The Minister for Health, Honouable Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has debunked assertions by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party that the Akufo-Addo administration had abandoned health projects of the erstwhile Mahama administration.
According to the Minister, since assuming office in 2017, government had put in place measures to revive health projects, some of which dated back to days of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
He assured that government would continue to do so until all health projects would fully be completed and handed over for use.
Addressing journalists at the Minister’s Press Briefing in Accra today, the Health Minister said works on most health projects had resumed in earnest and explained that work stalled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Questions are being asked as to why some health projects have not been completed. Let me state that it looks like very soon, very quickly all of us Ghanaians are forgetting about the fact that the world was hit by a pandemic which disrupted our economic activities,” he stressed.
With the commencement of government’s much touted Agenda 111, government has come under intense criticism for abandoning some health facilities and taking to a new health infrastructure project as a way of improving the country’s health infrastructure deficit.
However, responding to the claims, Mr. Agyeman-Manu described it as erroneous as government took stock of all projects and dully audited them and has engaged contractors to move to site.
Updates on Completed Health Infrastructure Projects
The Director of Infrastructure Department at the Ministry of Health, Ben Ampomah Nkansah addressing the media.
Providing updates on the supposed health facilities that have been abandoned, the Director of Infrastructure Department at the Ministry of Health, Ben Ampomah Nkansah said a number of projects had been completed with others at various stages of completion.
He said the 300-bed capacity at Besease, Dawurampong, Biriwa, Estii Sunkwa, Binpong Egya, Gyamera Mankrong, Akonfude, Ekumfi, Naakwa and Gomoa Potsin polyclinics which started in January 2016 at a cost of €23.5M had all been completed and commissioned for use in August 2018.
Additionally, he said major rehabilitation and upgrade of the Tamale Teaching Hospitals Phase II which started in July 2015 at a cost of €38.5M had been completed and handed over for use on 27th February 2019.
He added that the 160-bed capacity at the Wa Regional Hospital and the 100-bed capacity Ga East Municipal Hospital (Kwabenya) projects which started in November 2014 under the Euroget project had been commissioned for use as of August and November 2019 respectively.
Further, Mr. Nkansah said the 60-bed capacity Euroget Tepa District hospital project which started in November 2014 was completed and handed over for use by government in October 2020.
Source: MOI (PR Unit)
