On the salaries of Uganda Airlines Executives

It’s probably not a very popular opinion, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m both surprised and disappointed by the MPs’ (feigned?) surprise at the salaries of Uganda Airlines executives. 

While the amounts of money published in the media are no doubt a lot higher than most jobs in the country, they are in no way shape or form inflated when compared to: 

1. The Sector: 

The CEO is very likely the least paid in the region (as she should be). Kenya Airways pays theirs in excess of 115m per month. And before anyone talks about cutting one’s cloth to size, we have to appreciate that this is a chicken-egg situation. If you want to compete with Rwanda Air, Kenya Airways, Air Tanzania etc, there’s no point being unwilling to pay about the same amount of money they do for their executives. And by the way, almost all airlines in the region are loss-making, so let’s not even go there. The only exception is Ethiopian Airlines, which I hope everyone can agree is in a different universe.

2. Their experience. 

Jenifer Bamuturaki has spent decades as a marketing executive for billion-dollar companies. A salary of 87m is likely not even the thing that attracted her to the job.

3. The Ugandan context: 

There are people working for Ugandan parastatals, INGOs, banks and other commercial entities that earn this and more and are not even CEOs. Some MPs that chair certain committees actually end up earning far more than this in some months. So while the average Ugandan will look at these amounts and hold their heads in their hands, a CEO of a nation’s airline is no average person and will very likely have had salaries of that kind go through their account.

The problem, therefore, isn’t these salaries, but the idea generally. Revamping Uganda Airlines was basically a bad idea. Guys, we know ourselves. We know our country and how it is run. You expect that someone that wants to remain in office will deliver for the people so that they also forget about the ntebbe (whether nzibe or not). But no, you will be given substandard service delivery for five years, intimidated into either voting for the opportunity to live another day or beaten to pulp for doing otherwise and then told it’s all in your head. No one in their right mind can honestly say they expected Uganda Airlines to succeed where others before it were run down. Those who supported the idea were motivated more by their patriotism than their business sensibilities. And even then, most acknowledged that it was going to be a loss-making venture for years before it even broke even (if at all). The most compelling argument for it was the effect it would potentially have on the tourism sector. But COVID happened and we all know what followed. 

I think it’s fair and right that COSASE investigates the airline’s performance viz a vis the goals set for it and the reports of corruption in management. But this sensational reporting on the executives’ salaries is both uncalled for and extremely hypocritical. So is the attack on the executives’ credentials. Many of the MPs wagging their fingers at them only barely passed their A-levels. I’m happy to have a conversation about academic qualifications and job roles. But if we are to have it, let’s have a broad-based discussion, not one that focuses on them when grilling certain leaders and then dies out when dealing with other sets of leaders.

Meanwhile, nga people of this way have waited for the Heathrow-Entebbe flight that was promised eon years ago. We were told space was given, manya what what. Nakati we are still waiting to climb Mt. Kenya like a certain Baba from the East. Now there’s an investigation that would have my support. We too want our rolex moment. Kale ka UG Waragi nebwebatakatuwa. 

But nga we have come out of ebyokusaaga, 87m nga baazikuwadde okolamu ki? Ate nga it’s per month si bino ebya kagwirawo. At that point, you are not even allowed to say “I’m waiting for some ka money”. Ka? Ka??? Please! Put some respect on that zzike!

Me as me, I’ve tried to envision the number of rolexes I’d order with kikalaayi and realised Mukama alabika akyayagala ki Diana kyange kifumbe!