Parliament and the police administration have agreed to halve the number of security officers deployed at Parliament, reducing VIP and counter-terrorism personnel from 400 to 200 in a cost-cutting initiative aimed at lowering operational expenditure.
According to internal information from Parliament, the decision is part of a broader effort by the new parliamentary administration to streamline spending amid increasing scrutiny over the institution’s wage bill and allowances.
Each police officer attached to Parliament currently receives a flat monthly allowance of Shs1.2 million. With 400 officers deployed, the total monthly cost stands at Shs480 million.
Reducing the deployment to 200 officers will cut the allowance bill to Shs240 million, saving Parliament an estimated Shs240 million per month.
“The new administration of Parliament says the move is to cut costs,” a source familiar with the discussions said. “We can’t continue carrying a heavy wage bill for officers whose numbers can be rationalised without compromising security.”
Officials indicated that the reduction will mainly affect VIP protection and counter-terrorism units, while core security operations within Parliament will remain unchanged.
Police leadership is expected to redeploy the affected officers to other units facing manpower shortages.
The move comes at a time when Parliament has been under public scrutiny over its expenditure patterns, particularly relating to salaries, allowances and operational costs.
The reduction in police deployment is expected to be presented as part of efforts to demonstrate fiscal discipline.
However, concerns remain over whether the reduced deployment will be sufficient to manage potential security threats, especially during high-profile sittings and sensitive legislative debates.
Parliament’s Director of Communications had not issued an official statement on the new arrangement by the time of publication.