The Ministry of Finance says it has noted with concern, speculations in the media, based on allegations by the Minority in Parliament that government had already spent GHØ636 million on the Agenda 1 1 1 even before the sod cutting of the project.
According to the Finance Ministry, as stated in paragraph 400 of the Mid-year Review Statement, the project is expected to be implemented in two phases namely; Phase 1: Pre-Contract Works; and phase 2: Construction and Execution of projects.
In a release sighted by Thinknewsonline.com, it is said "In 2020, GHØ 600 million was released to the Health Infrastructure Account at Bank of Ghana (BOG) to support the implementation of the District and Regional Hospital Projects. This is the equivalent of the 100m US Dollars as announced by Government and will be disbursed to contractors in accordance with the project work plan"
The statement further hinted that the said amount had been released into the project account at the BOG but not utilized yet adding that the project commencement has just begun.
It also noted that so far, only GHØ36million has been released as part of pre-construction mobilization.
Following the commencement of actual project execution as evident in the sod cutting ceremony of 17th August 2021, the Ministry is expected to drawdown various amounts from the account which would be managed by the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The Ministry of Finance says it is assuring the general public that Government is still committed to tackling Ghana's health infrastructure deficit and restoring the country on the path of achieving economic and social transformation.
In such regard, the Ministry will ensure the use of local teams comprising of Ghanaian consultants, project managers and construction firms to execute the project and also ensure due process during disbursement and procurement.
Below is a copy of the release:
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith
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