At an annual general meeting held at Parliament’s Conference Hall, Jacqueline Kyatuheire, chairperson of the Parliamentary Alumni of Uganda (PAU), urged President Yoweri Museveni to fulfill an eight-year-old promise to provide former lawmakers with a shillings 100 million service award and to expand the parliamentary pension scheme to include all former MPs.
During the annual general meeting of the Parliamentary Alumni of Uganda (PAU) held at the Conference Hall in Parliament, chairperson Jacqueline Kyatuheire emphasized the need for President Yoweri Museveni to fulfill his eight-year-old pledge to award each former lawmaker shillings 100 million in service awards.
This promise, made years ago, remains unfulfilled, causing frustration among the 1,142 former MPs who are part of PAU.
Kyatuheire stressed the importance of meeting with the President to discuss these issues face-to-face, hoping to bring attention to their plight.
"We thought if we got this opportunity, then we would be able to advance these issues face to face so that he appreciates what we are going through, what we are asking and why we are asking for it," she said.
In addition to the service award, PAU is advocating for the expansion of the parliamentary pension scheme to cover all former MPs, not just those who served from the seventh parliament (2001-2006).
Currently, many who served in earlier parliaments, such as the National Consultative Council (NCC), are excluded from the pension scheme.
PAU proposes that former MPs receive a monthly pension ranging between thirty and fifty percent of the current salary of a sitting MP. At thirty percent, each former lawmaker would receive shillings 3.51 million monthly, while at fifty percent, the collective monthly pension payout would be shillings 6.680 billion.
"We would also talk about akasiimo because of the press, I hope they will not pick this deeply. We had thought we would just write to the President and when we were given the opportunity, that’s when we can talk to him deeply about this Akasiimo (service award) without necessarily putting it on paper,” Kyatuheire added.
Despite previous attempts to secure a meeting with President Museveni, PAU remains optimistic.
“We wrote to the President; we did in 2021. We have had several meetings where I am privy where he has reminded him about this and he said yes, I would like to meet my elderly people and had requested Hon. Dr. Omona to fix an appointment for us,” she revealed.
PAU has also brought their concerns to the attention of Speaker Anita Annet Among. During a recent meeting where Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa represented Among, PAU presented eight issues, including a request for a liaison office at Parliament, connections with global associations, and consultancy contracts.
Tayebwa assured that these requests would be conveyed to the Speaker for further discussion.
Former Ngora county MP Dr. Francis Epetait, a member of the Parliamentary Pension Scheme board of trustees, supported the move, highlighting that the akasiimo was a reminder of the President’s own promise.
“When we talk about akasiimo, we are not creating a new way. It is just a reminder to His Excellency, he said it himself in Serena Gardens where they had invited Members of Parliament and former MPs, from the first Parliament,” Epetait explained.
Former Arua Woman MP Animu Angupale commended the PAU executive for engaging with the President, noting that Museveni has a history of remembering former leaders.
The meeting concluded with hopes that the President will address these critical issues, providing much-needed support to Uganda’s former lawmakers.
