Democratic Party (DP) wonders how the government of Uganda managed to construct a school in Tanzania but have failed to address the issue of medical interns.
Speaking to the media in Kampala, the president of Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) Ismail Kiirya who spoke on behalf of the party said it is very unfortunate for the government to ignore the issues affecting the these interns.
“We doubt whether the government can afford to get money to construct schools in Tanzania and fail to get money to pay these medical interns. At one time we saw the government constructing roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
“We are also asking the government in the same spirit that the way you got money to construct schools and roads in the neighbourhood, it should be the same way you should use to get money to pay these medical interns, ”he added.
Kiirya condemned the brutal arrest of the medical interns, adding that the issues they were presenting affect all Ugandans.
“Secondly if we continue arresting them then you are shooting yourselves in the foot because these are the people you, your cousins, wives, children, friends among others will find in the medical facilities working on you,” he said.
Currently in Uganda the ratio of doctors to patients is 1: 20,000 which is contrary to the World Health Organisation recommendation which is 1: 1000.
“We are therefore requesting police to divert this energy to the iron sheet thieves rather than these innocent people. We are therefore calling upon the government to come out quickly and address these medical intern issues just like they do to issues of State House and so on,” said Kiirya.
On Monday, police in Kampala arrested over 30 medical interns who have been protesting at Parliament over the Ministry of Health’s failure to deploy them to government hospitals.
The protest happened amid an ongoing social media campaign dubbed Uganda Health Exhibition which is purposed to project a critical eye on Uganda’s health sector.
The interns graduated last year and are required to undertake a compulsory one year medical internship before they register to legally practice medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and midwifery.
On November 29, 2021, President Museveni delivered his promise when he launched Museveni Primary School (Museveni Shule ya Msingi) at Nyabirezi, Chato district, Geita region, Tanzania.
According to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the school cost US$1.673 million to complete. The construction works began on February 11, 2020, and ended in February 2021, a month before the death of former President John Pombe Magufuli.
This was the third and most expensive school that Museveni has built-in Tanzania.
During President Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete’s reigns, President Museveni built two schools, one at Muhutwe Kamachumu and Nyamiyaga Murongo in Kagera region.
According to DP, the government shouldn't carry out development in other countries when its people are suffering.
