By KT Reporter
Masaka Regional Referral Hospital is stuck with several critical infrastructural projects after the government failed to provide the funds required to complete them, sparking concerns over worsening congestion and service delivery at the facility.
Charles Tumushiime, the outgoing Hospital Principal Administrator, says the multibillion-dollar projects were approved under the hospital’s infrastructure development master plan but are way behind schedule, with works now at a standstill. He attributes the delays to the failure of the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to release the necessary funds.
The affected projects include the Maternity and Children Complex and the Senior Staff quarters, under construction for over ten years for Shillings 10 billion and Shillings 9.8 billion respectively. Others are the remodelling and repurposing of the Intensive Care Unit, construction of a Radiology block, and a new Oxygen plant, undertaken by the UPDF Engineering Brigade in 2021.
Tumushiime warns that the stalled infrastructure is essential for improving service delivery at the hospital, which is already grappling with limited space in the existing buildings. In his handover report to Robert Mpanga, the incoming Principal Administrator, Tumushiime also flagged the hospital’s old fleet of vehicles, saying they are inefficient and compromise service delivery.
He urged his successor to work with the Hospital Management Committees to formally engage the government on addressing the underlying challenges, including understaffing, shortage of medical supplies, and recurrent power outages.
Mpanga says he needs time to understand the dynamics of the hospital and will engage all key stakeholders to find solutions. In 2022, the Auditor General raised queries about the procurement for the Maternity and Children Complex, questioning budget variations that increased the contract sum by 2.1 billion shillings.
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