Kadaga directs health committee to probe theft of gov’t medicines

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has directed the Health Committee to study an investigative documentary on the illegal sale of government medicines.

Kadaga’s directive followed a concern raised by Usuk County Member of Parliament Peter Ogwang about shocking revelations from the documentary titled ‘Stealing from the Sick’ released by BBC News Africa and NBS Television this week.

The documentary captures secret pictures of different health workers, especially pharmacists, picking money from undercover journalists in exchange for large quantities of government medicines, packed in boxes, with inscriptions ‘Government of Uganda. Not for Sale.’

According to the documentary, the stolen medicines are reportedly sold openly in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ogwang requested that parliament picks interest in the findings of how life-saving drugs availed freely by the government are stolen and sold illegally.

Ogwang sought that parliament as a whole watches the documentary and thereafter a debate ensues with a view of correcting flaws in the country’s health sector. He, however, cautioned that Journalist should protect the image of the country by not exposing a lot of rot to the world.

Ogwang’s proposal of viewing the documentary was supported by Opposition Chief Whip Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda but disagreed with his statements of journalists covering up corruption. Ssemujju noted that journalism was for public consumption and meant to cause change.

Kadaga allowed legislators to view 10 minutes out of the 52 minutes’ documentary and directed that for proper discussion and decision making, parliament’s Health Committee studies the findings and files a report immediately for debate.

In the past, there have been several reports about the theft and sale of government medicines in different referral hospitals across the country with numerous arrests of culprits carried out by the Inspectorate of Government, Police and the State House Health Monitoring Unit.

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