Division councilors in Kampala have given a three-day ultimatum to the city authority to sort out the allocation of their allowances.
Over 100 division councilors today held a meeting with Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, at city hall before threatening to close all the five division offices on Tuesday until the issue of their allowances cleared.
Trouble started after Jennifer Musisi Ssemakula, the city executive director froze the division accounts.
When Uganda Radio Network contacted Ms Musisi Ssemakula, she maintained that salary allowances for the lord mayor, division mayors and all the councilors would be set by the minister in charge of Kampala.
In March, President Museveni appointed the then minister for the presidency, Dr Beatrice Wabudeya, as Kampala minister but her name was not included in the subsequent cabinet list that was in May forwarded to parliament for vetting.
Johnson Ssenono one of the councilors from Kawempe proposed to lead others into closing the division offices until such a time when Jennifer Musisi finds the councilors allowances a priority.
Ssenono was supported unanimously by other councilors who argued that, like members of parliament, councilors have to meet daily expenses including contributing to burial arrangements in their respective constituencies.
Ssenono says this is the first step in fighting the Kampala Capital City Authority Act 2010, which he said has deprived the councilors of their political rights.
Ssenono has also proposed to petition the president on the law which he described as full of loopholes and in need of amendment.
Nnalongo Betty Katushabe, the Nakawa deputy mayor says the financial situation at the divisions is bad, and the councilors are digging into their pockets to meet the day’s expenses yet their allowances have not been given a priority.
Abbas Kalungi the councilor representing Nabugabo at Kampala central division says working without allowances is complicating the relationship between the division and the city authority.
Kalungi, a former bursar at Kampala High School says left his job at the school, where he was earning 2.6 million shillings for politics expecting to get an equivalent or more.
Lukwago proposed to table the councilors’ grievances in the authority special meeting on Tuesday next week.
