EM, I think this woman is the "insect repelant" at Uganda's MoH. Here is another dust she raised behind Dr Ian Clarke. Ian Clarke created the 'snakes' <http://newvision.co.ug/news_photos/1194118931Zulu.jpg>
Part of the International Hospital Kampala. IN his article titled "Snakes and Ladders" which appeared last Sunday, Dr. Ian Clarke, the proprietor of International Hospital Kampala, complained that the Ministry of Health inordinately delayed processing papers for tax exemption on his newly-imported medical equipment for a week. He is particularly offended that when he rang the Permanent Secretary before sending in his papers, she was out of the office. He is also concerned that he was asked to submit a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his organisation and the Ministry of Health and a formal letter requesting for the tax exemption. He refers to all these as "snakes". To put the record straight, I wish to clarify as follows: 1) To have one's tax exemption papers or any other official documents processed, one does not have to see or speak to the Permanent Secretary in person. The Ministry of Health is an established public institution with a Permanent Secretary and a team of many other officers. The duties of the Permanent Secretary cannot be performed by one individual. When the Permanent Secretary is away for any reason, the officers under her supervision are delegated to act on her behalf and there cannot be a functional vacuum at anyone time over any matter. Indeed, as Dr. Clarke himself acknowledges, in the absence of the Permanent Secretary he was attended to by the Director General of Health Services and the Undersecretary. The Permanent Secretary's absence from station, therefore, posed no "snake" to the process since there were other officers to take action. 2) A valid Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between International Hospital Kampala was required because as a matter of policy the Government clears taxes on behalf of health service providers with whom it has signed such memoranda/agreements. The purpose of such an understanding is to ensure that taxpayers' money is used to support health service providers whose services have been assessed and proved to be of benefit to the public. It is, therefore, in order for any officer handling a matter of Dr. Clarke's nature to first satisfy themselves that such a memorandum exists. As it turned out, Dr. Ian Clarke's MoU with the Ministry of Health had long expired, but he wanted the ministry to commit public funds towards clearing his tax obligations without question. This would be irregular. The expired memorandum was renewed on the same day he submitted his papers. This particular "snake", therefore, was created by Dr. Clarke himself. The Undersecretary was right to demand for a valid Memorandum of Understanding. 3) A formal letter applying for the tax exemption was required because the amount involved was supposed to be processed and charged on the consolidated fund. Public resources cannot be committed without appropriate documentation and one important document that must be in place is a request from the entitled person/organisation in whose favour the money is to be committed. Dr. Clarke had only presented a tax assessment declaration form from URA which did not indicate that the consignment to be cleared belonged to him. This form by itself did not provide sufficient basis to commit the Government to pay taxes on his behalf because it could be uttered by anybody. The good doctor had only presented a verbal/phone claim. In this era of conmen (of all races), this unwitting omission on his part resulted into another "snake" in the process. Again the Undersecretary was right to demand for such a covering letter. 4) Dr. Clarke's article also carried a falsehood. First of all, he alleges that on receipt of the MoU and written request, the Undersecretary said it would take three days to be signed. He further claims that another letter highlighting the urgency of his case was demanded. In the same breath he adds that when he rang the Undersecretary he was instead told that the papers were already at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and would be out the following day. This is probably not a "snake" but a contradiction. The papers would not have been in the Ministry of Finance if the Undersecretary had wanted the process to take three more days. 5) It is clear that Dr. Clarke laid three big "snakes" in his own path: first by insisting on speaking to the Permanent Secretary in person instead of submitting an application on time. Secondly, by sending in an oral/phone request instead of a written one; and thirdly by knowingly presenting an expired MoU. Inspite of all the "snakes" Dr. Clarke placed in his own path, the documentation process took only one week and submitted to Accountant General's office for tax clearance en route to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for the release of the equipment. Records show that the Ministry of Health has been clearing taxes on imports for Dr. Clarke for years should know by now know that for the Government to pay taxes on imported medical supplies, a formal application accompanied by a URA tax assessment declaration and valid MoU with the ministry are required. There are no shortcuts for anybody. Mary L. Nannono Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health I am Peter-Rhaina Gwokto and I approve this message. _____ Remember: "Even a small dog can piss on a tall building" Jim Hightower http://lakitgum.wordpress.com <http://lakitgum.wordpress.com/> _____ From: Mulindwa Edward [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4:45 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; The First Virtual Network for friends of Uganda; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Ugnet] What a lousy response....! - Uganda health ministryresponse Peter Gwokto Kindly get me the Email address of this nice lady. Thank you EM Toronto The Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter-Rhaina Gwokto <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; 'The First <mailto:[email protected]> Virtual Network for friends of Uganda' Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:11 AM Subject: [Ugnet] What a lousy response....! - Uganda health ministryresponse BBC NEWS <http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif> Uganda health ministry response Mary L Nannono, permanent secretary at Uganda's ministry of health, sent the following statement in response to claims made in Panorama: Addicted to Aid: 1. I have not been able to establish how much money has come to the Health Sector since the 1960s. I do know however that Uganda has gone through a very difficult patch since that time which has severely affected its social, economic as well as political fibre. Where we are now in terms of health service delivery should be measured against where we have come from and not where we should ideally be. A lot of progress has been made. 2. There is no shortage of gloves but there are problems with users accurately predicting their needs to allow timely procurement. The procurement and supply management process is being addressed. As for paracetamol, Mulago is a referral hospital and the drug is not among the indicator tracer drugs for that level and may be out of stock sometimes. 3. Staffing levels at the referral hospitals and indeed at all the health units are not optimal but the staff are dedicated and do a good job in spite of the constraints they face. 4. It is not true that critically injured patients are left to bleed to death. No health unit would do something like that. Owing to staffing gaps however, there may be delays in attending to some patients. Uganda continues to have a high number of road traffic accidents. We have developed client/patient charters to sensitize the patients on their rights. We have strong partnerships with private-not-for-profit health units as well as representatives of civil society organisations in our governance structures. 5. Mulago hospital receives a lot more patients than it should get because patients do not go to lower health units. The matter is being addressed through rehabilitation of peripheral health units and the planned construction of four divisional hospitals in Greater Kampala. 6. Levels of sanitation are generally poor, even outside the hospitals. The hospital clients belong to the same population. There is no evidence to prove that hospital clients and staff are being infected through poor hospital procedures. 7. It is true that there is a space problem in the labour suite. It was constructed to accommodate 18 mothers but receives up to 80 per day. A new labour suite is being constructed to address this problem. 8. For the reason mentioned in 7 above, mothers who deliver normally are observed for 24 hours and discharged with instructions to return in case anything unusual develops. 9. Mulago hospital has four operating ambulances, will procure one more this financial year and two next financial year. 10. The Ministry of Health has 217 vehicles of different sizes and capacities and not all of them are 4x4. Only 10 of these were purchased using the Ministry budget. The rest came in through project support. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/panorama/7742558.stm Published: 2008/11/21 15:57:46 GMT C BBC MMVIII I am Peter-Rhaina Gwokto and I approve this message. _____ Remember: "Even a small dog can piss on a tall building" Jim Hightower http://lakitgum.wordpress.com <http://lakitgum.wordpress.com/> _____ _______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet % UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. ---------------------------------------
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