The Minister for Defence in the eight-year administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dominic Nitiwul, has condemned the politicisation of the Afari hospital project.
Mr Nitiwul, whose ministry supervised the contract, says politicising the project favours the contractor, who he says is holding the nation to ransom with unreasonable demands.
“I have dealt with the contractor. He knows the politics surrounding the project, and he is taking advantage of that. If we continue to make everything political, it is Ghana that loses,” Mr Nitiwul said in an interview with this reporter.
“I don’t blame the current government for the delay in completing the project,” Mr Nitiwul said, insisting that no additional funds should be paid to the contractor for the demands made on the government.
He pointed out that the recent press conference by the minority was to draw attention to the fact that no additional funds should be paid to the contractor.
“The intention was not to blame the government for the delays,” Mr Nitiwul, who is also the MP for Bimbilla, said in an interview with this reporter.
The 500-bed military hospital at Afari was one of nine hospital contracts awarded to the Egyptian company, Euroget De-invest s.a (EDI), in November 2008.
The NPP administration led by President J. A. Kufuor left office after losing the 2008 election.
Over the eight years of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, the project was delayed in starting due to relocations, redesigns, and delays in granting tax exemptions to the contractor.
In 2008, when the contract was awarded, the military hospital was to be sited in Sofoline in Kumasi.
In 2009, the project was relocated to Tamale.
In 2010, the same project was relocated to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. Here, preparatory work began, but the project did not proceed.
In 2013, the project was relocated to its present site at Afari, near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. However, there were further delays.
The Government of Ghana changed its policy on tax exemptions, and the contract required that the contractor be given a tax exemption as a prerequisite for work to begin.
The tax exemption was finally granted in December 2016, the month the NDC lost power after eight years in office.
“We wrote to officially notify the contractor of the tax exemption in early 2017, and that was when the counting began. The contractor was supposed to complete and hand over the facility in June 2020,” Mr Nitiwul said.
Actual construction of the hospital, however, started in 2014.
The recent stalling of the project results from a disputed claim the contractor presented for payment.
While the NPP was in office, the contractor made a claim for $6.5 million and served notice of additional claims. This was contained in a letter dated July 5, 2024.
In a letter dated November 21, 2024, the then Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, disputed the claim. He said the government and the contractor had negotiated and agreed on the outstanding balance to be paid to the contractor.
“You will recall that in your letter of 14th July 2023, you agreed to the payment of $3,500,000.00, being the outstanding claim value and associated financial cost of the project. This followed discussion [sic] at which we negotiated for you to complete the project with the $3,500,000.00.”
The July 14, 2023, letter the Minister of Finance referenced was signed by Dr Said Deraz, Chairman and CEO of Euroget De-Invest s.a.
In that letter, the contractor concludes by saying: “In furtherance, we will appreciate the release of an amount of Three Million Five Hundred United States Dollars (US$3,500,000.00) to progress activities towards commissioning. This represents outstanding claims of One Million United States Dollars plus 26.5% of the associated financial costs.”
Before leaving office, the NPP administration did not pay the $6.5 million that the contractor claimed he was owed.
In a letter dated April 2, 2025, the contractor added another claim of $78.4 million, which it had notified the government of in July 2024.
This brought the total claim to the $84.9 million.
The initial contract sum was $180 million for the Afari Military Hospital. That amount has been paid in full, through government bonds, according to Mr Nitiwul. The monies in contention are additional charges the contractor presented outside the initial contract sum.
Due to delays and relocations of the site, the contractor made a claim of $30 million in 2018. This was negotiated down to $19.3 million.
“As far as I’m concerned, we have paid the contractor in full. We do not owe him anything. It will be criminal for anybody to pay the contractor any amount.”
Mr Nitiwul has advised that a firm decision should be made on the project so that the people of Ghana can benefit from the investment in the hospital.
“My recommendations are two: either they make the contractor complete the project at no additional cost, or they should terminate the contract and award a new contractor to complete it,” he said.
