Raise our salaries to reduce corruption, judicial officers plead

Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA) president Godfrey Kaweesa has proposed that in order to minimize corruption in the Judiciary, its staff should be remunerated like their counterparts in the Executive and the Legislature, being equal co-arms of the State.

Kaweesa, who is also the Iganga Chief Magistrate, emphasized by referring to what he said is an important principal in the management studies that the most important factor of production is the human resource; saying that if it is not adequately motivated, all programmes, however good they may be, may fail.

Further quoting the late President of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, that "you pay peanuts, you get monkeys", Kaweesa, while addressing a large congregation at the opening of the 2016 Law Year in Kampala, Friday, appealed to the Government to adequately remunerate Judiciary staff.

He called upon the Legislature that while considering amendments of Salaries and Allowances (specified officers) Act to include UJOA's members of the lower Bench that includes registrars and magistrates to be among the entitled officers to avoid discrimination in areas of resource allocation in the Judiciary.  

Kaweesa also proposed that there should be a chapter on the State of the Judiciary in the annual State of the Nation Address as that of the President, as head of the State, so that Parliament could be able to debate on it.

"The Chief Justice, as head of the Third Arm of the Government, should also annually address the nation on the performance of the Judiciary," Kaweesa urged.    

He also proposed that UJOA be incorporated into the planning, budgeting together with monitoring and evaluation framework of the Judiciary to ensure more judicial productivity.

Kaweesa further urged the Government to expeditiously enact the Administration of the Judiciary Bill 2013 into law, so that the Judiciary could be better administered, of course with the inclusion of UJOA president or his or her representative on the proposed Judiciary Administration Council.