Since time immemorial, it has been a known fact that serving the Kabaka of Buganda is regarded by the Baganda as a privilege. In the past, Kabaka’s appointment to serve in any position was enough privilege, and chiefs would gladly serve their king without expecting a standard pay, save for a few gifts like land and things of the sort.
But now things have changed. With so much needed to be attended to by chiefs of different counties in Buganda, one has to dedicate almost all their time to this service, leaving them with little time to engage in their side business.
On the other hand, the fact that they have been doing this voluntarily can mean that they would sometimes not be fully committed as they would have been if they were getting a standard salary for their work.
This is about to change. In Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga’s statement as he marked seven years since his appointment to that position in May 2013, he revealed that there are plans for the Kingdom to start paying county chiefs and others that have been working for the Kingdom on a voluntary basis.
“Serving on a volunteer basis is still in use, and still useful. The County Chiefs and other layers of chiefs; members of boards and committees render their services (highly valuable and appreciated) on a volunteer basis. But we have plans of gradually addressing this, in order to maximize the full potential of all those who are honourable enough to render selfless service without pay,” the Katikkiro said in a statement.
He added that the rest of the Kingdom’s staffers in several organizations and companies are full time paid employees. This includes the 14 Cabinet Ministers that started getting standard salaries in February 2019.