Uganda To Pay Civil Servants Per Day At Work

The Ugandan government is to start paying civil servants according to the number of days worked rather than a guaranteed monthly salary, a senior official said Tuesday.

Prof Ezra Suruma, the head of the Delivery Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), said they are for a start installing biometric gadgets at public health and educational institutions to monitor clock-in, clock-out of health workers and teachers at their duty stations.

Prof Suruma said salaries of absentee civil servants will be deducted equivalent to work days missed, he said.

“Last week, we were in Jinja for a meeting with district local governments and we were told that some districts no longer pay civil servants who absent themselves from work.


"We want other districts to follow suit because this is kisanja hakuna mchezo (no playing games),” he said.

Kaliro, Kayunga, Buvuma, Bulambuli, Bugiri and Bududa districts-- all in eastern Uganda-- are already implementing the scheme.

Prof Suruma, the former finance minister and current Makerere University chancellor, made the comments while receiving an assortment of biometric machines donated by the British government through its overseas development arm, the Department for International Development (DFID).