The Health Minister-designate, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, has disclosed that, an amount of $5 to a maximum of $7 million has been estimated per hospital by the government to undertake its district hospitals construction, with equipment inclusive.
Speaking during his vetting by the Appointment Committee today, February 10, 2020, he stated that government after considering all the equipment involved reached the amount stipulated. He also disclosed that the initial 88 hospitals proposed by the government has shot up to 111 hospitals.
“When the issue of equipment and other logistics came in, we were still thinking that a maximum of $7 million could do what we should do.
He averred that, after various surveillance in this regard, the prices for the project may vary aside the projected budget noting that, the Finance Ministry will be in the best position to determine the new one, should in case there be any.
“When the team went around, topography of land and all that, indicated that prices might not be uniformed across the country. In some places there may be escalations, in some places there might be probably lower. They are still computing and for now if I tell you how much the the total will be, it may just be an estimate of what I have already said.”
he said
Mr. Agyeman Manu stated also that, about 13 districts are yet to offer government lands for the construction of district hospitals across the country. He said the issue of land had largely contributed to delays in the construction of these hospitals.
He then assured that, the project will commence hopefully this year after the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised the commencement of the project in July 2020. Speaking as to why the project did not take effect in July, 2020 he posited that things did not go as planned but efforts are being made to commence the project.
He then disclosed also that, some issues are still pending therefore causing the delay in the execution of the project.
“That was the President’s vision which was supposed to have been translated into action. Seriously the President set the vision in motion. He set up a committee at the Presidency led by the Chief of Staff. I was a member. We pulled one or two infrastructures from our ministry. There was a representation from the Ghana Health Service too.
Mr. Agyeman Manu
“What they asked us to do immediately was to write to all the district directors for health services to allocate land and give us the site plans of where they want these district hospitals to be sited. As I speak we still have close to about 13 districts that have not completed this exercise.”
Last year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced that his government was going to commence in 88 districts the construction of hospitals to help meet the medical needs of the people and also help contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that the nation lacked infectious disease control centres dotted across the country as well as not having enough testing and isolation centres for diseases like COVD-19. million
