Musuuza Building Contractors Limited, the company contracted by the Ugandan government through the Ministry of Health to construct the intern doctors’ hostel at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital (KRRH), has finally yielded to mounting pressure and agreed to hand over the recently completed hostel.
Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have disclosed that the contractor is scheduled to formally hand over the hostel on the 25th of September, in the presence of the Permanent Secretary of Health, Ms. Diana Atwiine. It has also been revealed that the contractor’s outstanding payment demands will be settled one year from now.
Notably, just last month, the government deployed a team of 41 medical interns to the hospital, with the expectation that they would occupy the vacant hostel. However, due to the unresolved issue of the intern doctors’ accommodation, they have resorted to renting lodgings outside the hospital premises.
The agreement was reached a week ago in Kampala during discussions involving hospital authorities, the Ministry of Health, and the contractor.
The urgency to resolve this matter stemmed from an alarming incident in which several of the intern doctors’ rented residences were burglarized, leading to the theft of their personal belongings and posing a serious threat to their safety. This situation prompted the Kabale Resident District Commissioner to convene an extraordinary meeting with the interns at the hospital.
Musuuza Building Contractors Limited, responsible for constructing the intern doctors’ housing, had initially declined to hand over the completed facility due to additional costs totaling Shs 790 million incurred during construction. The hostel, valued at Shs 7.8 billion, had received funding from the government through the Ministry of Health. Construction, which commenced in May 2017, was initially scheduled to conclude on June 3 of the previous year.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
