Staff at BBS TV, the television station owned by the Buganda Kingdom, are restless after going two months without pay; three workers at the station have told Bbeg Media.
The workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were last paid in August. They are yet to receive their September and October salaries.
“Things are tough, and for some of us who have children in school, we have not cleared the full school fees,” one of the workers, a senior reporter, told Bbeg Media.
Another worker said staff had fallen behind on their rent. Landlords, the worker said, were becoming impatient.
Bbeg Media has been told that BBS TV management has assured the staff that the arrears will be cleared. The assurance has not calmed everyone.
Some of the workers described themselves as disillusioned. They said promises alone cannot pay school fees or rent.
Bbeg Media has also learnt that one of the station’s senior news anchors, Paul Kulumba, has quit. Kulumba, who has been a prominent face of Ageesikika, is reportedly joining NBS TV, where he will anchor the Luganda news bulletin, Amasengejje.
Kulumba is the second employee of BBS TV to join Next Media in a year after Haffy Powers, whose real name is Hasifa Nabbanja, moved to the Naguru-based media organisation.
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BBS TV, also known as BBS Terefayina, went on air on April 12, 2016. Within a year, it had made it into the five most-watched stations in Uganda.
It is part of a wider set of businesses run by the kingdom, which also includes Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio.
Efforts to talk to senior managers at the station were futile.
