Museveni Threatens to Replace Absentee Health Workers With Young Graduates - UG Standard - Latest News
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has warned public health workers who fail to report for duty that they will be dismissed and replaced by qualified young professionals seeking employment. Addressing members of the National Resistance Movement Parliamentary Caucus on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, the president expressed frustration over rampant absenteeism […]
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni addresses members of the NRM Parliamentary Caucus at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, where he directed a fresh crackdown on health sector absenteeism, medicine theft, and corruption in local government programs. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has warned public health workers who fail to report for duty that they will be dismissed and replaced by qualified young professionals seeking employment. Addressing members of the National Resistance Movement Parliamentary Caucus on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, the president expressed frustration over rampant absenteeism and poor service delivery in public health facilities. “We shall reach a point and chase away those who don’t want to work and replace them with young ones,” Museveni warned, noting that the government has a large pool of unemployed young medical graduates who are ready to serve. The president stressed that the government cannot continue retaining health workers who neglect their duties while enthusiastic young professionals remain jobless on the sidelines. Museveni tied the problem of medical absenteeism directly to broader economic productivity, arguing that poor healthcare service delivery undermines national development. “The last time I was sick with malaria was in the bush. Sickness is lost contribution time,” Museveni told lawmakers. In addition to absenteeism, the president targeted drug shortages in public clinics, questioning whether medicines were failing to reach facilities or being stolen by staff who direct patients to private drug shops and pharmacies. “Health needs to be addressed. There’s some corruption in the health centers. You don’t find drugs there. Is it because there are no drugs or they’re being stolen?” he asked, promising that Cabinet would review the issue and that he would personally follow up with inspections. “In health facilities you find that there are no drugs, and people are being told to go and buy from outside in drug shops and pharmacies. This one must stop. I’m going to check,” Museveni said. Beyond the medical workforce crackdown, the president addressed rising cases of noncommunicable diseases like cancer and diabetes, local government corruption, the Parish Development Model, and national infrastructure priorities. Following the address, the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, led by Government Chief Whip Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, passed 11 resolutions pledging commitment to key national priority areas, including healthcare reform, anti-corruption initiatives, and infrastructure development.