Deputy Ranking on the Deference and Interior Committee, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, has dismissed claims that the abandoned Afari Military Hospital is only 60% complete and requires $85 million to complete.
According to him, the government’s claim is a complete fabrication, designed to justify an outrageous payment to the contractor.
Addressing the press in Parliament on Tuesday, the Ranking Member and also MP for Atwima Kwanwoma insisted that under the previous NPP administration, the project stood at an impressive 98% completion by January 2025.
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He accused the government of manufacturing a crisis to facilitate what he described as “daylight robbery” through a backdoor payment to the contractor, Euroget De-Invest.
“Let the facts be clear,” Amankwa-Manu declared, challenging the official position of the current Defence Ministry.
He cited records from the Project Implementation Unit, which he chaired, confirming that as of September 2024, civil works were at 97.5%, architectural works at 87%, and the overall completion rate was 92.5%. He claimed this figure surged to 98% by January 2025 under the NPP.
The MP’s statement directly contradicts the update provided by Deputy Defence Minister Ernest Brogya Genfi, who recently told the press that while civil and architectural works are at 97%, the crucial biomedical and mechanical installations remain at a paltry 5%, bringing the overall completion rate down to 60%.
However, Mr. Amankwa-Manu insists the issues are purely financial and deliberately manufactured. He stated that the contractor’s alleged demand for $85 million is not just mathematically upset but indeed criminal.
He provided a detailed breakdown of payments to the contractor. He stated,” The original contract sum of $180 million (a loan) has been fully paid; An additional $19.3 million from the Government of Ghana (GoG) for delays caused by previous NDC relocations has been fully paid; and a subsequent $3 million claim was negotiated down and $2.5 million paid.
According to the MP, the only outstanding balance owed to the contractor is $500,000 . The sudden leap to an $85 million demand is, in his view, an attempt to create, loot, and share.”
The row over the Afari Military Hospital, a 500-bed facility intended to serve the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ashanti Region, has become a major political football. The NDC has blamed the previous government for the delays, while the NPP points fingers at the NDC for the project’s troubled history.
Mr. Amankwa-Manu reminded Ghanaians that the project was originally contracted in 2008 but was delayed and relocated multiple times by the NDC between 2009 and 2012, causing a six-year hiatus and costing taxpayers an additional $19.3 million.
“When the NDC left office in 2016, the project was at only 40% completion. We took it to 98%,” he stated.
The former Deputy Minister has called on the government to abandon the “fraudulent” $85 million claim immediately and pay the $500,000 owed to Euroget De-Invest to allow them to complete the remaining 2% of work.
“We will fiercely resist this scheme and protect the public purse,” he vowed.
Meanwhile, the government insists it is re-engaging the contractor and assessing the state of obsolete and stolen medical equipment at the site, vowing to salvage the project despite the alleged provocations from the opposition