Independent parliamentarian Premila Kumar questioned Health Minister Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu regarding the underutilization of the $5.1 million allocated in the national budget for upgrading the Labasa Hospital.
“From the $5 million allocated for the upgrade of Labasa Hospital, less than a million dollars was used, that is, 16 percent of the budget. According to the information posted on the Parliament website, can the honourable Minister explain why?” Kumar asked during a debate on the 2024-2025 Budget in Parliament last week.
Dr. Lalabalavu explained that the low utilization of the budget was due to electrical issues encountered by the contractors.
“Because of the electricity capacity within Labasa Hospital, most of the capital projects in terms of refurbishing the A&E were put on hold,” Dr. Lalabalavu said.
He further stated that the hospital had new machines, such as a CT scan and laboratory equipment, which the current electrical supply couldn’t support.
“Due to the capacity of the electrical supply within Labasa Hospital, it cannot cater for the load of the new equipment. Additionally, the old wiring was an issue, so we brought EFL on board to conduct a complete survey of the hospital and provide a report. We should privatize the electrical work before they can commence with the completion of the work; that was the hold-up in Labasa Hospital.”
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