Kwaku Agyeman-Manu
The Ministry of Health says the government is on course to complete all health projects it inherited from the previous administration in 2017.
It has, therefore, denied claims that it has abandoned health projects started under the previous NDC government.
At a news conference in Accra on Wednesday, Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said no such projects had been left untouched since he assumed office in 2017, emphasising that, “Since I joined the Ministry no project has been abandoned.”
Mr. Agyeman-Manu disclosed that work on health projects such as the Kumawu, Fomena and Sekondi hospitals had continued and was expected to be completed in due course.
“The previous government had a contracting agreement we call NMS that was supposed to do about six projects. The only single project that was completed under this arrangement was the Dodowa Hospital. When we came in they were completing Kumawu, Fomena and Sekondi floor work so we did an assessment with finance and what came out was the fact that monies left couldn’t complete the projects that had not been undertaken,” he said.
The Health Minister added that, “We needed to engage, value for money audits went through, brought a report and we engaged them and luckily for us we are managing to get the contractors back to the site. We have now triggered the NMS that was even terminated before we joined and people are now working in Kumawu, people are now working in Fomena and soon these will come to completion.”
The minister added that 10 health projects, which started under the previous government in areas such as Besease, Gomoa Dewurampong, Gyamera, Mampong, and Ekumfi were completed in late 2017 and early 2018.
“So I am beginning to wonder which projects we have abandoned. Even Bekwai has been completed and is in use as we speak.
“We have triggered the continuation of Eurojet projects that were started by President Kufuor, left abandoned; it is not done now but we have completed a significant portion of this project, Tepa is online, Nsawkaw is online and Upper West Regional hospital is online,” he said.
He also noted that 12 projects, including the La and Shama hospitals which the government cut sod last year for its commencement, had been delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 second wave.
The minister, however, disclosed in the next two weeks work on all the 12 projects would commence, following the completion of the necessary processes.
“The good news is that all that we have to do on these projects have now been completed and within the next two weeks, our government alone is mobilising to 12 different sites. Shama and La, next week you will see work ongoing in these places,” he added.
Dr. Ben Ampomah Nkansah, Director of Infrastructure, MoH, added that the government had earmarked several health projects to be undertaken this year including the construction of trauma centres at Obuasi and Anyinam in the Ashanti and Eastern regions respectively and the rehabilitation of the Ngleshie Government Hospital in the Greater Accra Region.
“All these projects as I speak the contractor has moved to site and work is ongoing,” he said.
Other projects such as the construction of a Urology and Nephrology Centre at Korle-Bu, construction of a sub-regional hospital in Tema, reconstruction of the Tema Medical Stores were currently at various stages of work, Dr. Nkansah said.
Presidential Adviser on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, assured of the government’s commitment to complete all 111 hospitals under the ‘Agenda 111’ hospital project to facilitate the achievement of Universal Health Coverage.
GNA