Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Abura Asebu-Kwamankese, has refuted claims that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government built the second phase of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC).
Speaking on the Point of View on Channel One TV on Wednesday, he asserted, “They have not built a phase two of UGMC. They didn’t build anything in phase two. The UGMC consists of eight separate buildings all of which by January 4th, 2017 were in place. They have not added any new buildings. The project cost $217 million.”
“It was a 650-bed hospital that we left. The only addition is an eight-unit bungalow. Phase one had a 32-unit bungalow. When you add an eight-unit bungalow, you don’t say that you’ve built phase two. There were also soft additions like IT connectivity and training of staff.”
Ofosu emphasised that the UGMC was designed as a 1,000-bed hospital, and the most the current government could do was add additional beds.
“So please, you have not built a phase two. It was designed as a 1,000-bed hospital. So, the most you can do is to add additional beds, but all eight buildings were in place as of January 4th, 2017, when President Mahama commissioned it. By September 2016, it had been fitted with equipment,” he added.
His comments followed debates about the contributions of the NPP government to the healthcare infrastructure in Ghana.
