The Uganda Medical Association (UMA) has asked the government to have their toll fees for the travel via the Kampala-Entebbe expressway waived to ease their movement in attending emergencies.
The UMA call comes days after the minister for Works and Transport Gen Katumba Wamala reiterated that the president, ambulances and fire trucks are the only entities that can use Kampala- Entebbe expressway without pay.
Katumba said if the cabinet can amend the regulations, other agencies can be exempted from the toll.
However while addressing journalists on January 16 at Mulago hospital, Dr. Sam Oledo, the UMA president said that the government should be considerate and listen to their request.
"As doctors we are going to submit our written request on this issue. Doctors handle night emergencies and day time emergencies. You will find that a doctor has to go through the express highway so that he can reach the facility as fast as possible," said Oledo.
He said that a doctor has to reduce the distance so that he or she can reach and work on a patient in time.
“Please can we stop charging doctors using the expressway. Let it be duty free for doctors so that when you give us a duty free vehicle which we expect before the end of January, we can have the red number plates for doctors so that they can drive but for now doctors with their private vehicles allow them to drive freely," he stated.
He warned that if the presidential directives on the health sector are not captured in the budget framework paper by May 1 2022, the doctors will embark on another industrial action and only attend to emergency cases.
