The Minister for Health, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, has announced that the government has concluded negotiations, identified new funding, and is in the process of advancing negotiations for contractors to re-mobilize to the La General Hospital site and commence construction work.
This announcement comes after concerns were raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) about the delayed progress on the La General Hospital Project.
The La General Hospital was demolished in July 2020 due to severe structural problems reported by the hospital’s administration. In response, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo initiated the Hospital Redevelopment Project with a sod-cutting ceremony on August 10, 2020. However, construction work has yet to commence.
Mr. Agyemang-Manu assured that the project will soon come back to life, promising to provide more details once the negotiations are finalized.
In a related development, Mr. Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker, directed the Health Minister to brief the House on the state of the La General Hospital.
Meanwhile, the Majority Leader, Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, attributed the delay in the reconstruction of the hospital to the withholding of funds by the project’s sponsors, particularly after Ghana entered into an engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained that funding from approved sources had been withheld due to the IMF engagement, making it difficult for the government to proceed.
As a result, the government aims to incorporate the project within the context of Agenda 111, which may necessitate scaling down the facility.
Several MPs have called for the government to allocate a budget towards the La General Hospital Project in the upcoming budget presentation to ensure the commencement of work on this vital healthcare facility.
