National Social Security Fund to pull resources to have both the plates and helmets manufactured in Uganda.

In his address to the country last month, President Museveni said Uganda has 657,378 cars. At the prevailing cost, car owners would have to pay at least Shs276b in total to get the electronic license plates.
On the other hand, Uganda has 1,063,922 motorcycles, according to President Museveni, and this would imply owners paying Shs261.7b to acquire the electronic plates.

Helmets
President Museveni also directed that motorcyclists acquire new helmets, which have illuminated numbers at the back and can be seen in the night.
A good motorcycle crash helmet costs Shs150,000 and each motorcycle requires at least two. At least Shs319b exclusive of costs such as labelling and registration would be, in total, borne by owners of motorcycles in the country.

LDUs
The proposal of deploying LDUs was first mooted during a meeting President Museveni had with mourners at Abiriga’s home in Kawanda, Wakiso District.

At the time, President Museveni proclaimed that he would cater for equipping and paying the salaries. The President said the LDU will help to restore security in communities by cracking down on gangs since the members of the unit will be from the local communities. He concretised the proposal in one of the many subsequent addresses to the nation.

As a minimum and judging by their previous engagement, an LDU member can be placed at the lowest rank in the police force, the Special Police Constable.

The latest Internal Affairs ministry data indicates that Uganda has 3,544 Special Constables, each earning Shs275,200 per month, translating to Shs11.7b annually.

At the same rate, government would require Shs6.6b a month or Shs79.2b annually to pay salaries for the 24,000 LDU members.
Gen David Muhoozi, the Chief of Defence Forces, on October 3 told Parliament that the LDUs across the country will be entitled to a monthly salary of Shs200,000 while operating under the UPDF.

If Gen Muhoozi’s proposal is implemented, government would require Shs4.8b a month or 57.6b annually to pay for the 24,000 LDU’s as directed by President Museveni.

Irrespective of the salary government eventually pays the LDUs, the taxpayer will have to bear administration and training costs, procure uniforms including shoes, trousers, shirts, belts, headdress, jackets, a badge, and accessories like a name tag and patch cost and provide the unit members with either a baton or loaded gun. Government will also have to feed the recruits while on duty and pay any other allowances that may accrue.

Relevance
From the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to the lowest rank, the Special Police Constable, the approved strength of the Uganda Police is 65,461 according to the Internal Affairs ministry. Of those, government has only afforded to recruit 43,709 with resource constraints cited as the biggest impediment.

If President Museveni’s directive on LDU’s is implemented, it will supplement the police to more than the government approved structure. The police plus the LDU’s will now be 67,709 in total, slightly above the approved police structure.

The total population in Uganda is roughly estimated at 38.3 million (2016) which would translate to a ratio of 1:876 or one police officer per 876 people which is close to double the 1:450 persons ratio recommended by the United Nations.

If government, however, was to bolster the Force to the capacity of 65,461, that is in the approved structure by the Internal Affairs ministry, then the ratio of the police to the rest of the population would go down to 1: 585.

Section 64(1) of the Police Act empowers a police officer in charge of an area in which an unlawful activity has occurred or is likely to occur to “appoint such number of residents in the neighbourhood as he or she thinks necessary to be special constables to reinforce the members of the Force in that area”.

The decision, however, is subject to need and approval of the Inspector General of Police who is also empowered to set the terms of engaging the same.

The Police Act in Sections 66 and 67 also envisages the creation of a police reserve and a local administration police force both of which can supplement the work of the police force within the existing legal framework.

In March, President Museveni ordered the transfer of crime preventers from police to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). The number of crime preventers in the country remains a contested affair but the head of State said there will be 12 million of them under the UPDF which, he said, would make it easy to mobilise a big force to augment the army in case Uganda faces external aggression.

In what appears a change of heart, President Museveni has now directed that LDUs will be reinforced by the crime preventers who will be vetted by the newly elected Local Council committees.

Rights concerns
Both crime preventers and LDUs, a band of civilian vigilantes, have a past dotted with accusations of human rights abuses including torture, murder, extortion and arbitrary arrests. It is these accusations that contributed to the collapse of both groups in the past.

Questions will be asked about what has changed and whether government has addressed the prevailing concerns. Issues to do with training, accountability and the standard of recruitment, if any, will come to the fore.

Prior to their demise, LDUs were officially under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, yet they received their orders from different organs of the State such as UPDF and individuals. Crime preventers on the other hand, had an unclear relationship with the police and were mostly championed by embattled former Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura. Their role ended with the sacking and eventual incarceration of Gen Kayihura.