By Jumah Kakomo
On 1st of March 22, state house health monitoring unit (HMU) arrested and detained the executive director of Malago national referral hospital also doubling as accounting Officer Dr Byarugana Baterana to respond to specific investigative issues.
While speaking to media at Uganda media Centre Kampala on 02nd of March, 2022, the director state house health monitoring unit Dr. Warren Namala said, in April, 2021, HMU conducted an investigative review of Mulago national referral hospital that focused on essential medicines and health supplies, human resources for health and finance covering a period of the last four financial years. The reviews were pursuant to the numerous complaints that the HMU had been receiving from both Mulago hospital staff and concerned citizens regarding alleged gross mismanagement at the hospital.
He says a report was shared with Mulago national referral hospital to provide additional information where queries were raised. Having failed to provide satisfactory information, further investigations were commenced as indicated below.
Preliminary investigative findings.
1. Finances.
A total of 65 staff both serving and retired were interviewed and statements recorded and so far it has been established that a total of 974,347,291 is unaccounted for/misappropriated to for the period of two years July 2019 to June 2021.
The accounting officer failed to notify the accountant general about the missing vouchers amounting to 5,273,728,607/=.
2. Equipment repairs and maintenance.
In November, 2016, Mulago hospital contracted two companies MS Setramaco international limited, and MS convention World limited to provide a wide range of services like running the laundry machines, central sterile supply department, steam boilers among others.
Investigations have so far revealed that based on forged Job cards, work completion certificates and duplicated activities, these two companies were paid by Mulago, a total of UGX 20,573,264,362 a loss occasioned to government of Uganda under dubious payments for supply of services and consumables.
3. Suspicious procurement of machines and other medical supplies.
The investigation team also conducted verification of supplies allegedly procured from First pharmacy by the hospital. The verifications were prompted upon establishing from IFMS payment statements obtained from the accountant general indicating that during the period under investigations; Mulago hospital had paid first pharmacy a total of UGX 1,423,473,215 as payments for medicines procured and supplied under emergency orders presumably after running out of National medical stores supplied stocks and the following are the finds.
I. Burn units.
· Verification conducted at the burns unit store located at Kiruddu hospital but still under Mulago hospital by then, established that only a small quantity of the purported deliveries made by the first pharmacy had been received in their stores.
· Most of the other delivery notes from the first pharmacy indicating deliveries to have been made to the said burns unit store have since been denied by Kiruddu.
II. Mulago hospital bulk/central store.
During verifications at bulk/central store, it was established that funds worth Ugx 754,189,609 were paid out to first pharmacy A/C in fourteen different transactions between December, 2017 and May, 2020 for untraceable supplies. Forexample, where the stores staff signed acknowledging receipt on the said deliveries and goods received notes generated, there is absolutely no record that the said items were entered in the respective stock cards and issued out to different user units.
The investigating team also took note of the fact that most of the items indicated on the first pharmacy delivery notes as having been supplied to the bulk store were the same as what NMS delivers to the hospital and dispenses to the public at no cost.
A total amount of UGX 40,529,186 was paid by Mulago to the first pharmacy purportedly for purchase of medical supplies. Analysis of documents so far reveals that the said medical supplies were not delivered to the hospital.
4 illegal operations by private pharmacies within the Hospital.
Mulago hospital management headed by the executive director on the 07th February, 2018 entered into a ten years memorandum of understanding and tenancy agreement with private pharmacies , Eco pharmacy and first pharmacy to operate within the hospital premises.
I. The said MOU and tenancy agreements between Mulago hospital and the two private pharmacies were poorly executed and without clearance from the relevant government authorities.
II. The pharmacies are operating illegally without national drug authority licenses.
III. Due to these poorly executed MOUs and tenancy agreements, both Eco pharmacy and first pharmacy had defaulted on paying rent to the tune of Ugx 135,000,000 for Eco pharmacy and 67,500,000 for the first pharmacy respectively by 4th November, 2021.
Now Dr, Wallen Namala says that, the total uncounted and misappropriate funds at Mulago national referral hospital during the period under investigations is so far Ugx 28,806,032,270, that is twenty eight billion, eight hundred six million, thirty two thousand, two hundred seventy shillings only.
“The above findings are preliminary per our investigations, once investigations have been completed all suspects will be arraigned in courts of law” Namala added.
Meanwhile Dickson Kagulusi and Esawo Tiyatunga who are both activists from Kanungu district say what was done to Dr. Byarugaba Baterana is just to tarnish his name due to political reasons from some of government officials
