Bukomansimbi district local government leaders have rejected a new ambulance donated to them by the Korean government citing poor specifications.
The government received a grant worth Shs 1.2 billion from the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) in June this year to put in place an improved medical emergency system between Bukomansimbi district and the Masaka regional referral hospital.
Under the project, the ministry of Health was required to procure new ambulances to be used in providing reliable transport means for patients that require referral medical services between Butenga health centre IV and Masaka regional hospital.
However, the ambulance bought for Bukomansimbi district has been rejected by the district leaders, saying that it is below the required standards. The leaders have said that the ambulance is too tiny to perform its intended purpose.
Bukomansimbi district chairperson Hajj Muhamad Kateregga says that in its current form, the ambulance is not worth the value of Shs 270 million which was spent on its procurement.
According to him, the inadequacies of the ambulance were sighted earlier and was sent back to the ministry, but to their dismay, nothing has been rectified even after spending more than a month at the ministry headquarters. The other district councillors have also backed the chairperson’s move to reject the ambulance saying it is not worth the value spent on it.
Isaac Lwanga, the Butenga sub county councillor says the delivered ambulance is too tiny to even accommodate a standard bed for a single patient, their caretaker and nurses yet according to the specifications by the donor, the motorcar was supposed to be fully-fledged.
Kibinge sub-county council Muhammad Matovu and his counterpart James Muhabwa, the district council speaker, have now demanded that their chief administrative officer writes to the ministry of Health informing them that the ambulance has been rejected.
Meanwhile, Asuman Hamis Masereka, the Bukomansimbi district chief administrative officer says he needs time to thoroughly study the specifications and make due consultation with the responsible officers at the ministry of Health.
BY URN
