Okoe-Boye: Work Began on Parliamentary Hospital (Says Funds Covered Valid Pre-Construction Costs)
Former Minister of Health Bernard Okoe-Boye has denied claims that no work was done on the proposed Parliamentary Service Hospital. He said that a lot of work was done to get the project ready before it was put on hold. He said on Adom FM that the Ministry of Health Ghana oversaw the project after the District Assemblies Common Fund started it. This included choosing a contractor through a sole-sourcing process that the Public Procurement Authority approved in December. He said that the project, which was worth about $46 million, had a 15% advance payment structure with protections like a bond. However, only about 2.5% of the money was actually released to hire the contractor. He said that important groundwork like designs, consulting services, insurance arrangements, and administrative tasks had already been done. His comments come after the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament looked into GH₵20 million in funds for a project that hasn’t even started yet. Dr. Okoe-Boye said that the project stopped because the government changed, which meant that the site had to be moved and the current government wasn’t interested in continuing it. He denied claims that money had been wasted, saying that infrastructure projects have necessary costs before construction starts and that there were financial protections in place.
