A parliamentary oversight visit to Lubowa International Specialised Hospital was yesterday blocked after the Leader of Opposition, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi and a team of Opposition MPs found the project’s gate locked despite clearance from the Ministry of Health.
Mr Ssenyonyi, accompanied by members of his shadow Cabinet and other MPs, had gone to the construction site to inspect the progress of the long-delayed 264-bed specialised referral, teaching and research hospital.
The MPs said they had notified the project contractor, Finasi-Ishu Construction SPV Limited, on September 9, of their intention to visit the site.
The project management sought guidance from the Ministry of Health, which directed that the legislators be given a guided tour.
In a September 15 letter, Health minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi directed the project manager to facilitate the MPs’ visit.
However, when the legislators arrived yesterday, they found the main gate locked and were unable to gain access to the construction site.
‘We arrived here with colleagues, shadow ministers and as you can see, the gate is locked. We were able to peep through the openings and we saw security officers pacing around on the phone,’ Mr Ssenyonyi said.
‘We thought maybe they would get guidance and clearance to open for us to access the facility, but that has not happened.’
The latest incident has revived concerns about Parliament’s ability to scrutinise the project, which has consumed substantial public resources since construction began in 2019.
Mr Ssenyonyi said this was not the first time MPs had been denied access to the facility, recalling that former Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng and other legislators also faced restrictions during the 11th Parliament.
He said the repeated denial of access raises questions about accountability for money allocated to the project.
According to Mr Ssenyonyi, government has so far injected about Shs1.5 trillion into the project, which was initially scheduled for completion in 2021, but has since suffered several delays.
‘When we made a lot of noise then and we came and they denied us access, they decided to put up some shell of a structure. When we came the other time, there was nothing. Now there is a bit of a shell, brick and mortar,’ he said.
He added: ‘Putting bricks and cement together cannot account for the trillion shillings invested. What is supposed to be here is a fully equipped specialised hospital.’
Mr Ssenyonyi said Parliament would continue demanding accountability for the funds committed to the project.
‘The challenge is this project is not accountable at all. You cannot be spending Shs1.5 trillion of taxpayers’ money, and you do not want to account for it,’ he said.
Wakiso District Woman MP Betty Ethel Naluyima said blocking legislators from accessing the facility undermines Parliament’s constitutional responsibility to monitor the utilisation of public resources.
Ms Naluyima said MPs are mandated to physically inspect government projects to establish whether public funds are being put to their intended use.
The shadow Minister for Internal Affairs, Mr Denis Sekabira, said continued delays in completing the hospital were costly to the country and could affect access to specialised healthcare.
The Lubowa hospital is intended to provide specialised services including cancer treatment, organ transplantation, cardiac, lung and kidney surgery and reduce the number of Ugandans travelling abroad for advanced medical treatment.
The hospital project has missed several completion deadlines. It was initially expected to be completed in June 2021, but the deadline was subsequently moved to 2022, then 2024, June 2026 and, most recently, December 2026.