The Ugandan government has proposed a significant salary enhancement for Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Deputy RDCs, and Assistant RDCs in a move expected to cost taxpayers more than Shs29 billion annually.
The proposal was revealed by Alex Byarugaba while presenting the report on the 2026/27 Ministerial Policy Statement for the Office of the President before Parliament.
According to the committee report, the salary of RDCs is proposed to increase from the current Shs2,293,200 to Shs9 million per month.
Deputy RDCs would see their salaries rise from Shs1,282,369 to Shs5 million, while Assistant RDCs are projected to earn Shs2,695,000, up from the current Shs877,216.
Byarugaba told Parliament that Uganda currently has 146 RDCs, 170 Deputy RDCs, and 432 Assistant RDCs whose salaries have remained unchanged for nearly 20 years.
“The Committee established that, for almost 20 financial years, salaries for RDCs and Deputy RDCs have been stagnant,” Byarugaba said.
“The Committee is cognizant of factors like inflation that erodes purchasing power. In addition, by comparison, other public servants over whom the RDCs play an oversight role, like the District Chief Administrative Officers, received significant salary enhancement,” he added.
According to the committee, Cabinet proposed a salary increment of Shs6,706,800 for RDCs, bringing their monthly pay to Shs9 million.
“This translates into UGX11,750,313,600 for the 146 RDCs,” Byarugaba explained.
The committee further proposed salary enhancements of Shs3,722,631 for Deputy RDCs and Shs1,877,784 for Assistant RDCs.
“This results into a monthly salary of UGX5 million for Deputy RDCs and UGX2,695,000 for Assistant RDCs,” Byarugaba noted.
Overall, the Presidential Affairs Committee recommended that Shs29.079 billion be allocated to the Office of the President to facilitate the salary enhancements in the 2026/27 financial year.
“Given that there are 170 Deputy RDCs and 432 Assistant RDCs, the proposal translates to UGX7,594,167,270 and UGX9,734,422,222 additional requirement for FY 2026/27,” Byarugaba said.
The committee also raised concerns over the working conditions of RDCs, particularly office accommodation.
“The Committee observes that rentals are not sustainable, hence the need to construct at least five offices per year to accommodate more RDCs,” Byarugaba said.
The committee recommended that Shs2 billion be allocated annually for the construction of RDC offices beginning in the 2026/27 financial year.
According to the report, out of the 746 administrative units where RDC structures are deployed, 107 RDC offices operate from rented premises, while 24 are housed by district local governments.
Only 15 offices have been constructed directly by the Office of the President since the 2012/13 financial year at a unit cost of about Shs700 million each.
The committee also proposed reallocating Shs1 billion from the donations budget under the Office of the Prime Minister to other critical interventions within the ministry.
“The proposed allocation to donations in FY 2026/27 is UGX9.964 billion. The Committee is of the opinion that this is over and above what is optimal at this time of the constrained resource envelope,” Byarugaba said.
The recommendations are expected to spark debate amid growing public concern over government expenditure and the rising wage bill.