Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has disclosed that the discussion regarding who gets to manage the University of Ghana Medical Centre will soon be settled for the centre to be operationalised.
“All I can say is that from tomorrow we may have some close to finality on discussions,” he told journalists at the commemoration of the World Health Day in Accra.
According him, there is no need to rush in making the facility operational because there are some things that need to be done before the place is opened for work.
“Those who claim the place is completed, I am the minister and I want to tell the Ghanaian population that the place is not completed. Parliament has approved for $50m dollar extra to continue with the facility. We cannot run MRI and imaging equipment on a national grid … the back-up generator is not there yet. There are certain little things that have not been done yet so why the rush?” he queried.
The Ministry of Health has been criticised for not operationalising the $217million facility after it was substantially completed over a year due to an impasse between the University of Ghana and the Ministry of Health.
But government has now assured that it is finalising a framework on the management module for the running of the medical centre.
In 2012, the government signed a contract with Messrs Engineering & Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the facility.
The University of Ghana designated 400 acres of land for the entire project.
The first phase of the University of Ghana Medical Centre was completed in November 2016 and was handed over to the university.
It is yet to be operational following disagreements over the legitimate manager of the facility.
About 800 personnel are needed to get the facility fully operational.
But the Ministry of Health, in recent times, is laying claims to the facility, leading to uncertainties over who has the responsibility to manage the centre.
Phase one of the project was commissioned by then President Mahama, who charged his successor Nana Akufo-Addo to work hard to ensure the facility is made fully operational.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri