Government has been tasked with availing sh79.123 billion for the completion of stagnant projects in 13 regional referral hospitals across the country.

The recommendation is contained in a parliamentary health committee report on ministerial policy statements and budget estimates for the next financial year (2024/2025), which was tabled in Parliament by Koboko municipality MP Dr Charles Ayume.

Legislators say this is imperative before any new projects are flagged off and to avert costs associated with phased construction such as inflation and contractors abandoning sites.

“Ministry of Health should not authorize any new projects for regional referral hospitals until the stagnated projects are complete and fit for use. For any exceptional cases, Parliament should be provided with evidence of availability of funding until completion,” the report states.

Documents seen by New Vision Online show that, for instance, Mbale Regional Referral Hospital needs sh16.67 billion to complete works on its surgical complex and intensive care unit.

Hoima Regional Referral Hospital requires sh32.45 billion to finalise works on the maternal and child health complex whose progress currently stands at 90 percent. These funds are expected to cater for construction of Hoima Regional Blood Bank, staff houses, a shallow well and four stand latrines.

For the case of Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, sh4 billion is required to complete the second phase of a four-storeyed staff house, renovation of already existing staff houses and a hostel for interns.

According to Mbale industrial division MP Karim Masaba, funding challenges afflicting regional hospitals partly accrue from budget ceilings imposed by the finance ministry.

He said some hospitals collect more than their non-tax revenue-set ceiling but do not get back their collections in full, which constrains operations of the private wing services.

“Many of these regional referral hospitals collect revenue and these revenues have been increasing but unfortunately, they have had the same limits over the years," said Masaba.

In such instances, former Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga says these entities can request for extra funds, in tandem with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 2015.

“The moment Parliament passes a budget and the vote’s limits have been indicated when they run short of operational funds, yet they have non-tax revenue [NTR], then they can write to Parliament and make a request to retain,” he said.

“So it is up to them to get up from their slumber and be proactive and implement Section 29(3)."

Increased NTR collections

Documents seen by New Vision Online indicate that by the half year 2023/2024, Arua Regional Referral Hospital, whose allocated budget was sh150 million, had collected more than sh200 million.

Butabika Hospital, on the other hand, hinted at the need to increase their NTR target from sh1.2 billion to sh1.8 billion, saying they had collected sh0.9 billion by half-year.

The committee report further indicates that Hoima Hospital’s NTR collections have increased from sh80 million last financial year to sh160 million currently.

As such, the health committee wants the finance ministry to adjust the NTR ceiling and also return these collections to the hospitals. They contend that this will spur service delivery, especially in the private wings, and help maintain hospital equipment.

While appearing before the committee on March 26 this year, the health ministry's assistant commissioner in charge of civil and sanitary engineering, George Otim, disclosed that they currently receive about sh2.8 billion for maintenance of medical equipment worth sh1trillion across the country.

“Using the rule of thumb, at worst we would get maybe about 1% of the medical equipment to be able to maintain them. But we get 0.1 percent (sh2.8 billion), when you divide it among the regional referral hospitals, including the central maintenance workshop in Wabigalo."

Otim told the MPS further: “The average is about sh180 million to repair medical equipment across. We have been talking about it for some time: we need about sh30 billion. Looking at this new equipment we have in the country, the CT scan, MRI and so on, we must have money to ensure that they are maintained, otherwise in a short time, we are going to come back to Parliament that we need to buy new equipment.”

Dilapidated HC IV

That said, MPs on the health committee also want the Government to procure a loan or a grant towards constructing and renovating dilapidated health centre IVs, something Nakaseke central MP Allan Mayanja said is long overdue.

“The report shows that almost 725 constituencies do not have a single health centre IV, including Nakaseke central. I totally support the recommendation by the committee."

“In the whole country, we have 172 sub-counties without health center IIIs and, therefore, people have to move long distances to access health facilities," Alebtong Woman MP Dorcus Acen weighed in.

"This is undermining our progress. I am talking as NRM, with all due respect and humility we need this."

Imploring the Government to do better, Speaker Anita Annet Among said illnesses don’t segregate.

“I used to be in the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). I started constructing my hospital when I was in FDC, I have finished it when I am in the National Resistance Movement (NRM). So it is not about a party. Let’s work as Government," she told fellow legislators.