Finance, Health ministries clash over NMS
The State Minister for Finance in charge of general duties Henry Musasizi has suppressed calls by the ministry of health to treat the National Medical Stores (NMS) as a special entity.
Presenting a statement on the shortage of medical supplies in government health facilities, the Health minister, Jane Ruth Aceng observed that the crisis that has seen some lose lives is a result of delayed release of funds from the Finance ministry and financial constraints faced by the National Medical Stores.
Aceng has revealed that the drug stock-out challenge started in 2020 but was camouflaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aceng has thus recommended among others that the government treats NMS as a special entity so that it gets funds on the first day of the quarter as other entities wait.
“Let money be provided by the first day of the quarter. Let it be treated as a unique entity, the others can wait but let NMS get money,” Aceng said.
However, Musasizi says Aceng’s request cannot be guaranteed since NMS has severally broken government laws by failing to comply with the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS).
“The Ministry of Health has stated a number of facts but there is one fact which is left out. NMS does not want to belong to the IFMS system. So the question I ask is that under which law do I implement the decisions you make here?” Musasizi wondered.
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