Tororo CAO, medics in row over SGR cash

Thirty-seven medics living in the Tororo Hospital staff quarters have refused to vacate saying the disturbance given as part of compensation for SGR project should be theirs to share

TORORO | Gabriel Atama has always seen Tororo's famous rock as the toughest specimen in the eastern district but a pile of stethoscope appears to be show otherwise, as medics demand a share of the Standard Gauge Railway compensation cash.

Mr Atama, the Tororo chief administrative officer (CAO), is facing pressure from a section of Tororo Hospital medics whose staff quarters has been affected by the proposed development of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

The district technocrats and medics are holding each other by collar over a Shs729 million disturbance allowance given to the hospital as part of a wider compensation.

The hospital staff quarters, which accommodates 37 medics and their families, sits in the SGR project area.

Last year, the hospital was compensated with Shs3.6 billion in total.

The compensation kitty includes Shs1.5 billion for the value for the land, She885 million for development on the land, Shs5.6 million for crops and trees, and the Shs729 million disturbance allowance.

Last December, CAO Atama directed that the staff vacate the area within three months.

But they refused to move, insisting they were owed disturbance allowance before the December 15 directive could make sense.

With their eyes firmly fixed on the Shs729 million, the  medics say it will be easier to push down the Tororo Rock than wish away their demands.

The medics have written to Mr Atama outlining the challenges they find in relocating their families.

They say they are the directly affected persons while CAO Atama insists the money belongs to the hospital.

The CAO said the claimants are basically tenants and not landlords, so they do not qualify to partake in the compensation kitty.

As the medics heightened their demands, the district council recently sat, proposing that at least Shs100 million of the disturbance allowance be given to the affected staff to help them relocate.

But Mr Atama and the district technocrats are adamant such a payment in compensation would be irrelevant.