Uganda: Misplaced Roles in Service As Nabbanja, Mpuuga Clash Over Kawolo Hospital
It is becoming apparent that it is just hard to know or even understand the workings of government.
How else do you describe the recent expressed displeasure by the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanjja over the LOP Mathias Mpuuga’s countrywide monitoring tour of the health facilities.
The PM is reported to have been displeased with the stunning revelations that the LOP Mathias Mpuuga has been unearthing in the health facilities and schools while on this tour.
While in Luwero, the LOP was taken to a school where the children were sitting on a dirt dusty floor. In Buikwe, he was taken to a school where children were studying under trees. In Kawolo hospital, he found that out of the enrolled hospital medical staff of 147, only 35 were actively on duty that day. The rest were on strike due to salary delay disbursement. The situation in the hospital in Kawolo like in Luwero was appalling. All this was aired on the TV and we all saw it.
For her response to the media reports the PM rushed to Kawolo where she grilled the striking workers.
It was after her visit to Kawolo Hospital that she is reported to have issued orders of all RDC throught the country to instantly arrest the LOP should he attempt to make a visit to any health facility or school in the country.
Now, this is where the roles of the executive and that of the LOP become mixed up.
One would have thought that the executive and in this case the PM is much aware that the position and role of the LOP is enshrined in our constitution. Therefore, why would there seem to be such a clash of roles being created outside the law?
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We surely need sobreity with all our leaders at all levels and in all the three arms of our governance structure if we are to nurture and protect our budding democracy.
Monitoring, evaluation and demanding accountability in government service delivery is an enshrined function and role of an elected Member of Parliament. Why then, would the executive be shaken up and disturbed by the Members of Parliament doing their role?
One would have expected that should the LOP and his accompanying MPs discover any shortcomings on such tours, the best that the executive would do is to work out ways and means to fix whatever shortcomings that were unearthed so that next year round things would be much better.
It is doubtful if only arresting the LOP or trying to prevent the country to know the extent of government service delivery will in itself be a solution to the predicament in which the majority of the wananchi are finding themselves in!
It is becoming evident that a deliberate and structured national discourse on how to improve on the government service delivery is needed involving all actors now than ever before if we as a country are going to try and come to grips with the extent of the predicament that is on our hands.
