Gulu Referral Hospital risks water shortage over NWSC sh1b arrears
Dr. Peter Mukobi, the hospital director, revealed that no funds have been allocated to settle the arrears in the ongoing 2025/26 financial year.
Left to right : Silas Aogon, Kumi municipality MP during a meeting with the PAC committee on July 10, 2025. (Photos by Miriam Namutebi)
By Dedan Kimathi
Journalists @New Vision
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Gulu Regional Referral Hospital's taps are likely to run dry as their unpaid water bills hit sh1billion.
On the other hand, the facility is grappling with a sh170 million unpaid electricity bills.
Officials from the hospital disclosed this on Thursday, July 10, 2025. This was during an engagement with Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee (Central), which at the time was chaired by Mawogola South MP Gorett Namugga.
Also present was the substantive chairperson of the committee Muhamad Muwanga Kivumbi (Butambala County, NUP). Talking points revolved around the Auditor General (AG) Edward Akol’s report on the entity for the year ended 2024.
Dr. Peter Mukobi, the Director of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital appearing before the Public Accounting Committee on July 10, 2025.
Worse still, Dr. Peter Mukobi, the hospital director, revealed that no funds have been allocated to settle the arrears in the ongoing 2025/26 financial year.
“Madam chairperson, that is true. This accumulation is over ten years back,” Mukobi acknowledged.
“These submissions were shared with the Ministry of Finance and external auditors who verify arrears,” he added.
Mukobi, however, clarified that although the hospital submitted the full amount, only sh326 million in arrears has so far been verified by external auditors engaged.
“It actually bothers me. But the real action is still not yet taken. NWSC does complain and we have a lot of administrative engagements,” Mukobi explained.
Members of Parliament on the PAC committee during a meeting on July 10, 2025.
Bugiri Municipality MP and JEEMA President, Asuman Basalirwa, questioned how the hospital's taps are still running despite the ballooning debt.
He noted that the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has previously shown no leniency to the extent of even cutting off Mulago National Referral Hospital and the Police.
With some MPs murmuring that even Parliament itself has, at times, fallen victim to the service provider’s strict enforcement regime.
“You must be having a very good working relationship which I want to encourage you to maintain it. That you can survive for this long. Otherwise, if it was this side of the country, National Water cannot even give you a day,” Basalirwa joked.
“This could be a trade-off. It could be that they treat staff of National Water for free,” Namugga supplemented.
The committee vice-chairperson acknowledged the hospital’s plight, noting that it received no budget allocation for arrears, despite sh1.4 trillion being set aside for domestic arrears in the national budget.
“We also need to find out why domestic arrears that have taken a period of ten years have not been verified as arrears. We also need to question how one can accumulate arrears of one billion when it comes to water,” Namugga stated.
“To see how we can help you, you are going to give us your budget versus actuals when it comes to water for the last ten years. If ten is too much, bring five so that we can monitor the trend of consumption….” she ruled.
To mitigate the ballooning debt, hospital officials said they are harvesting rainwater and tapping into underground water sources.
NWSC responds
NWSC spokesperson Samuel Apedel revealed that negotiations are ongoing with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) to resolve the issue. This was in a telephone interview with New Vision.
“We have been engaging with Ministry of Finance and in the current budget, there is a provision to clear some of the arrears. Unfortunately, one of the problems is that people underbudget for these utilities and sometimes the money for utilities is used for other activities,” Apedel disclosed.
“Going forward, we encourage people to budget for what they consume,” he added.
Hospital budget
Gulu Regional Referral Hospital was established by an Act of Parliament and attained self-accounting status by July 2013. It serves a catchment area comprising eight districts and one city, with an estimated population of two million people.
During the year under review, outpatient attendance rose sharply to 117,737 from 64,740 the previous year. In the same period (FY 2023/24), the hospital conducted 107,078 laboratory tests, performed 1,521 caesarean sections, and made 475 patient referrals.
According to financial statements seen by this publication, the hospital operated on an approved budget of Sh16.358 billion and generated Sh139.2 million in Non-Tax Revenue (NTR).