Teachers advised to vote carefully come 2016 Uganda Teachers Union chairperson, Ms Margret Rwabushaija, has advised teachers to be careful while choosing leaders in 2016 because they have so far seen how elected leaders are treating them in the time when they need them most. “Please my fellow teachers, in 2016, elect leaders who will fight for your rights and freedoms. I believe you have learnt a lot since we started this struggle.” He added: “So be careful and look out for leaders who will appreciate the problems you are going through as you teach children of this nation,” Rwabushaija said on Friday. This was after majority ruling party MPs threw out the proposal by four members of the budget committee to re-allocate Shs138 billion from different government departments to cater for the salary raise the teachers are demanding. MPs Godfrey Ekanya (Tororo County), Odo Tayebwa (Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality), Jack Sabiti (Rukiga) and Judith Frank Akello (Woman, Agago) – all members of the opposition FDC party had on Wednesday presented a minority report alongside the majority members report assuring the house that they had cut classified budget and donations budget of the President’s office to find money for teachers. However, the majority MPs threw out the proposal and resolved that there should not be any increment for teachers this financial year. The fear of a backlash from voters in 2016 was also expressed by some ruling party MPs. Mr Exavia Kyoma, who represents Ibanda North noted that despite the fact that they have to respect the party position, the teachers’ pleas are genuine and the party should think about it to save the NRM MPs and the party from being voted out in 2016. Mr Kyoma said teachers have been influential in all elections since 1994 and the NRM party might face hostility in 2016 since teachers are part of the electoral process both as voters and as polling officials. Ms Alice Alaso, the Serere Woman MP and FDC secretary general blamed the teachers for not voting out President Museveni in 2011 because he had refused to give them the Shs400,000 salary package proposed in 2008. Teachers throughout the country have been on strike for a week now following failure by government to increase their pay by 20 per cent as government had promised in 2011.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 21:37:15 +0000
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