Gov’t to Pay Shs 4bn to ex-KCC Employees
More than Shs 4 billion will be released in July to compensate former employees of the former Kampala City Council (KCC) who lost their jobs as KCC morphed into Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in 2011.
According to the State Minister for Planning, David Bahati, more than Shs 4.08 billion has been provided in the 2020/2021 national budget to be paid out to 1,013 former KCC employees in accordance with orders of the High Court as well as a presidential directive on the matter.
“The Shs4.08 billion has been budgeted for in the next financial year and will be paid in July,” Bahati told Parliament on Wednesday.
In 2012, 10 former employees of defunct KCC led by former Principal Assistant Town Clerk for Makindye, Justine Kasule, petitioned court alleging that their services were illegally terminated 17 months after KCCA came into being.
The ex-workers sued the Ministry of Public Service, then KCCA Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi, KCCA, Attorney General and the Secretary, Public Service Commission challenging the use of what they called illegal administrative guidelines, issued contrary to those under KCCA Act.
In a ruling written on April 28, 2018, Justice Lydia Mugambe awarded the former employees Shs 91 billion as she ruled that the termination of their employment was embarrassing and inconveniencing because the applicants were dismissed unceremoniously before attaining 60 years as per laws pertaining to civil servants.
The Judge’s ruling required KCCA will pay up to Shs 43 billion in balances on terminal benefits to the sacked employees for the 17-month employment period in addition to Shs 5 billion in general damages.
Kawempe North MP, Abdulatif Ssebagga put Bahati to task to explain why the figure provided for in the budget falls short of what is contained in the Court ruling.
“There are over 1,000 ex-workers of KCC who were to benefit from the court award of approximately Shs 91 billion. I believe the Minister has to get more information especially the judgement made by the High Court so that he can come up with a clear figure for payment,” said Sebaggala.
He added that the figure of Shs 4.08 billion had not appeared anywhere, not even in the Presidential directive on the matter, observing that the delay to pay the terminal benefits had affected the welfare of many of the ex-workers.
Bahati said that the payment is to cater for the terminal benefits of 449 staff who were retrenched from KCC in 1992.
