The chair of the Ghana Amalgam for Development, a youth-led civic group, Hon. Bernard Okoe Boye, also a former minister for health, has called on the government to speed up with the construction of stalled health projects across the country.
The former minister for health made the point that this call has become necessary, as many health projects started by the previous government have been halted ever since the current administration, led by H.E. John Dramani Mahama, assumed office.
According to Hon. Okoe Boye, chairman of the civic group, even though the group’s aim is to champion a course for development for Ghanaians, its aim is diverse across various sectors.
He, however, noted that the group had decided to start with the health sector first, focusing on a campaign for the completion of stalled projects across the country, their first concern being the La General Hospital.
The former health minister noted that there is so much pressure on the existing health facilities, and it will only be prudent that the government hasten up with its actions towards completing the stalled projects to ease the said pressure.
Addressing specifically the La General Hospital project, Hon. Okoe Boye stated that the previous administration, under which he was health minister, made payments to the contractor who started the project, and work was progressing steadily until the current administration took over power.
“One is that of the La General Hospital, as you speak, has been halted for almost the entire period that the NDC has been in office. When I was a minister, we worked on some of the interim payment certificates for the contractor, and that is why the project took off.”
Hon. Bernard Okoe Boye, Chairman of the Ghana Amalgam for Development.
Hon. Okoe Boye noted that the current government has made some financial allocation for the project in the 2025 budget, read by the finance minister, Hon. Dr. Ato Forson, in March 2025.
However, he claimed he could confirm that no payment has been made with regard to the said budgetary allocation.
“The 2025 budget captured 16 million Ghana Cedis that had to be allocated to La General. The finance minister has not paid one Ghana cedi to the contractor. So, as you speak, all the construction workers have been laid off.”
Hon. Bernard Okoe Boye, Chairman of the Ghana Amalgam for Development.
The chair of the Amalgam group argued that their focus on the La General Hospital stems from the conviction that it is a strategic project that will help serve the demanding health needs of the Greater Accra Region, given its rising population.
The former minister argued that the existing health facilities of the region are woefully inadequate for a population of six million people.
He noted that the existing emergency beds of health facilities across the region do not sum up to 400, which he argued is way below what is required for the region.
He stated that La General Hospital could add about 16 to 30 beds to the existing ones, which is the reason why the Amalgam Group believes the project, when completed, will help ease the pressure on the existing health facilities of the region.
Hon. Okoe Boye also revealed that the project was supposed to be financed through a loan, but due to some challenges, the agreement could not be finalized. For that reason the government had to finance the project.
He is of the view that since the government then could make payment for the project to commence, the current government can also do the same for the project to be completed.
“La General was supposed to be financed through a loan. But there were difficulties with the arrangement. So, cabinet decided that we will pay for La General from government of Ghana funds. If the past government could pay for a contractor to start with, we believe that His Excellency John Dramani Mahama and his cabinet can also pay.”
-Hon. Bernard Okoe Boye, Chairman of the Ghana Amalgam for Development.
The former minister for health also stated that 30 of the Agenda 111 hospitals have passed 30% completion and could be completed within three to six months.
He and his group therefore called on the government to hasten up with the completion of these projects to ensure that the Ghanaian populace have access to good health care.
READ ALSO: ADB Partners GhIPSS to Revolutionize Payments with Near Real Time (NRT) Transfers
