Authorities have started the process of demolishing structures that were unlawfully erected on the land of Kabale Regional Referral Hospital. This action is being taken to create space for the construction of a state-of-the-art intensive care unit (ICU) valued at Shs 8.5 billion.
The construction of the ICU, funded by the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health, was officially initiated on September 2, 2023, at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital, situated in Kabale District. The contract for the project was granted to HASO Engineers Company Limited, with funding facilitated through collaboration between the government and the International Development Agency (IDA).
However, the construction process had been facing significant delays due to private developers, Charles Rwanika Majugo and Eng. Alex Happiness. These individuals obstructed the road leading to the construction site of the ICU and encroached on a substantial portion of the land by constructing permanent houses.
Kabale Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Godfrey Nyakahuma, reported that the construction had come to a standstill for the past three weeks. The contractor, during the foundation work, discovered that a significant portion of the land and the access road to the site had been encroached upon, making it impossible to proceed with the project. Consequently, the contractor had to abandon the site, leading to the intervention of Nyakahuma’s office.
In response to this situation, the demolition of the illegally constructed structures has now commenced.
Dr. Philbert Nyeko, the Hospital Director of Kabale Regional Referral Hospital, expressed that with the removal of encroachers who had caused the project’s delays, the contractor is set to resume work later this week. Dr. Nyeko further acknowledged that the hospital had lost some of its land to encroachers. As a part of their administration’s responsibilities, they intend to identify and reclaim any portions of the hospital’s land that have been encroached upon.
