Councillors unpaid for three months, threaten boycott

At least 17 councillors of Mpigi District have not been paid for three months and they have threatened to go on strike.
The district is said to owe each of the councillors Shs308,000 in allowances for the past committee sittings and gratuity.
But the district chairperson, vice chairperson, speaker, deputy speaker and secretaries, because they are salaried, have received their full pay during the same period.
Mr Ben Ssozi, the councillor for Mpigi Town Council, said they will abandon attending their respective committee meetings, council meetings and stop monitoring government programmes unless they are paid.
“We have left with only one option to abandon meetings until we’re paid our allowances. Our money was sent to the district account but we’re still wondering why it isn’t given to us. We shall not wait to see ourselves using money from our pockets for council or district activities when money meant for us is sleeping on the district account; we also have debts that we need to clear now,” Mr Ssozi said.
The district chairperson, Mr Peter Claver Mutuluza, said the district is aware of the councillors’ concern and promised to engage the relevant authorities to sort it out.
“For the meantime, we agreed that let them be paid Shs6m that was meant to be given to two labour representatives as we look for more money from locally raised revenue. This is because we saved that money since we hadn’t elected the duo yet. I wonder why it has taken long to give this money to them,” Mr Mutuluza said on Thursday.
He added: “We pay money for an activity. So, for the case of allowances, let them wait for another council meeting, develop committee reports and reports for monitoring. If done, all their money shall be paid, but we shall not make prepayments as they wish. We have to first get a council meeting and then we pay.”