Chairperson of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, has defended the government’s handling of abandoned health infrastructure projects and urged the Minority to continue drawing attention to facilities left uncompleted by the previous administration.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme, Dr Nawaane said the concerns being raised by the Minority over stalled health projects mirror the approach the current government adopted while in opposition.
“What the Minority is doing now, we did the same when we were in the Minority,” he said.
His comments come after Minority members on Parliament’s Health Committee, led by Ranking Member Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, toured several health facilities in the Ashanti Region amid concerns over pressure on health infrastructure, including challenges facing the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
Dr Nawaane accused the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of leaving several projects abandoned for years.
“They should continue weeding. They left those projects there for eight years before we came to power,” he stated.
According to him, some of the facilities had deteriorated significantly due to years of neglect.
“When we went there, all the equipment had been damaged and was no longer fit for purpose. They attempted to commission the facilities, but they couldn’t,” he alleged.
The Health Committee Chair noted that the Sewua and Afari hospital projects were initiated during President John Mahama’s first term in office but remained incomplete throughout the NPP administration.
“The projects in Sewua and Afari were projects Mahama started during his first term,” he said.
Dr Nawaane explained that the government is prioritising economic stability while working to complete abandoned projects.
“When we came, the economy was in intensive care and we have started fixing it,” he said.
He stressed that the government would not resort to excessive borrowing to complete projects.
“We are not going to borrow from external sources for projects. Last year, we used our internal resources. We don’t want to go down the borrowing path anymore because we need to stabilise the economy,” he explained.
Despite the challenges, Dr Nawaane assured Ghanaians that the government remains committed to completing all unfinished health projects across the country.
“We are committed to completing all the uncompleted projects they left behind,” he added.
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