Parliament’s Health Committee has blocked the passing of the health budget after officials from the ministry failed to present a work plan for the 2017/2018 financial year.
The officials, led by the minister Dr. Jane Aceng, also failed to provide a certificate of gender equity from the finance ministry, their inventory and procurement plans for the next financial year. The Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng presented a Shs1.8 trillion budget, highlighting what the money will do but she had not attached a proper workplan.
The MPs on the committee also asked for an asset register as of 2016, a certificate on gender equity, procurement and recruitment plans, and staff lists which the minister did not have.
In their earlier meetings, MPs requested that the ministry should consider an increment in lunch allowances for medical officials, which for doctors, is Shs66,000 per month. This was not included in the new budget. The committee chairperson Dr Michael Bukenya adjourned the meeting till the officials are ready to present the necessary documents detailing how the ministry will spend the 1.8 trillion shillings’ budget.