The Health Committee of Parliament chaired by chaired by Koboko Municipality MP Dr Charles Ayume has cast doubt on the efficiency of ROKO to complete the renovation works at Mulago since they are engaged in constructing many other buildings in the country.
The MPs said that when they visited the site on Wednesday ROKO officials was absent.
Their revelations comes after Ministry of Health has said they had a bad deal with ROKO construction company to refurbish Mulago and transform it into a specialized facility.
Initially, a loan of $50 million was sought from the African Development Bank to complete the hospital but expenses kept piling.
ROKO’s bankruptcy was brought to the limelight last 2020 when another company Roofings filed a suit in the Commercial Division of the High Court, seeking recovery of up to Shs 165M and $552M. Then, it was revealed that the company owed different creditors and suppliers up to Shs 40Bn in local currency and $36M.
ROKO had sought loans from different banks to work and would pay whenever government released funds to them until this couldn’t happen anymore.
Mulago was scheduled to reopen fully as a specialized National Referral hospital in 2016 after completion of the renovation works. Since then, new opening dates were being set and passed without reopening with the most recent date being March of 2021. Before that, the ministry had announced that opening would happen in December 2019. More than a year later, a lot of other work is yet to be done.
The administration of Mulago resolved to partially open some places like the outpatient department, parts of the renal unit where patients with kidney problems are handled and the radiology department among others.
The theaters are yet to be opened and the causality unit remains not in operation yet accidents and emergency units are the lifeline of the hospital. While all the wards are complete, because it is illogical for them to reopen them when the supporting theatres are still work in progress.