KAMPALA, Uganda — The Ugandan government has announced a substantial increase of UGX 724.7 billion to the national wage bill for the 2025/2026 Financial Year.
This allocation is primarily intended to fund salary enhancements for select public servants, including Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), officers within the police and prison services, and Senior Civil Servants in Local Governments.
According to Circular Standing Instruction No. 01 of 2025, issued by the Ministry of Public Service, these salary adjustments are effective from July 1, 2025. They form part of the government’s ongoing phased strategy to address long-standing wage disparities across the public service.
The circular explicitly states, “The government continues to fulfill its commitment to enhancing the salaries of all public officers in a phased manner. Accordingly, UGX 57 billion has been allocated for salary enhancement.”
Under the newly revised salary structure, Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) will see their earnings jump from UGX 2.37 million to UGX 12.75 million, representing a more than fivefold increase. Town Clerks of City Councils, Deputy Directors, Commissioners, Undersecretaries, and Foreign Service Officers (Grade I), who previously earned between UGX 1.86 million and UGX 2.08 million, have also been elevated to the same UGX 12.75 million bracket.
Senior police and prison officers are also beneficiaries of significant raises. Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGPs) and their counterparts in the prison service will now earn UGX 12.75 million, a notable increase from their previous range of UGX 7 million to UGX 8.8 million.
Senior Commissioners and Commissioners have similarly been elevated to this higher salary tier. Salaries for Assistant Commissioners have risen from UGX 1.6 million to UGX 3.8 million, while Superintendents will now earn UGX 2.05 million, up from UGX 990,000.
More modest increases were observed for Police Constables, whose salaries rose from UGX 466,000 to UGX 583,000, and Special Constables, who now earn UGX 469,000, up from UGX 375,000.
Public Service Minister Muruli Mukasa stated that these enhancements are part of a broader strategy initiated in the 2018/2019 financial year, which has already seen an investment of UGX 2.4 trillion towards salary improvements, particularly in critical sectors.
“We are now entering the second phase, focusing on covering all remaining staff. With this progression, we are on track to meet 77% of our medium-term salary targets,” Minister Mukasa affirmed.
He further added that the expanded wage bill will also accommodate new staff recruited in the education and health sectors, notably under the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UGIFT) programme.
“The budget now also provides for staff at newly constructed schools and health centres, and includes newly appointed departmental heads at the local government level,” he said.
This announcement comes amidst ongoing public debate regarding wage disparities, particularly among non-science civil servants. Recently, secondary school arts teachers went on strike demanding salary parity with their science counterparts.
While they eventually returned to classes following negotiations, the Ministry of Finance indicated that raising their salaries to UGX 4 million per month would incur an annual cost exceeding UGX 500 billion, deemed unaffordable within the current budget framework.
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Nevertheless, the government has committed to implementing a 25% salary increment for this group in the upcoming financial year.
President Yoweri Museveni has consistently defended the prioritization of scientists in pay enhancements, emphasizing their strategic contribution to national development. He has provided assurances that as government revenues grow, other civil servants will also benefit.
With these new adjustments, Uganda’s national wage bill has increased to UGX 8.55 trillion, up from UGX 7.82 trillion in FY 2024/2025. This now represents approximately 11.8% of the national budget, which is currently estimated at UGX 72.4 trillion.
Of the total wage bill, 58.9% is allocated to central government civil servants and public leaders, 48% supports personnel at the local government level, and the remainder covers staff at foreign missions.
