By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Residents of La and its adjoining communities are to heave a sigh of relief as the government announces that it has secured €50 million in local funding for the reconstruction of the La General Hospital.
Some residents of La have been up in arms with the government for some time now over the delay in reconstructing the hospital after the old buildings were demolished in 2020 due to structural defects, but work on the reconstruction project has yet to begin.
Briefing Members of Parliament (MPs) on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, the Minister of Health, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, told the House that the government, through the Finance Ministry, had identified a local alternative funding source for the project.
“At the 37th session of the cabinet, the president directed the Ministers of Trade and Industry, Health, and Finance to find alternative sources of funding to recommence the project. Through the efforts of the three-man committee, the Minister of Finance has now identified funds locally to continue the project with the same simple work scope but a reviewed price of 50 million euros,” he told MPs on the floor of Parliament.
According to the Health Minister, processes were underway to ensure payment of the contractor and that work would commence in earnest.
Reacting to the Health Minister’s briefing, MPs from the Minority side in Parliament who seemed not to be happy with the minister’s position criticised him for failing to provide clear timelines on when work will resume on the project.
The Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, dismissed the Health Minister’s claim that the government has secured €50 million in local funding for the reconstruction of the hospital project, labeling it as deceptive, given the track record of unmet assurances.
In response to the accusations by the Ranking Member of the Health Committee of Parliament, Mr. Agyemang-Manu defended himself, stating that his claims were not an attempt to deceive the public.
“We don’t intend to deceive anybody; we don’t; we pulled down the building with good intentions… but I’m sure we will work to give La the hospital that La deserves,” he reiterated.