Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja led an inter-ministerial delegation to Kawolo Hospital in Buikwe District to deal with service delivery concerns at the government hospital.

This came after staff went on strike in protest, saying that they had gone for three (03) months without salary. But the Buikwe Chief Administrate Officer denied claims of the salary delays.    

The Rt. Hon. Nabbanja went to Kawolo Hospital accompanied by other ministers and technocrats from concerned ministries such as the ministries of Health and Public Service to handle the situation.

On arrival at the hospital Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and her delegation first inspected wards and drug stores, to acquaint themselves with the conditions at the hospital and ascertain whether the health workers were on duty.

They also visited the theater, the maternity ward, and the outpatient department and found all the health workers on duty.

Afterward, the Rt. Hon. Nabbanja convened a meeting with selected health workers from Kawolo Hospital and her delegation. She raised concern that opposition politicians were visiting government hospitals to incite health workers to go on strike.

Earlier before the Prime Minister’s visit, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga, had led an opposition team on an oversight visit to Kawolo Hospital where the aggrieved workers raised their concerns.    

Diana Mutasingwa, the State Minister in the Office of the Vice President, who is also the Buikwe District Woman MP dismissed media reports that the health workers in Kawolo Hospital were not paid in December 2023.

Hanifah Kawooya, the State Minister for Health in charge of General Duties, said that the health workers had staged an illegal industrial action because they did not follow the right procedure.

Danstan Balaba, the Chief Administrative Officer of Buikwe District, said that the health workers were not telling the truth when they said they had not been paid salaries since December 2023.

Officials from the Ministries of Health and public service said that the industrial action at Kawolo Hospital was illegal and those behind it must be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Felix Kigoma, the leader of the industrial action apologized to the meeting but added that they protested to awaken the administration to communicate what was being done in regard to their concerns.

In her address to the health workers, district leaders, and the management of Kawolo Hospital, the Rt. Hon. Nabbanja ordered that no more politics should be seen in government health facilities in the country.

The Prime Minister ordered the immediate transfer of health workers who have been for years at one station, in a bid to break cliques that end up sabotaging service delivery.

Now all services at Kawolo Hospital have resumed normally.