Dr Richard Kabanda, the Commissioner for Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health has warned district service commissions against recruiting health workers based on their place of residence rather than their qualifications and competence, saying the practice is undermining service delivery.
Dr Richard Kabanda, who represented the Director General of Health Services, made the remarks during the commissioning of the newly constructed Kirumba Health Centre III in Kyotera District.
Kabanda said giving jobs to people simply because they were born in or reside in a particular area had become a challenge, particularly when some recruits lacked the skills required for the positions they were appointed to.
He said the practice had prompted the Ministry of Health to consider centralising the recruitment of health workers in order to strengthen supervision, accountability and performance management.
Kabanda revealed that the ministry was in the final stages of transferring the management of all general hospitals and Health Centre IVs to the central government, a move he said would make it easier to monitor and supervise health workers.
“Local governments have been awarding jobs based on technical know-who instead of technical know-how. This has affected service delivery because some people are recruited into positions they are not qualified for,” Kabanda said.
He added that it was often difficult to discipline or terminate the employment of underperforming health workers because some had connections with local leaders and district officials.
Kabanda said that once recruitment was centralised, the ministry would have greater flexibility to transfer problematic workers to other districts and take disciplinary action against those who refused lawful transfers.
He said the government spends substantial amounts of money on health workers’ salaries, compared with many private health facilities, and therefore expects them to deliver quality services and remain accountable for their performance.
“If a child is born in the area and can effectively do the work, recruit him. But we are tired of the tendency of giving jobs to people who cannot deliver to our expectations, yet we pay them,” Kabanda said.
Dr William Mulindwa of Babies and Mothers Alive (BAMA), one of the organisations involved in the project, said the completion and equipping of Kirumba Health Centre III would reduce the number of patients referred to Kalisizo and Masaka Regional Referral Hospital.
He said the facility had been equipped with essential medical equipment, including an ultrasound scanner, an incubator, a child warmer and delivery beds, which would improve maternal and child health services in the area.
Mulindwa said many mothers had previously been forced to travel long distances to access specialised services, with some reportedly giving birth along the way.
He said Kirumba Health Centre III previously had only one delivery bed, forcing expectant mothers to wait in a congested facility, while others delivered on the floor, compromising their health, safety and hygiene.
“With the new facility, this has come to an end. Mothers will now be able to receive better and safer services closer to their homes,” Mulindwa said.
He commended the partner organisations and members of the community for their contributions towards the construction and equipping of the facility.
According to Vincent Mayiga, the outgoing BAMA board chairperson, the construction and equipping of the facility cost a total of Shs521 million.
BAMA Foundation contributed Shs224.2 million, while Kyotera District Local Government contributed Shs80.8 million. Kirumba Sub-county contributed Shs21.25 million, and the community raised Shs47.25 million. Rotary contributed Shs148 million towards equipping the facility.
The Rotary Club of Kampala Muyenga Breeze President, Joshua Garvin Wannume, said child health is one of the organisation’s core areas of service, prompting Rotarians to mobilise funds to equip the health centre.
Wannume urged Kyotera district officials to ensure that the equipment remains at Kirumba Health Centre III and is not transferred to other health facilities.
He said the equipment was specifically donated to strengthen maternal and child health services for residents of Kirumba and neighbouring communities.
