The Ministry of Health is ringing changes in its human resources structure in line with the ongoing restructuring in public sector and the shift from relying on project funding for staff salaries to a new payment approach that uses internally generated revenue.

The changes aim at efficiently using available resources and retaining competent staff.

"The recent reduction of budget for human resources across the health sector has pushed health facilities to revisit their staffing capacity and competencies to ensure that available resources are best put to use to meet the day-to-day operations of the health facilities and guarantee sustainability,” reads part of a statement from the ministry.

The statement says part of the process involves mainstreaming staff members formerly paid on project funds into the hospital payrolls, using funds that are generated by these hospitals.

Employees who do not meet the required profile and competencies will not be retained, it said.

"Considering the current situation, the number of staff that will not be retained due to failure to meet the required profile and competencies are very few compared to what has been recently reported in the media,” the statement said.

Nathan Mugume, the ministry’s spokesperson, said: "Almost 50 percent of staff on project funds will be retained on internally generated revenue,” adding that the new system is all about retaining staff using internally generated revenue than relying on project funding.

According to the ministry, the changes are also in line with efficient use of resources at health facilities and avoiding duplication of duties, in addition to being a step towards attaining what the health sector has been doing for the previous years to reduce dependency on project funding for staff salaries.

The restructuring will also include harmonising the salaries of all employees, being those originally paid by hospitals and those paid by projects who will be retained.

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