Nebbi Hospital stuck with Shs850m water bill
Patient attendants at Nebbi Hospital recently. The district leaders want it upgraded to a regional referral hospital due to the lack of specialised treatment. PHOTO / FELIX WAROM OKELLO
What you need to know:
- In February this year, NWSC informed parliament that several health facilities had high unpaid water bills.
Authorities in Nebi District have appealed to the Ministry of Health to clear the accumulated water bills of Nebbi Hospital.
Nebbi District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Dorothy Ajwang Thursday evening said they are receiving threatening demand notices from National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) over the bills.
“This hospital serves Pakwach, Nebbi, Madi Okollo and Zombo districts plus DR Congo. We have a bill which is Shs850 million, and we are unable to pay it. I want to appeal to you (investment minister Anite) so that you can talk to the Minister of Health (Dr Jane Aceng) so that they can pick up this bill,” she said.
“In Nebbi, we raise less than a billion and we have to pay our councilors…so we cannot pay this bill,” she noted, during a regional budget consultative review for FY2024/25.
But Anite, said the CAO raised a national issue which has been under President Museveni’s study.
“The minister of health actually raised it that they are not able to pay water bills nationally. So, we need to find an issue of more budget allocation to the ministry of health so that they can pay these bills because it is not only Nebbi but generally speaking, ministry of health is stressed about the water bills,” Anite remarked.
In February this year, NWSC informed parliament that health facilities with high unpaid water bills include Mulago National Referral Hospital whose bills stood at Shs3.730 billion, Jinja Regional Referral Hospital at Shs3.656 billion, Mulago Specialized Women Hospital at Shs2. 1 billion and, Naguru Hospital with Shs1.480 billion.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr Diana Atwine told lawmakers that government intends to construct boreholes to curb the increasing bills.
