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Minority caucus alleges government fabricating US$85 million debt for Afari Military Hospital project
via GhanaWeb3 min read
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of attempting to create a non-existent US$85 million debt for the Afari Military Hospital project, labeling it a "criminal" effort to misuse public funds. Addressing the media, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament鈥檚 Defence and Interior Committee and former Deputy Defence Minister, refuted claims by Deputy Defence Minister Ernest Brogya Genfi that the contractor, Euroget De-Invest EDI, requires US$85 million to resume work. Amankwa-Manu stated that official records from the Ministry of Defence鈥檚 Project Implementation Unit show the 500-bed hospital was 92.5 percent complete by September 2024 and 98 percent complete by January 2025. He detailed that civil works were 97.5 percent complete, architectural works 87 percent, staff housing 77 percent, and roads and landscaping 80 percent and 77 percent respectively, as of September 2024. Amankwa-Manu asserted that there is no record at the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Defence to support the US$85 million demand. He explained that the original contract sum of US$180 million has been fully paid, along with an additional US$19.3 million from the Government of Ghana. A later claim of over US$6.5 million by the contractor was negotiated down to US$3 million, with US$2.5 million already paid, leaving an outstanding balance of US$500,000. Amankwa-Manu called the jump from US$500,000 to US$85 million "mathematically absurd" and "criminal." The Minority
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