Health Story: BIDCO renovates Walukuba-Masese Health Facility. Whisper Eye reports
Both patients and staff of Walukuba-Masese Health Center,IV in the newly elevated Jinja City Council are all smiles after Bidco Uganda Limited (BUL), an FMCH company with a modern edible oil processing complex based in Masese village handed over their only health facility in the area.
On Saturday, BUL’s Chief Finance Officer, Mathew Kok led a team of the company staff who included Liu Chin Jiann (Senior Factory Manager) and Ronald Barente (in-charge of Environment, Health and Safety) to handover the renovated building that had never received any renovation t since construction in the 1960s.
According to Mathew, responding to community initiatives tops their to
do list and it explains why the hospital easily attracted their response as part of corporate social responsibility.
“At BUL, we work with the communities around us and the surrounding areas. Having received a request from the management of the then Jinja Municipal Council,we resolved to help in the renovation of the facility since it was in a bad state”, he said before appealing to the users of the facility to safe guard its current beauty.
On his part, Ronald Barente revealed that it was inevitable not to associate with the health facility since it serves a bigger population within the housing estate and the surrounding areas.
“One good turn deserves another so being closer to the housing estate,we decided to give a helping hand and it explains why we are here today. However, we need to be a little careful as we use our newly renovated facility”. he emphasised.
The Jinja City Medical Services boss, Dr. Steven Banonya noted that
the renovation was long overdue and thanked Bidco Uganda Limited for
undertaking the noble cause of giving their health facility a face lift.
“Both the staff and inpatients were enduring the dilapidated buildings
that last got a paint in the 1960s to date.
The situation has been so bad as regards the infrastructure but with the ongoing developments, the medical personnel will be motivated to give their all”, he said
Disclosing that with the outpatients department renovated, what
remains to be worked on is the maternity ward, expansion of the
inpatients ward since at the moment, they only admit children and
women and that if all goes according to the plan, an ambulance will
also be availed to the health facility
The Senior town clerk for Walukuba-Masese, Abubaker Kirunda commended the different stakeholders for supporting the initiative and that
unlike before, this time round there was no politicization of the
same.
“We have always had squabbles in the different projects undertaken but
with this renovation, there was unity of purpose with no politicization of the entire venture”, he said arguing that the health facility is strategically located and it serves thousands of many health service seekers in the area.
Constructed in the 1960s, this health facility receives over 3000 outpatients a month with over 120 deliveries monthly although they also offer other health services.
The renovation works were undertaken by Geesons Limited whose Managing Director Gurcharan Singh Sambih said it was work well done than never before.
The scope of the work involved a new roof,plaster ceiling,floor and wall tiles,all painting, new plumbing and electronical works, glazing, notice boards and wood works among others.
The total cost of this project was estimated to be close UgShs 100m.
Believing that Africa has a competitive advantage in agro – business, Bidco Uganda Limited and its Joint Venture partners ventured into achieving this edge by operation on a soil to Pan principal, with its production systems starting with the farmers and ending with the consumer.
In pursuit of this, Oil Palm Uganda Limited signed an agreement with the Uganda Government to undertake an integrated palm oil project in Kalangala District of Uganda in 2002.
Kalangala Oil Palm project was and still part of the Ugandan Government Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) initiative geared towards increasing Vegetable oil production in Uganda. The project is supported by IFAD and the World Bank with Bidco Uganda Limited and Wilmar Plantations playing a major role as the private investors.
