Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 141165,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/141165/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 277,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also rise to support Vote 11, Ministry of Medical Services. We all know that this is a very important Ministry. During the campaigns, the pledges the Government made from Independence, health was one of the three or four key components. This Ministry has been here since 1963 but we still find that what is being voted in Parliament, there are still problems in the constituencies and hospitals. A lot has been achieved through direct funding through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). This is an area where I was thinking that what the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance read in this House and what the Minister – I am happy that both the Ministers are here – if we can combine forces so that whatever we are talking about here is not channeled the way it has been channeled in the past because the moment money is channeled through a single person as a civil servant, it is very difficult to account for this money and all of us have witnessed this. It is happening with roads and health facilities. At least, there is accountability when the money gets to through the people who are elected to represent their constituents in Parliament. So, I support the Vote but the allocation is very insufficient. When you look at the Printed Estimates, we always say that in our Budget, we are putting more emphasis on Recurrent Expenditure; that is, on salaries and putting less emphasis on Development. But if you look at this Ministry, everything is short because we do not have enough doctors. Somebody will come and say that the allocation was skewed towards Recurrent Expenditure but it is still not sufficient at all. When the Minister was moving the Motion, he said that he is hoping that next year, Parliament will vote more money for the Ministry. I think he was placing that in the wrong place. This is something that they, as a Cabinet, with their supply officers in the Ministry of Finance, should go and push for, bring the figures and we support them. Even if we double these figures, I am sure the hon. Members will still support the way I see the situation in this country. We are supposed to be at a stage where the poor people are being taken care of by the Government when it comes to healthcare. Every day, like today, I have had about seven cases of people who are having either patients in hospital or others are bereaved and they cannot afford it. We are almost getting to a stage of showing the public that in our pay slips, we are given money to pay for this medical care. But the public believes that because they already go for the easier option. Just because they have voted for a Member of Parliament, they think that he can finance them. It is not possible. I support this Vote and say that the Recurrent Expenditure--- Whatever the Minister has said, the introduction of the medical scheme, I think what we have suffered here is the mismanagement of funds in the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) for"
}