By Elizabeth Kamurungi
President Museveni has rejected a proposal by Members of Parliament to have their salary and pension contribution increased.
In an October 13 letter to Speaker Anita Among, Museveni declined to assent after he was advised by the Ministry of Finance that the bill presented to them for assessment of its financial implication did not include amendments to increase their contribution to the govt fund from 30 to 40%.
On September 7, the MPs passed the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill 2022 in which they voted to increase the members’ contribution from 15 to 20%.
This would automatically result in an increment to the corresponding government contribution to individual MPs’ monthly pension, increasing the liability imposed by parliament on the taxpayer.
The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee chairperson, Robinah Rwakoojo confirms the return of the bill, saying it will be among the priority business on November 1 when parliament resumes after a month-long recess.