Health News of Friday, 4 February 2022
Source: classfmonline.com
Contractors blamed for partly contributing to abandoned projects
The Member of the Parliamentary Select-Committee on Health and Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda Constituency in the Eastern Region, Mr. Alexander Akwasi Acquah has assigned reasons that led to many of the health projects started by the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration abandoned by the Akufo-Addo-led government.
According to him, the contractors who won the contract to build many of the abandoned health projects across the country failed to provide the funds for the start of the projects as per the contract terms.
He further explained that counterpart funding is a situation where the contractors are expected to contribute a percentage of the total contract sum for the project.
“Others were waiting on the government to provide their funds for the start of the projects, hence the projects being abandoned for lack of funding,” he stated.
He disclosed that many of the health projects were co-funded and not solely funded by the government of Ghana.
Mr. Acquah assigned these reasons for many of the abandoned health projects in an interview with Kwame Obeng Sarkodie on the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM on Friday, February 4, 2022.
He said the contracts were awarded with a condition for them to raise a certain amount of money for the completion of the project.
He added that because the contractors were unable to raise their part of the funding for the projects, these projects have been abandoned.
He mentioned some of the completed projects as the Kwabenya hospital which is now serving as a COVID-19 treatment centre adding that nine more are underway in Ayensuano, Efijai among others.
He noted that funding criteria for many of the health projects abandoned under the New Patriotic Party’s administration have been the major challenge for the completion of some of these projects.