Published on 15/09/2025
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has called on the government to allocate UGX 678 million to the Arua Regional Referral Hospital to rehabilitate its deteriorating sewerage system, warning that its current state poses a threat to public health by contaminating River Onsu, a primary water source for the region.
PAC Vice Chairperson Gorreth Namugga presented the committee’s findings, based on the Auditor General’s December 2024 report on regional referral hospitals, during the plenary session on September 9, 2025. Namugga highlighted that the hospital’s sewerage system, listed as an unfunded priority, has only undergone minimal desilting due to limited internal resources. She stressed that without the full UGX 678 million for rehabilitation, the system risks further environmental pollution and potential disease outbreaks.
The Auditor General, Edward Akol, reported that the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) found the hospital’s sewerage system clogged with solid waste, with overflowing lagoons discharging non-biodegradable materials, such as plastics and sanitary pads, into the tributaries of River Onsu.
NWSC recommended urgent desilting of sedimentation tanks and realignment of impermeable layers, but no action has been taken. The 11-year-old system is now dysfunctional, with open manholes, grass-filled lagoons, and untreated sewage polluting the environment.
Parliament adopted PAC’s recommendations, directing hospital management to collaborate with the Ministry of Health for urgent rehabilitation. Lawmakers invoked Section 31 of the Water Act, Cap 152, which penalizes water source pollution and mandates environmental restoration.
PAC also highlighted the hospital’s inadequate mortuary facilities. The Auditor General’s report revealed that the mortuary is too small to handle the volume of bodies, with 1,362 deaths recorded in the review period, averaging four daily, excluding accident victims and police cases. At least one accident-related body is received monthly, exacerbating space constraints.
Hospital management acknowledged repeated, unsuccessful funding requests to address the issue. PAC noted that the mortuary’s poor condition undermines dignity and service delivery, urging the Ministry of Health to construct a modern facility.
The committee criticized the hospital’s failure to maintain critical medical equipment, including an old oxygen plant, a bio-safety cabinet (Class 2), and exercise bikes, all rendered inoperative due to neglected routine maintenance. The Accounting Officer attributed oxygen plant maintenance to the Ministry of Health, but PAC faulted the Ministry’s slow response to urgent needs across regional hospitals.
Auditors also found key equipment, such as CBC machines and a new oxygen plant, lying idle due to missing reagents, unreliable power from delayed transformer and generator installations, and substandard wiring. PAC warned that neglected and idle equipment deprives patients of essential health services.
The PAC report exposed substandard staff housing at Arua Hospital, with some units deemed unfit for occupation, posing risks to staff health and morale. Management cited budget cuts as the cause. Namugga emphasized that poor living conditions hinder service delivery, recommending that the Ministry of Health secure funding to renovate staff quarters.
In the 2023/24 financial year, Arua Hospital received UGX 15.15 billion, spending UGX 15.14 billion, with only UGX 0.01 billion unutilized, reflecting near-full budget absorption.
