Why abandon work done on 8 regional hospitals & start 6 new projects from scratch? Is this another procurement “chop chop” scheme? ~ Dr. Amoakoh

Spokesperson to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the NPP Health Committee Spokesperson, Dr. Ekua Amoakoh, has criticised the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, over his announcement of plans to commence six new regional hospital projects, questioning why the government would pursue new projects while previously planned regional hospitals remain uncompleted.

In a Facebook post titled “PROPAGANDA VS. THE FACTS: Another Case of Procurement Chop Chop!”, Dr. Amoakoh accused the Minister of failing to acquaint himself with the official handing-over notes relating to the Ghana Priority Health Infrastructure Project, popularly known as Agenda 111.

“It is deeply embarrassing when a sitting Minister of Health makes grand public announcements without reviewing the official handing over notes of the very program he is supposed to steer,” she wrote, adding that “to announce a ‘new plan’ to build 6 regional hospitals while attempting to reduce the massive Agenda 111 initiative to mere propaganda is a gross display of administrative cluelessness.”

Agenda 111 regional hospital preparations

According to Dr. Amoakoh, documentation contained in the Agenda 111 handing-over notes shows that the regional hospital component of the project was initiated and substantially prepared under the previous Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia administration.

She stated that “the construction of these regional hospitals is entirely the initiative and blueprint of the Nana Addo/Bawumia NPP government.”

Providing details, she said five proposed 160-bed regional hospitals for Ahafo (Goaso), Bono East (Techiman), Western North (Sefwi Wiawso), North East (Nalerigu), and Savannah (Damongo) had already undergone “comprehensive architectural/engineering designs and tendering processes” before the change in government.

According to her, the procurement processes for those facilities were “only placed on hold due to IMF foreign borrowing restrictions, awaiting final Ministry of Finance funding arrangements.”

She further asserted that funding arrangements for two additional regional hospitals in the Oti Region and the Western Region (Takoradi) were already being supervised by the Ministry of Health before the transition.

Questions over procurement

Dr. Amoakoh questioned the rationale behind the Minister’s proposal to initiate six new regional hospitals instead of continuing with the projects already prepared.

She asked: “Why is the Minister so eager to abandon all the meticulous progress already made on these Agenda 111 hospitals?”

She further alleged that the move could be aimed at terminating existing arrangements in order to award fresh contracts.

“Is he setting the stage to cancel existing arrangements just to grant brand-new contracts for the sake of ‘procurement chop chop’?” she questioned.

References LHIMS cancellation

The NPP health spokesperson also referred to the cancellation of the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS), arguing that it raises concerns over procurement decisions within the health sector.

She wrote: “The recent cancellation of the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) is fresh on our minds. Why cancel a functional system, only to turn around and award a new health management system for an extra $50 million? Who benefits from these costly, sudden shifts?”

Addressing the Minister directly, Dr. Amoakoh stated: “You are the steward of our health sector. You are not there to create overnight procurement millionaires or enrich yourself by canceling existing contracts just to re-award them for a cut!”

NDC healthcare promises

Beyond the regional hospital issue, Dr. Amoakoh also criticised the governing NDC over what she described as unfulfilled healthcare commitments.

She claimed the government’s promise to construct 620 Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds by the end of 2025 had not materialised.

According to her, “It vanished into thin air, exposing their complete inability to execute even a fraction of the lies they told to secure power.”

She also accused the government of failing to honour its promise of automatic postings for newly qualified nurses.

“Instead of the seamless deployment they weaponized on the campaign trail, our qualified nurses have been left stranded in a state of administrative limbo, dealing with a broken system that offers zero clarity on their future,” she stated.

Calls for competence

Dr. Amoakoh maintained that Ghanaians deserve competent leadership in the health sector and insisted that existing Agenda 111 preparations should not be discarded.

She argued that if the Minister “cannot tell the difference between starting a new project and simply inheriting a meticulously prepared, fully tendered NPP blueprint” and “cannot fulfill his party’s own basic promises,” then “he has no business running our health sector.”

She further urged the Minister to “Do the basic reading, or spare us the incompetence and step aside,” while attaching a video of the Trede District Hospital, which she claimed was completed in less than 24 months but remains non-operational “after 19 months of the mess that is the Akandoh led ministry of health.”