Soldiers Miss Salaries

Apr 11, 2004

OVER 600 UPDF soldiers had their names missing on the Ministry of Defence payrolls for February and March due to the verification exercise introduced by the army leadership.

By Grace Matsiko
OVER 600 UPDF soldiers had their names missing on the Ministry of Defence payrolls for February and March due to the verification exercise introduced by the army leadership.
Sources in the UPDF Directorate of Records at Bombo Military Headquarters on Friday said some of the 613 affected soldiers, had not received January salary. The number is equivalent to the size of a battalion.
Army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said some soldiers were affected by the verification exercise but arrangements were being made to have the salaries paid.
“Most of those affected missed the verification exercise. Even my driver has not received January salary. These are individual cases,” Bantariza said. “These are simple hiccups of individuals but more than 95% of the soldiers have been verified and are being paid regularly,” he added.
He said the soldiers whose names were not reflected on the payrolls had to be verified first and after that money released in form of a claim. He denied reports that the most affected were soldiers in combat zones in northern Uganda.
Sources in the UPDF said 613 complaints were received by the records office and were to be verified. They said at least 202 came from the UPDF 4th Division in Gulu, 112 from the 5th Infantry Division in Kitgum and Pader and 60 from UPDF 3rd Division.
“The rest of the complaints have been received from the soldiers working under General Headquarters (Bombo), 2nd Division and 1st Division,” the source said.
It said the soldiers could have missed the verification as a result of transfers or deployments outside their stations.
The verification exercise which has been going on since last year is an initiative of President Yoweri Museveni to fight graft in the UPDF where some top officers created ghost soldiers.
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