More than 16,000 people in Muntu Sub-county, Amolatar District, are facing difficulties in accessing health care services after the upgrade of Nakatiti Health Centre II to Health Centre III stalled.

Local leaders said the government through the Ministry of Health released Shs500 million for the construction of the new building under the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer (UgIFT) programme in 2018/2019.

The contract was awarded to Otada Construction Co. Ltd and the work was started that same year.

Mr Thomas Pule, Muntu LC3 chairman, said after roofing the building, the contractor abandoned the site. Since then, the work has not been completed.

“Service seekers are not accessing quality services because the issue of inadequate working space is a big challenge,” he told a team from the Directorate of Socio-Economic Monitoring, Office of the President on Thursday.

The team headed by the minister of state for Economic Monitoring, Ms Beatrice Akello Akori, is currently monitoring government projects in Lango Sub-region.

Mr Geoffrey Ocen, Amolatar LC5 chairman, said after getting the money, the contractor abandoned the work. Since then, the work has not been completed.

Mr Francis Okello Rwotlonyo, the Resident District Commissioner, said the unfortunate part with this particular project is that the contractor was given 100 per cent of the money but did not finish a quarter of the work.

“The issue went to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the team came to Amolatar, assessed the situation, wrote a report and forwarded it to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and now we are waiting for the outcome of that report,” he said.

A detective from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit told leaders at Amolatar District headquarters on Thursday that the report of their investigation would be released soon.

The RDC added: “Different teams have been called to make statements and of course, our query is why the delay in prosecution because we have seen the contractor has not done anything completely. When you look at the site there is no value for money in that work. The structure itself is very discouraging and dilapidated.”

The district chairman said they could not just sit and wait for the investigation to be concluded because the community wanted to use the new building. As a result, his administration requested the government to give them additional funding to allow them to complete that health facility.

“The Ministry of Health gave us this Financial Year in total Shs120 million to complete Nakatiti Health Centre. Unfortunately, when we advertised the tender, only one bidder responded and the bidder quoted Shs300 million and yet we have only Shs120 million. So, it is to be re-advertised,” Mr Ocen said.

“It is going to be reassessed and I’m hopeful that we are going to get a contractor to help us finish that health facility.”

Dr Agnes Atim Apea, Amolatar woman Member of Parliament, said it is very disappointing that the government has injected so much money “but you go again and again and the problem is not solved. For me today is my third time and the whole issue is this site was contracted after a procurement by the central government.”

“What you are seeing there is actually the making of the central government because they identified a contractor on their own, this same contractor is given four different contracts in millions of shillings by the way. So, when they come here, they don’t care about the district. After all, they get their funding from the centre,” the woman MP said.

She added: “Unfortunately, they send the money to be paid by the district. Why would you give me money to pay for somebody that I don’t know and I don’t know the competence and all that kind of stuff? So, for me it is a decentralization gone bad. Imagine it has denied the people services. The facility is there, the contractor is nowhere to be seen!”

Mr Edward Orech, the district engineer, said when he contacted the contractor to resume work, he abused him and said they were already given a work completion certificate. We were unable to reach out to Otada Construction Company Ltd.

This newspaper established that the entire Muntu Sub-county with a combined population of 16,840 people are fully dependent on Nakatiti Health Centre.

Ms Deborah Okori, the in charge of Nakatiti Health Centre, told the Monitor that there is a huge flow of patients at the facility on a daily basis. She said that last month alone, 38 deliveries were conducted at the health centre while on average, Outpatient Department (OPD) attendance stands at 1000 patients per month.

“The greatest challenge here is actually the space because much as the house is incomplete, we are using it. We are doing all the services of maternal and child health in this building much as it is incomplete. Then also we are doing admissions for postnatal mothers,” Ms Okori said.

She said if the construction of this health centre is complete, access to health care services in the area will improve.

“Sometimes we are constrained because when you have drugs, the number of patients goes up and you have children and adults to admit but there is no space. We also don’t have space for the staff to sleep within the facility,” she added.

There are 14 health workers posted to this health centre, whose staff sealing is 19.

The in-charge said her staff operate from their homes yet they have to work at night because of a shortage of accommodation. The in charge and six others are the only lucky staff being accommodated at the health centre.

The rest have to keep moving between home and the government health centre.