Parliament Demands Fresh Audit of Delayed Lubowa Hospital Project

What the report says

Opposition MPs in Uganda are pushing for the Auditor General to carry out a fresh, full audit of the delayed International Specialised Hospital of Uganda project in Lubowa. The call was led in Parliament by Opposition Leader Joel Ssenyonyi, who said the project has faced repeated setbacks while receiving ongoing public funding. He argued that the last audit was completed in 2022, even though government money has continued to flow to the project.

According to the report, Ssenyonyi said government has committed about Shs1.5 trillion to the hospital, which was originally expected to be finished in 2021. The latest completion target given by government is December 2027. The MPs say the gap between spending and delivery has made stronger oversight necessary.

The dispute has also been sharpened by repeated difficulties in accessing the construction site. On September 16, Ssenyonyi and other opposition legislators arrived for an oversight visit but were not allowed in, despite earlier notification to the contractor. A similar incident took place in February 2024, and Parliament later made further attempts to inspect the project. In a previous audit, the Auditor General raised concerns about Shs286 billion in payments linked to work that could not be fully verified on site.

The hospital was launched in 2019 as a 264-bed specialised referral, teaching and research facility. It is intended to offer advanced treatment including cancer care and organ transplantation. The ongoing audit and access disputes matter because they affect Parliament’s ability to check whether public spending matches actual progress on the ground.