Uganda Peoples Defences Forces will take full charge of the management of the LDU affairs.
Chief of Defence Forces Gen David Muhoozi confirmed to Parliament that the army will remunerate Local Defense Unit personnel with a monthly stipend of Shs200,000 and offer them military fatigues and guns.
Gen Muhoozi was part of a Defence and Veteran Affairs Minister Adolf Mwesige – led delegation before Parliament’s Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs.
Gen. Muhoozi: “The auxiliary forces are paid Shs200,000 per month and will be given six months pay upon demobilisation.”
The UPDF chief revealed: “They will conduct patrols, do information collection, attend village security meetings and file patrol reports; they will don Uganda People’s Defense Forces gazetted uniforms.”
Shadow Defense Minister, Muwanga Kivumbi, had inquired about the pay that the LDUs would receive and also faulted the Army for opting to recruit groups he called ‘idlers’.
Kivumbi said: “Your preferred candidates are those without any formal jobs; so you are going to recruit idlers.”
He inquired: “At the operational level, who is in charge? Is it the army or police? To whom will they report.”
His sentiments appealed to MP Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM, Lwemiyaga), who added that the army should have sought prior Parliamentary approval before recruiting the LDUs.
“Parliament regulates the UPDF…under what constitutional framework are you training, recruiting and providing for the pay of LDUs yet you know that it touches on the Consolidated Fund,” said Ssekikubo.
Defence State Minister (Veteran Affairs), Lt Col Bright Rwamirama said their payroll will be automated to avoid fraud and that in the meantime, “the initial phase will be 6,000 LDUs and we will scale it up with time”.
Award winning journalist and writer who has worked as a stringer for a couple of acclaimed South Africa based German journalists, covered 3 Ugandan elections, 2008 Kenya election crisis, with interests in business and sports reporting.
