The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for
Ningo-Pampram and a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Sam
George, clashed with the Director-General of the Ghana Health Services
yesterday over the cost of the construction of the Bekwai Government
Hospital and the state’s huge NHIS indebtedness to the hospital when the
committee started its public hearing on the 2016 Auditor-General’s
report.
The Ningo-Pampram MP had questioned why a loan facility of GH¢18
million contracted in 2010 by the previous government for the
construction of the Tarkwa Government Hospital in the Western Region and
Bekwai Government Hospital in the Ashanti Region could finish the
Tarkwa Hospital completely and 80% of the Bekwai Hospital but now the
present government has gone for another loan of 22 million Euros in
December, last year for the completion of the Bekwai Hospital which is
already 80% complete.
In responding to the issue raised by the Ningo-Pampram MP, the
Director-General of GHS, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, said the amount of
GH¢18 million quoted in the Auditor-General’s report could be wrong
because GH¢18 million is too meagre to construct two hospitals and that
he thought the right figure might be $18 million.
The Director-General further explained that the 22 million Euros for
the completion of the Bekwai Hospital is not meant for the completion of
the physical structures of the facility alone but for equipping the
facility as well stressing that equipping a hospital to an average
standard could be more expensive than the physical structure.
The Ningo-Prampram MP still maintained that the extra cost for the
completion of the Bekwai Hospital is too huge and the committee ought to
assess the project’s value for money.
The ranking member of the committee, Mr Kofi Okyere Agyekum, who is
also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa
South said that the Ningo-Prampram MP might not be right if he made that
general conclusion without considering other factors that could
eventually affect the cost of the project.
According to him, the delay in completion could affect the cost of the
project while the unfortunate depreciation of the cedi over the period
that the project was left uncompleted could also affect the cost so the
Ningo-Prampram MP should consider these factors before coming to that
general conclusion.
The Ningo-Prampram MP also wanted to find out when the indebtedness of
the government with regards to NHIS which amounted to over GH¢1.2
million in the last two years was paid to the hospital.
The Director-General said government paid the amount in 10 installments
from 2017 to 2018 and that all the hospital’s arrears have been
cleared.