The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA is saved from paying over 272 million shillings to test staff for COVID-19, thanks to free testing that will continue at city hall.
With a staff population of about 1,133, the city authority would have to part with at least 272 million Shillings to have its people tested at a high Shillings 240,500 per test. KCCA acting spokesperson Daniel Nuweabine says testing at KCCA is continuing at no cost despite government introducing the Shillings 240,500 charge.
This week on Monday, the Ministry of Health said starting 1st September 2020, truck drivers, people in need of knowing their COVID-19 status, government and public organisations, Ugandans returning from abroad, and visitors from other countries will all have to pay a fee of 240,500 Shillings for each test to be conducted.
The Ministry said the charge would reduce the costs incurred by government in conducting the tests as many organisations continue to request the ministry to test their staff amidst inadequate stocks of test kits, resource constraints and high cost of testing.
The ministry says 4000 tests equivalent to 962 million Shillings carried out daily.
According to the Ministry, the fee is a cost recovery mechanism that will enable it acquire more test kits for continued access to testing services in the country.
The move to charge for testing was immediately condemned by City Executive Committee led by the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago who said apart from ordinary Kampala people, the authority could not afford paying for all its staff to test. He said the authority had run out of funds having exhausted the One billion shillings allocated for the Authority as part of COVID-19 fight budget.
But now, Nuwe Abine says government identified the authority as a hot stop that needed its staff tested because of their nature of work and testing shall continue at no charge. The authority tasked with running affairs of the city employs among others, casual workers like cleaners and law enforcement officers who often interact with people on the streets, putting them in harm’s way of the coronavirus.
Testing at City Hall started in June 2020 after four cases were registered. The number has grown with a new case registered today.
Since the virus invaded the country in March 2020, a total of 3,037 cases have been registered, with Kampala registering the highest number among all districts. A total of 32 deaths have been registered in Uganda.
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