221 HEALTH UNITS AND SCHOOLS IN 20 DISTRICTS RECEIVE MONITORING GADGETS
By Damba Rogers
221 health centers (III &IV) and referral hospitals in the 20 districts of eastern Uganda and over 8000 UPE schools are to have their staff seriously and monitored following a donation of 56 bio-metric data gadgets and 60 mobile phones, 20 printers, computers and laptops provided to the prime minister’s delivery unit to be used in the monitoring process.
The new monitoring system yet to be installed in various health centers in the 20 districts, is under a pilot project that will later be rolled out to the rest of the country, aimed at curbing down health workers’ and teachers’ absenteeism as a means of improving service delivery and efficiency in these districts.
On receiving the machines today in Kampala, the head of the prime minister’s delivery unit, Dr. EzraSuruma says, such mechanism have always been emphasized by the president, YK.M7 in his new campaign to have citizens at the lower level received services effectively following a huge nationwide cry from them over teacher and health workers’ absenteeism.
However, the head of the growth and economic management atDFID, Adrian Green, expresses gratitude over UK’s committement to continue support Uganda in her drive to improve service delivery which will then transform into improved lives.
According to Suruma govt has always relied on written records which most of the time are not accurate hence the increase in absenteeism in both the health and education sector with efficiency and presence in the region in health centers currently standing at 85% and schools 95% but and hope that after the installation of these machines, then presence and efficiency will hit 100%.
He therefore warns all health workers and teachers who will deliberately miss on duty, of huge punishments as per the local govt act.
Health workers will have to punch in their finger prints on a daily basis in the bio-metric machines upon arrival and exists and teachers will always be monitored by special people using the phones.
