The Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner has blocked the commissioning of a maternity ward and theatre at Bulambuli Health Center IV allegedly renovated by MTN Uganda and United Nations Population Fund-UNFPA.
Stanley Bayoole the area RDC stopped Officials from MTN Uganda, UNFPA and Ministry of health turned up for the commissioning of the two facilities at the Health Centre last Friday only to be told that the commissioning would not take place since the RDC knows that the money used to renovate them was government money.
According to the RDC, the money that renovated the health facility was drawn from the consolidated fund yet at the same period MTN claimed to have renovated the facility, which forced him to stop the function.
He said that district officials received money from government and partners for the same work. Bayoole accused the District Health Officer, Dr. Muhammad Mulongo of swindling government money noting that he has ordered the district and MTN to produce their Bills of Quantities for the renovation before the commissioning.
Dr. Mulongo has since been interdicted. However, Dr. Mulongo says that the RDC lacks information about what happened during the renovation of the facility. He noted that MTN, UNFPA and the Ministry of Health advanced over Shillings 200Million towards the renovation of the maternity ward and renovation of the theatre.
He noted that the money was also used to construct the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, renovate the delivery ward, buy equipment for the maternity and the theatre and install the Solar System.
Dr. Mulongo said that Bulambuli Health Center has never had any major renovations through the operational funds from the government, adding that the district has all the records and if the RDC cared he would have first gone through the records before stopping the commission.
James Ngoyi, the Bulambuli Deputy Chief Administrative Officer told the RDC that MTN should mention what they did on the buildings as they only had new paintings.
Efforts to get a comment from MTN Uganda and UNFPA were futile.