Prime
Would answering these questions give us closure or cause more pain?
Author: Daniel K Kalinaki. PHOTO/FILE.
What you need to know:
- How should officials who qualify to be treated abroad be transported there? Who gets to use Uganda Airlines, and who gets to suffer on Fly Dubai? Who gets to borrow the presidential jet? Who should be allowed to visit officials who are flown abroad for medical treatment? Who shouldn’t?
Which Ugandan officials should qualify for medical treatment abroad? Should there be a law that determines this? Should the list be public? Who should determine who gets onto the list? Should the secretary who types out the list also qualify? If an aide or bodyguard of the Big Ill Man or Woman falls ill while outside the country, should they also be treated there or should they bring their worms home?
What medical conditions should be treated outside the country? Which ones can be treated outside the country even if they can be treated within? Which medical conditions should we never attempt to treat outside the country or within Uganda? Which countries should be considered as fit to treat ill Ugandan officials? Which countries should be considered no-go, however good their facilities might be, for treating ill Ugandans? Which countries should we never take our officials to in case people in those countries ‘boast that for them they have good medical sectors’?
Who should qualify to go to Nairobi, and who should be allowed to go to Israel? What about Turkey, India and South Africa? What should we do for officials who might want to be seen by powerful native doctors in places like Mwanza, Bukoba or Oman? What should happen if the native doctor is in a place without an airstrip?
How should officials who qualify to be treated abroad be transported there? Who gets to use Uganda Airlines, and who gets to suffer on Fly Dubai? Who gets to borrow the presidential jet? Who should be allowed to visit officials who are flown abroad for medical treatment? Who shouldn’t?
Who should pay for the treatment of Ugandan officials abroad? Should there be a cap on how much can be paid? Should officials contribute to the cost of their treatment abroad? Would it be cheaper if Ugandan officials who qualify for medical treatment abroad were signed up for an international health insurance package? Should the premiums for such a package be paid for them or should they contribute? Should their family members be covered? Should the Executive be required, at the end of each Financial Year, to report to Parliament how much money has been spent on treating Ugandans abroad, the list of those treated and at that cost?
Should Ugandans who do not qualify for medical treatment abroad have their local medical bills paid by the state or should they continue organising fundraising car washes? Is there any official in the employ of the Republic of Uganda working on finally bringing to life the national health insurance scheme? Can they stand up and reveal themselves to the country or would such an act of courage trigger events that would eventually require them to seek medical attention abroad? Seriously, should officials who are paid to set up a functional and affordable health sector at home qualify to be treated abroad at taxpayer expense?
Should each official who is successfully treated abroad at taxpayer expense hold a press-conference, when finally back on their feet, to thank their millions of medical supporters? Should there be a crack team that follows up each case treated abroad to find out what procedures were done, what equipment was used, and what skills the medical workers had and draw up a plan to build that local capacity at home?
Shouldn’t the approval of medical treatment abroad include provisions for the safe and timely return of the remains of officials who might, unfortunately, pass away in foreign lands? For officials who qualify for state funerals shouldn’t there be a protocol team that comes to life to arrange matters without drama and humiliating the family and friends of the deceased? Wouldn’t it be cheaper and more orderly if state funerals were organised by the Uganda People’s Defence Force? Apart from having brass bands, cannons and artillery for the gun-salutes, isn’t the UPDF already in the business of sending people to their creators?
Shouldn’t the benefits due to the family of a public official who dies in office be spelt out and paid in full when they fall due? What about those benefits due to those Ugandans who stubbornly remain alive even after retiring from public office? What criteria should be used to determine when the government should take over the education and welfare of the surviving family members of a deceased public official? Should poorly paid teachers and police officers be considered or should they take their teeth and display them from thoooose ends?
Mr Kalinaki is a journalist and poor man’s freedom fighter.
@Kalinaki
