Ssenyonyi rips into Lubowa Hospital delays: “I don’t know whether it’s a hospital or a construction site”

Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi has questioned Government’s latest assurance that the long-delayed Lubowa Specialised Hospital will be ready next year, arguing that Ugandans have heard similar completion promises before.
Ssenyonyi told Parliament that the state of the project remains unclear despite the huge amounts of public money invested in it.
“I don’t know whether it’s a hospital or a construction site. A lot of money pumped there,” he said.
The Opposition leader said Parliament had previously attempted to inspect the Lubowa project as part of its oversight mandate but was denied access.
He added that even a former Minister of Health had at one point been unable to access the site.
Ssenyonyi said Parliament should not simply wait for another promised completion date without establishing how the money allocated to the project is being utilised.
“We are not going to wait for next year. It would be good that Parliament gets access so that we know the money that’s appropriated there, what is it doing,” he said.
He called on Speaker of Parliament to take interest in securing parliamentary access to the project and ensuring proper accountability for public funds.
Ssenyonyi also raised concern over the welfare of Community Health Extension Workers, describing them as frontline health workers who play a critical role at parish and community level.
According to Ssenyonyi, the workers receive about Shs150,000 per month, a figure he said is already too low, while some have reportedly gone for prolonged periods without receiving even that amount.
“They get little money. First of all, we are saying revise it. But number two, why is the little money not coming to them? And yet you expect them to do work down there,” he said.
Ssenyonyi said the Ministry of Health had acknowledged unresolved payment backlogs as recently as April 2026.
He challenged Government to explain when the outstanding payments would be cleared, warning that it was unfair to expect community health workers to continue delivering essential services without timely remuneration.