While other organizations and individuals are expected to vomit 240000 shillings to test for COVID-19, Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA has been saved from paying over 272 million Shillings to test staff for COVID-19.
This is because; they will continue free testing of their 1,133 staff at City Hall.
KCCA Acting Spokesperson Daniel NuweAbine says testing at KCCA is continuing at no cost despite the government introducing the Shillings 240,500 charge.
The Ministry of Health-MOH declaration to charge for testing was brutally condemned by the kCCA City Executive Committee led by Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago described it as commercialization of the testing process.
He said that apart from ordinary Kampala people, the authority could not afford paying for its entire staff to test.
He said the authority had run out of funds having exhausted the One billion shillings allocated for the Authority as part of COVID 19 fight budget.
Nuwe Abine the KCCA acting director says government identified the authority as a hot stop that needed its staff tested because of their nature of work and testing shall continue at no charge.
He adds that the authority tasked with running affairs of the city employs among others, casual workers like cleaners and law enforcement officers who often interact with people on the streets, putting them in harm’s way of the Corona Virus.
Despite widespread criticism from the population on the MOH directive to charge money pert= test, they have maintained their position saying it is necessary to charge those willing to test to reduce the costs incurred by the government in conducting the tests.
The ministry says 4000 tests equivalent to 962 million Shillings are carried out daily.
The Ministry of Health said starting 1st September 2020, truck drivers, people in need of knowing their COVID-19 status, government and public organizations, Ugandans returning from abroad, and visitors from other countries will all behave to pay a fee of 240,500 Shillings for each test to be conducted.
