By Mulengera Reporters
Under the National Development Plan (NDP 4 which runs from July 2025 to July 2030 and was already approved by Cabinet), the government of President Museveni has prohibited the practice of professionals employed to serve as teachers in government schools and as doctors in government hospitals from owning, running and operating private ones.
Such professionals have for long been accused of diverting government stores or materials (medicines etc.) allocated to run government schools and hospitals besides dedicating more time to their private such businesses at the expense of being on duty to do work at public facilities for which they are handsomely remunerated.
To improve service delivery and while consolidating capital development for the country, the government wants them to abandon such private businesses related to what they are employed to do at public facilities. It has been common for medics to undermine the reputation of public facilities by absenting themselves and referring patients, clients and members of the public to their own private clinics or those in which they have pecuniary interest.
They have equally been accused of deceptively telling patients that there is no medicine at public hospitals so as to create market for their private clinics and pharmacies. This relentless absence from duty has created an impression that the country doesn’t have adequate medics’ numbers to attend to patients’ needs whereas not.
Those who can’t do without serving two masters and are unable to overcome conflict of interest that comes with running private facilities to compete with public ones where they are employed will be required to take the option of resigning. There are fears that many will choose resignation from teaching in public schools or treating patients in public health facilities in order to concentrate on their private ones because that’s where there is more money with things generally being more lucrative there.
Legendary medic Prof Francis Omaswa says the practice of medics working in both public and private facilities isn’t new.
He told New Vision that this practice was there even during colonial days before Uganda attained independence. He explains that this is how public hospitals began having private wings where such medics would serve from besides their publicly-remunerated assignments under the public wing.
That these enabled medics to do private work and attend to paying patients without having to go away from public hospital premises. An eminent researcher and former Director General of Health Services, Omaswa says government should consider strengthening and once again revitalizing private wings at every public hospital.
The other option is to streamline things and ensure that such medics are enabled and permitted to do government work up to 5pm where after they can go to do work at their private clinics. Omaswa also calls for personal discipline so that medics become self-driven and realise the need to act prudently by being on duty as required now that their pay has been enhanced.
Gratefully, the new government requirement prohibiting running of private clinics and schools by civil servants employed to work in the public health and education sectors, curiously exonerates political leaders like Dr. JC Muyingo, the State Minister for Higher Education, who won’t be required to abandon his MP or Cabinet position in order to continue being involved as the owner and founder of all the academic institutions trading under the Seeta High brand. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
