By Mmeeme Leticia Luwenze,
KAMPALA:
The Umbrella for medical workers in Uganda, Uganda Medical Association (UMA) has called for the immediate resignation of both the Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng and Director General Health Services Dr. Henry Mwebesa over incompetence.
According to a press statement signed by the association president, Dr. Samuel Oledo Odongo, UMA said that the Health Ministry officials have failed to implement President Museveni’s directives on salary increment and other welfare issues.
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They say that all attempts to address issues affecting doctors since 2007 have failed citing out a special meeting with President Museveni in which he gave a number of directives to the Health Ministry in 2021, that have since failed.
Among the directives made included forming a special committee to oversee the improvement of doctors, health workers’ welfare and its effect on the health services in the country, Intern Doctors payments worth Shs 2.5 million per month and increasing salary for medical officers to Shs 5 million per month; reducing P.A.Y.E on the salaries of doctors from 30 percent to 10 percent among other directives.
Despite several engagements with the government, Odongo said that doctors have found trouble to obtain documentation of the commitment of plans to implement the presidential directives.
UMA further alleges that families of the doctors who succumbed to Covid-19 have not yet received their facilitation as per presidential pledge.
Meanwhile, UMA has also expressed concern over the letter from Dr. Mwebesa in which he fired interns and ordered them to vacate government hospitals by Friday.
Dr. Luswata Herbert, the UMA SG said that these orders are “illegal” and gave the Health Ministry a maximum of 48 hours to rescind the orders.
“The rescinding of these orders by the Ministry of Health and Director General if not done, will culminate in the addressing of this issue and other related matters through the Courts of Law,” Luswata warned.
Basing on the backgrounds above, medical workers have vowed never to return to work until their demands are met.
