Thomas Tayebwa, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament has directed the Minister of Health to explain to the House why contracts of health workers under the Covid-19 emergency services category were terminated contrary to a presidential directive.
In his communication to the Thursday plenary sitting, Tayebwa required Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng to present the statement on Wednesday next week.
President Yoweri Museveni directed that all medical workers who were hired to provide services following the outbreak of Covid-19 should be absorbed into the government health facilities.
Tayebwa referred to President Museveni’s 12th July, 2021 letter to the Health Services Commission, Chairman Pius Okong in which he directed regularization of employment of all personnel who volunteered during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Deputy Speaker also cited the 10th November, 2021 letter authored by Pius Okong to all public hospitals indicating that the Commission was going to have a validation exercise of all Covid-19 emergency workers ahead of the regularization process.
Tayebwa said that these were accordingly regularized, started working and even some acquired loans.
He questioned why the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary overlooked the presidential directive and went ahead to terminate contracts of the medical personnel in a letter dated 18th March, 2022. The letter targeted non-gratuitable contract workers under the emergency response to Covid-19.
Tayebwa said that the act was not a good way of rewarding Ugandans who risked their lives to fight Covid-19.
Solomon Silwany, the Bukooli Central MP wondered why parliament does not instead have the medical personnel whose contracts were terminated, reinstated.
However, Tayebwa said that the termination of contracts had already happened and directed that the Minister’s statement should offer solutions.
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