The Minority in Parliament has raised concerns over what it describes as a sharp escalation in costs and alleged mismanagement surrounding the Afari Military Hospital project, warning that attempts to approve new payments could amount to “criminal” misuse of public funds.
On June 10, 2026, Minority members of Parliament’s Health Committee visited the yet-to-be-operational 500-bed Afari Military Hospital and expressed concern over delays in commissioning the facility, warning that the setback is hampering efforts to improve healthcare delivery in the Ashanti Region.
The MPs criticised the John Mahama administration for what they described as its failure to complete and operationalise stalled health infrastructure projects across the country, and called for urgent action to bring the facilities into use.
The government, in its defence, said that the contractor had demanded the settlement of alleged arrears of $85 million before returning to the site.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the Member of Parliament for Atwima Kwanwoma, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, said the financial claims linked to the project were unjustifiable.
“The $85 million, it’s not just mathematically absurd, it is indeed criminal,” he said, arguing that the figures being discussed reflected deeper problems in the project’s financial management.
The Minority also framed the issue as part of a broader pattern of what it called poor handling of the project over time, pointing to repeated cost revisions and delays.
The caucus claimed that the project’s history showed how political and administrative decisions had contributed to inflated costs.
“The Afari Hospital story is a testament to NDC’s mismanagement,” Amankwa-Manu said, alleging that changes to the project’s location and execution timeline contributed to delays and additional financial claims by the contractor.
According to him, the project, originally contracted in 2008, was significantly delayed after changes in government and subsequent relocations, which he argued triggered additional compensation demands.
He further claimed that what began as a substantially lower contract value had escalated into a disputed figure now being described as an additional $85 million, which the Minority says is unacceptable.
“Let the record show, as of December 2016, the project stood at only 40% complete,” he said, adding that progress only accelerated much later before reaching near completion years afterwards.
The Minority insists that the current government must reject what it describes as inflated claims and instead focus on completing the remaining work without further financial adjustments.
“We will fiercely resist this scheme. We demand value for money, and we will protect the public purse,” Amankwa-Manu said, warning that any approval of the disputed amount would amount to what he called a “create, loot, and share” arrangement.
