Minister for Health, Agyemang Manu, has expressed the need for several health facilities that lack structural integrity to be pulled down.

He made this known when he appeared before Parliament on Tuesday, November 14, to answer questions on the stalled works with regards to the La General Hospital.

According to Mr Agyemang Manu, there is a need to demolish several hospitals in the country, just like the La General Hospital, to prevent the loss of lives in the future, but due to lack of funds, government is unable to do so.

He noted facilities such as the Elmina Polyclinic, the Korle-Bu surgical block, Akyem Oda Government Hospital, among others, need to be levelled for reconstruction.

"It is true, there are several hospitals in this country that need to be pulled down tomorrow morning. But you know, when you don't have adequate funding, you can't do everything at a go. Salt pond, Elmina, Oda, Korle Bu (surgical block), we need to pull down all these facilities and rebuild them," he said.

The Minister took the opportunity to inform the House that work on the Komfo Anokye Maternity block has been suspended after its demolition due to lack of funds.

"La General Hospital is not the only hospital that has been pulled down, and we are not working on it. We have pulled down Komfo Anokye Maternity Block. It was there for nearly 44 years," he said.

He also noted that there were plans to raze down the Korle Bu Maternity block for reconstruction, but due to the current La General Hospital situation, there has been a u-turn.

"We started working on the Korle Bu maternity block. Parliament approved funding, signed agreement, loan was procured, but as I speak, we have suspended work in that place because of the experience with La.

"We just haven't been able to pull down the maternity block and it is a very dangerous thing for us as I speak. We are using an adjourning land in Korle Bu unlike La, because we have lot of space to do the work," he said.

Touching on the stalled work on the La General Hospital, which has garnered the wrath of many residents and a section of the public, the Health Minister assured that government "wants to see that hospital back."

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.

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.

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).

“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.

“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.”

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

“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.

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