Ugandan school teachers went on strike on Monday after
their demands for a 20 percent pay increase were rejected, underlining
the strains the government faces after Western donors cut off direct budget support last year. The government has long promised to raise teachers’ salaries, among
the lowest in the east African country’s state sector, but has struggled
to meet spending commitments since the donors cut aid over corruption
allegations.
In July, it emerged that tens of thousands of public workers
including teachers and police officers had not received their pay for
months.
Uganda’s 160,000 teachers are among the worst paid public workers in
the east African country. Primary school teachers earn an average
250,000 shillings a month and their secondary school counterparts take home 450,000 shillings.
In the past, the government has been accused of using its security
personnel to intimidate striking teachers into resuming work. The
government denies the allegations.
Analysts say it is not only the aid cuts that have hurt Uganda’s
spending plans. Embezzlement, the extravagance of government officials,
and the rising cost of political patronage have exacerbated the budgetary strain, they said.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has faced sometimes violent protests
against his rule, is accused by critics of failing to punish officials
who steal public funds and presiding over a bloated bureaucracy which
eats public funds.
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