The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, has asked the government to pay up all its utility bills in agencies and entities that have accumulated over time.

She made these remarks during the plenary sitting at parliament on November 16, 2023, where she said that some of the entities that face challenges with water and electricity, including hospitals and police barracks, have been cut off due to failure to pay up their bills.

“Something came up on issues of water and power in most of these institutions. You find a police barracks does not have water; the hospital and nurse’s quarters have no water or electricity,“ she said.

She stated that the government should have discussions and see how some of these issues can be resolved.

She said that the police officers who are guarding the citizens should not be in dark places and without water in a barracks because it demoralizes them to protect people who do not take their basic needs into consideration.

According to the United Nations Development Program, 50% of public health centers in Uganda do not have access to electricity, and functionality of installed solar PV systems remains at below 50% due to inadequate operation and maintenance