President Yoweri Museveni has said the government cannot pay good salaries to public servants if there's no socio-economic transformation in societies.
“How will the state pay good salaries if there's no socio-economic transformation? Where does it get money from? When we took over the government, we were earning very small salaries for a long time, even now I earn a small salary,” he said.
Museveni who is also the patron for Patriotism Clubs in Uganda made the remarks on Saturday 3rd February 2024 while passing out 413 secondary school headteachers from greater Western Uganda, Mubende, and Kasanda Districts who have undergone ideological orientation training at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.
Museveni urged that if families undergo socio-economic transformation, they create jobs, people get income, and they will be able to pay taxes.
“When they are able to pay taxes, the government gets more money then it will be able to put up infrastructure, deal with peace and security, and also pay good salaries to public servants,” he noted.
The President also reiterated why the government decided to increase the salaries of scientists at the expense of their Arts counterparts.
“Recently I was in a small war with you, the teachers. When we got a little bit of money, we decided to enhance the salaries of scientists. That is where the war started. We need these scientists more because we need engineers, and medical doctors, among others. I studied Arts but I cannot come with my Shakespeare to put up a bridge,” he said.
Museveni further urged the headteachers to work towards the realization of the four principles of the National Resistance Movement which are patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy. The President said these will enable all Ugandans to be prosperous.
The President added that socio-economic transformation has four avenues where Ugandans can transform themselves and these include commercial agriculture with “ekibaro”, manufacturing, services, and ICT.
The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni appreciated Museveni for his continuous guidance to the education sector and his availability, whenever they call on him to facilitate their capacity-building programs.
