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MPs push Roko to finish Mulago hospital revamp
Mulago National Referral Hospital main building in Kampala. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- In defence, the firm’s representatives led by the managing director, Mr Mark Koehler, said the works were stymied by cash flow problems, the Covid-19 pandemic disruptions and changing engineering works.
Members of Parliament yesterday grilled officials of Roko Construction Company Ltd over failure to complete the expansion and renovation of Mulago National Referral Hospital, which is six years behind schedule.
In defence, the firm’s representatives led by the managing director, Mr Mark Koehler, said the works were stymied by cash flow problems, the Covid-19 pandemic disruptions and changing engineering works.
“The issue with renovations is that once you start on a project, especially a building like Mulago, unfortunately, you find many things as you continue with work and it’s [the] nature of renovations,” Mr Koehler told Parliament’s Health Committee.
Bukoto South legislator Twaha Kagabo presided over the sitting on behalf of Committee chairman Charles Ayume, who is also a medical officer. No explanation was given for MP Ayume’s absence.
The MPs took issue with the company after receiving a plethora of complaints about the delays and healthcare service constraints at the national referral facility following the delayed rehabilitation.
“Mulago Hospital is the face of health deliveries in the country. They (Roko) had stalled a bit and that is why we called them up to ask what challenges they were encountering and find possible solutions for the emerging issues at hand,” MP Kagabo said.
The government awarded the Shs13b contract to Roko in 2014 and the company was expected to have completed the works in 2016.
Accompanied by Roko’s Transaction Advisor Joseph Kibuuka and Quantity Surveyor John Bosco Adroni, Mr Koehler said the works had been under-estimated, requiring continuous modifications.
“That is why sometimes when you are renovating a house, a contractor may tell you that it’s cheaper to demolish it from scratch,” he said.
Mr Koehler further said: “I am not saying this is the case for Mulago Hospital because the structure is absolutely sound. It is just the mechanical electricals that are getting old and have to be replaced.”
Mr Koehler said they did not immediately fully take over the site because hospital staff continued to use wards flagged for rehabilitation and refitting.
A source briefed on the works said Roko’s main challenge was financial, and a high loan burden reduced only after the government provided the company Shs200b bailout.
The large loan portfolio and recoveries by banks meant the firm had less cash on its accounts than required to pay sub-contractors, stalling work despite significant prior progress, said the source, preferring anonymity so as to speak freely about the matter.
Mr Kibuuka told legislators that “Roko is now much stronger than before” and that it had undertaken some changes, including hiring three more engineers and a contract manager with 25 year-plus experience to ramp up the works.
Works already completed, another source said, include construction and rebuilding of 22 theatres, including one for organ transplant with its own intensive care unit (ICU), up from the previous eight theatres.
The contractor has also more than doubled the number of ICUs and installed multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound and X-ray machines.
“Roko can complete the remaining works, which are mainly electrical and mechanical fittings, within six months if it adds speed,” the source said.
At yesterday’s appearance before Parliament, Mr Adroni said although the new project completion date is March 2024, they are working round-the-clock to finish it within a year.
