Former Health Minister Dr Bernard Okoe Boye has challenged the Ministry of Health to provide concrete evidence to back allegations of procurement irregularities in the construction of the Weija Paediatric Hospital.
According to Dr Okoe Boye, government officials cannot continue to make claims of procurement breaches without presenting documentary proof to support them.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Thursday, May 7, the former minister questioned what he described as contradictions in the Ministry’s statements regarding the delayed operationalisation of the facility.
He argued that claims of misprocurement are inconsistent with suggestions that the hospital could be commissioned within a few weeks.
“Someone tells you there’s misprocurement, and at the same time, they are telling you in three weeks they are going to commission. Don’t you see the contradiction?” Dr Okoe Boye queried.
The former Health Minister firmly rejected suggestions that the project was marred by procurement irregularities during his tenure, insisting that there was no “misprocurement.”
His comments come amid mounting public frustration over the delay in opening the fully completed 120-bed Weija Paediatric Hospital, which is expected to significantly improve specialised child healthcare in the Weija-Gbawe Municipality and surrounding areas.
On Tuesday, May 5, residents staged a protest at the facility, demanding its immediate commissioning and operationalisation.