The Ugandan government is supposed to undertake preparatory arrangements for its troops before they are deployed in Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia.
Gen. Jeje Odong, the State Minister for Defence, says this is stipulated in the memorandum of understanding between the government of Uganda and the African Union.
Gen.Odong, while presenting a defence ministerial policy statement in Parliament today, said they did not require going into the Ministry of Defence budget since Parliament had declared AMISOM budget neutral.
Simon Mulongo, Bubulo East MP, had put the defence officials to task to account for the 200 Dollars deducted from what he called hard earned money by the soldiers operating in Somalia.
He asked why government cannot absolve the administrative costs to which the money is allocated in the defence ministry into its budget. He adds that Parliament should create a budget for the costs so that the soldiers are allowed to enjoy their salary in full.
However, the state defence minister informed the defence and internal affairs committee that according to the MOU, ever since the AMISOM soldier’s salaries were raised to over 1000 Dollars, 200 Dollars would be deducted to cater for the initial amount that the AU would pass onto Uganda for the specific activities.
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Lieutenant General Katumba Wamala, the commander land forces, also informed Parliament that the African Union does not contribute towards consumables such as ammunition and equipment which is the responsibility of Uganda.
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Kaps Fungaroo Hassan, the Obongi County MP, also questioned the payment of military students sent abroad for training. He told the defence officials that some students have complained that they are not being paid their allowances.
State Minister Jeje Odong provided a voucher payment document with stamps and signatures of military students who were paid and acknowledged receipt of their money. He, however, said the problem could be that the students have a problem with how much they are paid.
The Joint Chief of Staff Brigadier James Mugira clarified that a senior army official on special training abroad gets 45 dollars while the juniors are given 15 dollars per day for as long as the course lasts.
Parliament also asked the defenceministry officials to provide a full list of Ugandan students on special training and the criteria used to select them since there are allegations of biasness in selection.
