Parliament Demands New Audit of Lagging Lubowa Hospital Project

Opposition lawmakers in Uganda are calling for a comprehensive new audit of the International Specialised Hospital of Uganda in Lubowa. The project has faced significant delays, with its completion date pushed back multiple times, currently set for December 2027. This is despite the government having already committed approximately Shs1.5 trillion towards its development.

Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, highlighted that the Auditor General last reviewed the project in 2022, yet public funds continue to be disbursed annually. “We want to recommend that the project gets to be audited by the Auditor General. We shall be pushing through on the floor of Parliament because that project was last audited in 2022. Yet it’s been getting money every year,” Ssenyonyi stated.

Compounding these financial concerns are repeated instances where Members of Parliament have been prevented from conducting site inspections. Recently, a planned oversight visit by Ssenyonyi and other opposition MPs was thwarted when the project site’s main gate was found locked, despite prior notification to the contractor.

This marks at least the second time such an inspection has been blocked. The difficulties in accessing the site make it challenging for Parliament to verify if the substantial public funds allocated correspond with the actual work completed on the ground. The Auditor General has previously raised questions about payments totaling around Shs286 billion, linked to works lacking adequate physical verification.

In response to the access issues, the Government Chief Whip indicated that oversight for the Lubowa project has been transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth emphasized the fundamental need for accountability, asserting that all public officials and projects are subject to audit and that Parliament must be able to fulfill its oversight responsibilities.

The Lubowa hospital, envisioned as a 264-bed specialized facility for complex treatments like cancer and organ transplants, has been a subject of scrutiny since its launch in 2019 due to its protracted delays and funding issues.

Source: Nile Post