The Minister for Health D. Ruth Aceng together with the State minister for Economic Planning in the Ministry of Finance David Bahati have appealed to members on the Committee of National Economy approve the 1.3 trillion shillings loan that is intended to act as a security in the construction of the first International Specialized Hospital of Uganda at Lubowa.
According to the Ministers, the specialized hospital once completed will be used to treat patients with complicated diseases travelling out of the country to seek specialized medical care.
Last week the deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah referred the government loan request of 379 Million US dollars to the Committee of National Economy for scrutiny after members of parliament opposed the direct approval by parliament.
On Thursday the Health Minister Dr. Ruth Aceng and the State Minister for Economic Planning in the Finance David Bahati appeared before the committee on National Economy chaired by MP Syda Bbumba to defend the loan request for the construction of the International Specialized Hospital of Uganda at Lubowa.
According to the Ministers, the hospital is expected to solve the problem of medical tourism as it hospital will be offering a wide range of medical and surgical conditions including transplants, neurosurgical operations, cardiac operations among others
In the committee, the Ministers had a hard time explaining the capability of the lead contractor for this development FINASI Limited. Members argued that the company in question deals with luxury furniture in Dubai and not in the construction of specialized hospitals.
The Ministers also dismissed claims that the land at Lubowa where the hospital is to be built has multiple owners and the case is before court.
According to the Ministers, the Private developers will construct the hospital in a period of two years, operate it for six years then turn it to government of Uganda in a public- private partnership arrangement.
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