The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The State Minister for Health General Duties, Sarah Opendi has tasked Masaka Regional Referral Hospital Management Board to address the encroachment on the hospital land.
Speaking at the inauguration and swearing-in ceremony of the members of the board on Wednesday at Masaka hospital, Opendi said that she is aware that the hospital is stuck with the challenge of encroachers which has affected development of the hospital.
She asked the board to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that this challenge is addressed.
Opendi also said that the new board should investigate how people settling on the hospital land acquired the plots.
More than 250 squatters have encroached on the 47 acres of the hospital land. The encroachment has affected the hospital’s plans for expansion and the construction of a regional Heart Institute.
In February, Masaka Regional referral hospital started opening boundaries to resolve a long-standing land dispute with squatters.
In June, the hospital authorities started to register all squatters that encroached on the land to establish how much land is being occupied by the encroachers.
Masaka hospital director, Dr. Nathan Onyachi, said that the new hospital board will also help the hospital address the challenges facing the hospital such as drug stock-outs, inadequate staffing and lack of equipment.
The new hospital board is chaired by Dr. John Steven Ssebagala. Other members are Masaka Hospital director, Dr Nathan Onyachi, as the General Secretary and Kabuye the hospital principal administrator and representatives from districts such as Lwengo, Kalungu, and Rakai among others.
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