Medical doctors say President Museveni’s directives have not been implemented
Medical Interns through Uganda Medical Association (UMA) have vowed to continue with their sit down strike until the government pays their allowances.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Health committee chaired by Joel Ssebikaali, the UMA Vice President, Edith Nakku said president Yoweri Museveni has on several occasions issued directives to pay off arrears of intern doctors but Ministries of Health and Finance have played a deaf ear.
Some of the directives include increasing the interns’ salary from Shs700,000 to Shs2.5m monthly, allocating Shs7bn to improve the working conditions for both interns and doctors, providing personal protective gears, health insurance, and reduction of doctor’s PAYE from 30% to 10%.
Nakku also informed the committee that interns are also in fear that the government may not pay off their unpaid allowances (arrears) especially now that they are remaining with two months to complete their internship.
She further told the committee that UMA is demanding that the 59 families of the doctors who died of COVID be compensated, and also Health Service Commission recruits more doctors and promotes those in service.
Nakku said that as UMA, they get shocked to hear that Health Service Commission every end of financial year returns money to the consolidated fund yet there are over 1,000 unemployed doctors.
Government should give doctors the money …..how come dey compensated … music promoters… Unless our government’s priorities belong with the entertainment industry
The government should pay their allowances.