The Minority in Parliament has rejected recent claims by the Deputy Minister for Defence, Ernest Brogya Genfi, regarding the Afari Military Hospital project, accusing the government of attempting to burden the public purse with what it describes as an unjustified US$85 million payment demand for the completion of the facility.
The Minority insists that only US$500,000 remains outstanding to the contractor and has described the alleged US$85 million demand as inaccurate and an attempt to misuse state funds.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, June 16, Deputy Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, said claims that contractor Euroget De-Invest (EDI) is demanding US$85 million before returning to the site were false.
“The Deputy Minister’s assertion that the contractor, Euroget De-Invest (EDI), is demanding US$85 million before returning to the site is a manufactured crisis. Let the facts be clear: no records at the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Defence support this outrageous claim,” Mr Amankwa-Manu said.
He said the financial records of the project showed that the original contract sum of US$180 million, secured through a loan arrangement, had been fully paid.
According to him, the additional funding of US$19.3 million negotiated by the government of Ghana over delays associated with the project had also been fully settled.
“The negotiated additional funding of US$19.3 million (Government of Ghana) for delays caused by the NDC’s misguided relocations has been fully paid,” he stated.
Mr Amankwa-Manu further explained that from a subsequent US$3 million claim, which was negotiated down from more than US$6.5 million, US$2.5 million had already been paid.
He said the only outstanding amount owed to the contractor was US$500,000.
“The only outstanding amount owed to the contractor is US$500,000,” he said.
The Deputy Ranking Member questioned why the outstanding balance had allegedly been linked to a much larger figure of US$85 million.
“To jump from an outstanding balance of US$500,000 to a sudden demand for US$85 million is not just mathematically absurd; it is criminal,” he stated.
Mr Amankwa-Manu warned against any attempt to approve what he described as a newly generated and unjustified claim.
“Any attempt to use the back door to pay this newly generated, unjustified amount of US$85 million can only be described by the popular Ghanaian cliché: ‘Create, Loot, and Share,'” he said.
He added that the Minority would resist any move that did not represent value for money and accountability in the management of the project.
“We will fiercely resist this scheme. We demand value for money, and we will protect the public purse. The government must immediately abandon this fraudulent US$85 million claim, pay the outstanding US$500,000, and ensure the contractor completes the remaining 2% of the work without further delay,” he said.
