Member of Parliament for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak, has asserted that the government never intended to reconstruct the La General Hospital and only did so to win the 2020 general election.

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According to Mr Muntaka, government should have ensured funding would not be a challenge before it brought down the structure.

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"The Minister being a chartered accountant and all that will know that you will not dare step forward to commence a project when you are not certain, ensure of the readiness of funds. The first thing any reasonable person would have done will be first, get a makeshift structure that you can move almost all the facilities so the hospital will still be running," the Asawase MP said.

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In his explanation, Mr Muntaka made reference to the Health Minister, Agyemang Manu's submission provided to the House on Tuesday, November 14, which in part says "submission of proposal for value for money was done in May 2020."

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He also indicated that, per the Health Minister's submission, "completion of value-for-money audit following the issuance of insurance coverage by Synosure was done in March 2022."

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"Two solid years to do value for money. Mr Speaker it clearly shows that there was no commitment," Mr Muntaka added.

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He also cited Page 3 of the Minister's response which reads "following the submission of the advance payment request by the Ministry of Finance to be paid by Stanchart, the lead arranger, it came to light that one of the creditors, as part of the syndicate had gone under liquidation."

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Mr Muntaka questioned the Health Minister for failing to do the necessary checks on the banks to ensure they were capable of providing the funds.

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"Mr Speaker you are entering into an agreement with banks and other institutions. What checks did you do on those banks? How sure are you that they were capable of financing it. If it was a syndicate and one has gone into liquidation, what happened to the rest?" he quizzed.

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Mr Muntaka therefore came to the conclusion that the La General Hospital was demolished to enable the government win the 2020 general election.

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He based this assertion on aspects of the Health Minister's chronology of event show that signing of final contract for the reconstruction of the La General Hospital took place in July 2020; demolition of structure to make way for the new facility also in July; sod-cutting ceremony on 11th August, 2020 and commencement of preparatory work, including geotechnical studies, soil testing, and size setup for the office - September 2020.

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He noted that after September 2020, "the only time they (government) started doing anything about it was in 2022."

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"I don't anyone to tell me that all this was done because an election was pending. All it meant was to deceive the people of La," Mr Muntaka therefore said.

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Mr Muntaka entreated the Health Minister to be sincere with the public and inform them of the challenges being faced.

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"Don't raise hope when you are not sure," he said.

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In July 2020, the La General Hospital was demolished due to severe structural issues. Subsequently, President Akufo-Addo initiated the La General Hospital Redevelopment Project with a groundbreaking ceremony on August 10, 2020. However, construction has not commenced as of now.

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Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has blamed the delay in the reconstruction of the La General Hospital in Accra on the withholding of funds by the sponsors of the facility.

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Reacting to a statement made by the Member of Parliament for La Dade-Kotopon, Rita Odoley Sowah, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that the sponsors withheld the funds after Ghana entered into an engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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“Mr. Speaker, what has happened is that after the engagement with the IMF, funding from those sources that Parliament approved of, the funding has been withheld by the sponsors,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.

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“Mr. Speaker, until the nation is given a clean bill of health by the IMF, it is going to be difficult for the funding to be released. This is why the government now wants to situate it within the context of Agenda 111, and that will mean that the facility will have to be scaled down a bit.”

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But in his update in Parliament today, Mr Agyemang Manu noted that the Finance Ministry has secured €50 million in local funding for the reconstruction of the La General Hospital

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“At the 37th session of the cabinet, the president directed the Ministers of Trade and Industry, Health and Finance to find alternative sources of funding to recommence the project. Through the efforts of the three-man committee, the Minister of Finance has now identified funds locally to continue the project with the same simple work scope but a reviewed price of 50 million Euro,” he said.

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He noted that borrowing from a syndicated group to undertake the construction of the La General Hospital has checked the cost implications for financing.

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In response to this information, the Member of Parliament for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak, faulted the Minister for failing to disclose the source of funding.

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"Is it Rawlings Park or Kejetia Market or where, you want us to believe that sincerely you have found money and you are going to deal with it."

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Per the minister's briefing, the contractors have pledged to return to site when they receive the money in their account.

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For Mr Muntaka, this does not indicate the contractor's confidence in the government's ability to provide the funds.

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"You know that when there is confidence and the contractor knows proper documentation has been done, he will not ask you that give me money before I go to the site. He will go to the site, work and raise certificate for you to pay. Why is the contractor telling you that let the money hit my account first? It shows that everyone around the project does not trust what the government is saying."

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