The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has attributed the delay in operationalising the 120-bed Children’s Specialist Hospital at Weija to the contractor’s failure to complete and hand over the facility.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, July 8, Mr Akandoh said the Ministry of Health is ready to commence operations immediately once the outstanding works are completed and the hospital is officially handed over.
According to him, the World Bank-funded project has faced procurement-related challenges during construction, resulting in delays in its completion.
“Mr Speaker, I inherited the project. It’s a World Bank-funded project, and in the course of the construction, the World Bank raised issues of what we call misprocurement, and so we had to deal with the issues of misprocurement,” he told the House.
The Minister explained that although the hospital is largely completed, some critical works, including the installation of medical equipment, remain outstanding, preventing the contractor from handing over the facility to the Ministry.
He disclosed that the Ministry has held several meetings with the contractor to resolve the remaining issues and is scheduled to meet again on July 10 after the contractor requested to be present in person.
“The last meeting will take place on the 10th of this month. The contractor is not in the country at the moment, and it was his request to be available personally for us to conclude the outstanding matters,” Mr Akandoh said.
The Health Minister dismissed claims that government was intentionally delaying the opening of the hospital, stressing that inspections conducted by the Ghana Health Service confirmed that parts of the project remain unfinished.
He assured Parliament that the Ministry has already recruited the full complement of staff required to operate the specialist facility and could begin services within 24 hours after the project is officially handed over.
“I can assure you that if the project is handed over this morning, within the next 24 hours, we don’t even need any fanfare. We will commission the project because we have the full complement of staff for that particular facility,” he stated.
The Minister’s comments come in the wake of criticism from residents of Weija-Gbawe, who in May staged a demonstration demanding the immediate opening of the fully furnished hospital, arguing that the facility is needed to improve specialist healthcare for children and ease pressure on existing health institutions.
READ ALSO:
Health Minister calls for justice after Sayerano shooting claims three lives
Heavy rains expose quality of road construction practices across Ghana – Minister
