Ssenyonyi, the MP for Nakawa West and also Spokesperson of the National Unity Platform (NUP) raised the concern during Thursday’s plenary as Parliament discussed Uganda’s health situation and the continued efforts by government to have foreign countries lift travel restrictions imposed following the recent Ebola outbreak.
Ssenyonyi said that whenever NRM MPs are called for caucus meetings with the President, they are required to undergo COVID-19 tests.
He said although he was not meddling in the internal affairs of the ruling party, the practice was a wider public health concern because information about it eventually becomes public.
“I thought COVID is no longer an issue. Why is that Members of Parliament, each time they are meeting, they have to do COVID tests?”
According to Ssenyonyi, such practices could cripple Uganda’s campaign to convince other countries that the Ebola outbreak no longer poses a serious public health threat.
He said it was difficult for Uganda to convince foreign governments that there was no longer a health crisis while ministers continued to undergo COVID testing before meeting the President.
“So that means COVID is still a serious challenge in Uganda. And in a way, we seem to justify the countries that impose travel restrictions on Uganda,” Ssenyonyi said.
He also said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was already engaging countries over the travel restrictions, with government insisting that Uganda no longer faces a health crisis that warrants such measures, and therefore questioned the wisdom of maintaining practices that could create a contrary impression internationally.
When his time to respond came, Baryomunsi confirmed that people meeting President Museveni are indeed required to take COVID tests but insisted that the measure is only precautionary.
Baryomunsi said Uganda’s current COVID-19 positivity rate stands at 0.001% meaning that the country basically has no active transmission of the virus.
He nevertheless appeared to give Ssenyonyi some ground, saying that he would advise President Museveni and State House on whether the continued testing is still necessary.
“As the Minister of Health, I will give technical advice to the President and State House that maybe there is no big necessity to subject people to COVID testing,” Baryomunsi said.
He, however, defended the precaution, saying it was harmless and did not believe it sent a negative message about Uganda.
Baryomunsi also rejected the suggestion that the COVID testing at State House was responsible for the travel restrictions imposed on Uganda, further adding that government was actively engaging countries including the United States and Canada to have the Ebola-related restrictions lifted.
According to the Minister, Uganda has told the affected countries that the restrictions are not backed by public health science and should therefore be removed.
He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was already holding discussions with the countries concerned and expressed optimism that the restrictions would soon be lifted.
The exchange left Baryomunsi acknowledging that COVID testing at State House continues, even as he revealed that Uganda’s positivity rate is now at less than 1%. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
