Lubowa hospital controversy: Finance ministry says the world got it wrong
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance Keith Muhakanizi has responded to outbursts over the controversial Lubowa hospital saying, Ugandans got it wrong about the construction details.
After days of outbursts, the permanent secretary ministry of Finance Keith Muhakanizi has clarified on the ownership of the international specialised Hospital of Uganda saying the project is a government project that was awarded to Finasi-Roko Construction ltd which in turn will be getting their own funding for the two- year construction period.
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He adds that government didn’t act as a guarantor for acquisition for a loan by the company but gave assurance that the money being acquired will be repaid.
Muhakanizi says the total amount to be repaid will be $379.71M (Shs1.4trillion) with $249.9m (Shs925b) for real construction and 129.81 (Shs479b) as interest over a period of years after construction.
“If the investor delivers and we are satisfied that’s when well pay and we are not paying within one day, well be paying within six years after the planned two years of construction.”
On allegations of land grabbing by government to avail land for the hospital, Muhakanizi says as per documents at the lands ministry, the ministry of health owns the titles
“If we were taking someone else’s land elsewhere anyway we’d have compensated. You cannot stop government from doing that so I don’t see any problem with the land either way it is done. All we know today is government has a firm title as confirmed by the ministry of lands.”
The hospital is hoped to be complete within two years containing 264 beds, an 82room budget hotel and 500seater conference among other things covering 85,000Square Meters.
