By The Government has increased the public sector wage bill to UGX 8.55 trillion for the 2025/2026 financial year, up from UGX 7.83 trillion in the previous fiscal year, as part of a broader strategy to strengthen human resource management and improve service delivery across government institutions.
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday, Minister of Public Service Hon. Wilson Muruli Mukasa said the increase reflects government’s commitment to enhancing pay for public officers, ensuring efficiency, and gradually meeting long-term salary enhancement targets.
“This year’s wage allocation is a demonstration of government’s continued commitment to building a professional, motivated, and efficient public service. It is part of the broader plan to ensure all public officers are adequately facilitated to deliver quality services,” Hon. Muruli Mukasa said.
The new wage figure also accommodates plans to create more than 20,000 new jobs across ministries, departments, agencies, and local governments. Key sectors such as health and education have been prioritized, with UGX 55.5 billion specifically allocated for staffing newly constructed health centres and seed secondary schools.
The minister also announced that starting this financial year, all newly recruited public officers will undergo mandatory induction training coordinated by the Civil Service College Uganda. “This training is meant to equip public officers with the right knowledge, mindset and skills to serve effectively,” he noted.
In addition to salary increases, the government has allocated UGX 1.48 trillion for pension and gratuity payments, a significant rise from UGX 1.19 trillion in the previous year. This increase, the minister said, is a result of the growing number of retirees and the ongoing payroll clean-up process led by the Office of the Auditor General.
Muruli Mukasa also warned against the increasing cases of forged appointment and academic documents being used to access government payroll. “Let me make it clear: those found guilty of presenting forged documents will be prosecuted and permanently barred from public service,” he cautioned.
The minister further directed all government entities to complete the migration from the old Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS) to the new Human Capital Management (HCM) platform by the end of the first quarter of FY 2025/26.
“Entities that fail to fully transition to the HCM system risk being locked out of the payroll. This system is critical to improving transparency, accountability, and efficiency in managing public servants,” Muruli Mukasa said.
The Ministry also reaffirmed its adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework as the new performance monitoring standard for public officers. All institutions are required to submit updated Human Resource and Capacity Building Plans aligned with the National Development Plan IV by October 31, 2025.
Structural changes under the Rationalization of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) are also being implemented. These include the abolition of the position of Director and the streamlining of administrative departments across ministries to reduce duplication and enhance service delivery.
The minister urged all public institutions to comply with the new directives, warning that failure to implement them would attract sanctions. “We are building a results-oriented public service. Compliance is not optional,” he added.
