According to Mr. Segbefia, the second phase of the project, which was expected to cost about 48 million dollars would be paid for by the University after an agreement was reached for the institution to guarantee the loan.

This, he said, meant that the University would be responsible for the payment of the loan for that phase of the project, and handle the running costs of the hospital after five years.

“The whole idea of this project was that there was a phase 2, which at the time, was going to cost us $48 million. That was a loan that had to be guaranteed by the University of Ghana. By so doing, it meant that when the loan is taken out, the University of Ghana would be responsible for making the payments on the $50 million, not the $217 million. That is why it was important that they had management control. The whole hospital’s running costs was going to be dealt with by government for only five years. After that the running costs plus the $50 million had to be paid for by the running of the hospital,” he said on Point Blank on Eyewitness News.

“It became imperative that Legon, that was meant to guarantee that loan was to be involved in the management of the hospital. From Day 1, it was crafted in the manner in which Legon would have some level of management control and Board of Director control of the hospital.”

The ongoing tussle between the University and the Ministry of Health over the management of the facility, has been suggested as the reason it remains idle despite being commissioned in 2016 by the President John Dramani Mahama.

Despite the initial assurance that a concrete announcement on the resolution of the impasse would be made at the end of last week, the two parties have been unable to reach a compromise.

However, Alex Segbefia stated that, while the University of Ghana would run the facility, the Health Ministry would still be involved as was the case with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) hospitals.

According to him, the only uncertainty over the management of the hospital’s facilities was in relation to the training suites which was expected to be resolved after discussions between the two stakeholders.

“I believe the [debate] over the management is a non-starter. There was always going to be Ministry of Health involvement because of the recruitment of staff, because of the people who have already been trained, we sent people to Israel for training. That was already on the cards. The Ministry of Health is not in charge of the CHAG hospitals, but we are involved in their staffing and the recruitment of staff, and we have a good liaison with them. This would have been no different. There was also a question mark as to whether we would leave the training suites with Legon on its own or to be co-managed with the Ministry of Health to ensure that we had training facilities right across the country, not just for those Legon wanted to put through training because we saw it as a national asset as well,” he said.

“The only question of complete management was with the training suites. Other than that, it was meant to be run by Legon. They would have full control at a certain point. Whether or not Legon took the decision to go with some advice as to whether they wanted to draw in expertise management to assist or not, was a matter that Legon was going to debate with the Ministry of Health. But the whole idea was that Legon was going to manage it.”

Background

The UG Medical Centre, which had its first phase completed was ready to commence operations after being inaugurated by former President John Mahama in after completion in November 2016.

The facility has been idle since the commissioning of its first phase in January 2017, because authorities of the University are at odds with the Health Ministry on who should manage the facility.

Whereas the University believes processes leading to the construction of the facility gives it a direct oversight role of the Medical Centre, the current Ministry of Health under the Akufo-Addo government thinks otherwise.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, had earlier said government currently needed about $6 million to make the facility operational, and an additional $50 million to complete the phase two of the project.

In 2012, the government signed a contract with Messrs. Engineering and Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the facility.

The University of Legon designated 400 acres of land for the entire project. About 800 personnel were said to be needed to get the facility fully operational.

There’s currently an ongoing meeting between government and the University management as well as other stakeholders on the way forward.

Blame NDC for non-functional CHPS compounds – Segbefia

Also speaking on the state of non-functional CHPS compounds in the country, Alex Segbefia conceded that the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration should be held responsible for some of the abandoned facilities.

According to him, a major reason for the sad state of affairs, was the lack of accommodation for staff.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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[contextly_sidebar id=”LDKKmunC91xkhJ2QErJ2UiYDs1DR192b”]Sources closely involved with the project had early on revealed to Citi News that an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Health and the University of Ghana in 2015, which gave ownership of the $217 million facility to the university.

Following this agreement, the university established a company, the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC) Limited to serve as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will oversee the operations of the facility.

But the Ministry of Health in recent times, is laying claim to the facility, leading to uncertainty over who has the responsibility to manage the centre.

Mr. Casely Hayford on Citi FM’s News Analysis Programme, The Big Issue, said a decision to sell the facility to a private entity will resolve the impasse between the two parties.

“Sell the facility to a private institution and let them brand it. They [UG] have set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The SPV is suppose to take over and run it as a private company but it will not work because government still wants a part of the pie,” he suggested.

He also wondered why the Public Services Commission and Parliament had not yet summoned the University of Ghana and the Ministry over the issue.

“The Public Services Commission should call government and the University of Ghana and sort the issue. This thing has been raging from time to time but who is responsible? Which institution or body is responsible? If it is Public Services Commission, what are they sitting down doing when we have a facility that is going to waste? Exactly what is Parliament doing?

“Isn’t there a sub committee in Parliament responsible for healthcare so why have they not been called to book? Why has Parliament not summoned the University of Ghana people and the government and sat them down and said; you must solve this problem, we are giving you 30 days. “

Mr. Hayford’s suggestion comes a day after the Ghana Medical Association [GMA] called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to bring an end to what it described as the “unhealthy tussle” over the facility.

Background

The UG Medical Centre, which has its first phase completed and ready to commence operations, was inaugurated by former President John Mahama in 2016.

Whereas the University believes processes leading to the construction of the facility gives it a direct oversight role of the Medical Centre, the current Ministry of Health under the Akufo-Addo government thinks otherwise.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, had earlier said government currently needs about $6 million to make the facility operational, and an additional $50 million to complete the phase two of the project.

Fight for UG Medical centre

The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, has also charged the current university administration to fight to ensure that they have overall control of the Medical Centre.

“The University needs to stand up and fight for what is rightfully its property,” he noted in a Citi News interview.

1,400 staff were shortlisted

A former Deputy Health Minister, Rojo Mettle Nunoo recently said about 1,400 personnel had already been shortlisted and ready to be recruited as staff of the Medical Centre before the John Mahama administration was kicked out of office.

According to him, a total of 28,000 applied to work for the Centre, out of which 1,400 were selected.

Mr. Nunoo said the previous government had an adequate plan in place on the way forward for the Centre, adding that all was set for the facility to be operational before the NDC left office.

“Government will pay salaries so we got the Public Service Commission to agree to the establishment of the hospital and 28,000 people applied to be staff of the hospital. We did interviews and the first round of over 1,400 or so people were identified and appointment letters were going to be given. The Fair Wages Commission had also agreed with the salary structure of the hospital and given approval,” he said in a Citi News interview last week.

Citi News has in the last few days also exposed a number of health projects undertaken by successive governments which cost the taxpayer several millions of dollars but have been abandoned.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The 217 million dollar facility has not been put to use since the commissioning of its first phase about a year ago. Authorities of the University have disagreed with the Health Ministry on the appropriate management to be adopted.

According to sources, Cabinet’s expected discussion has been necessitated by Citi FM’s sustained campaign for the operationalization of the facility, and other abandoned health amenities across the country.

Background

The Medical Centre, which has its first phase completed and ready to commence operations, was inaugurated by former President John Mahama in 2016.

Whereas the University believes processes leading to the construction of the facility gives it a direct oversight role of the Medical Centre, the current Ministry of Health under the Akufo-Addo government thinks otherwise.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, had earlier said government currently needs about $6 million to make the facility operational, and an additional $50 million to complete the phase two of the project.

Fight for UG Medical centre

The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, has also charged the current university administration to fight to ensure that they have overall control of the Medical Centre.

“The University needs to stand up and fight for what is rightfully its property,” he noted in a Citi News interview.

1,400 staff were shortlisted for UG Medical Centre

A former Deputy Health Minister, Rojo Mettle Nunoo, has said about 1,400 personnel had already been shortlisted and ready to be recruited as staff of the Medical Centre before the John Mahama administration was kicked out of office.

According to him, a total of 28,000 applied to work for the Centre, out of which 1,400 were selected.

Mr. Nunoo said the previous government had an adequate plan in place on the way forward for the Centre, adding that all was set for the facility to be operational before the NDC left office.

“Government will pay salaries so we got the Public Service Commission to agree to the establishment of the hospital and 28,000 people applied to be staff of the hospital. We did interviews and the first round of over 1,400 or so people were identified and appointment letters were going to be given. The Fair Wages Commission had also agreed with the salary structure of the hospital and given approval,” he said in a Citi News interview last week.

Citi News has in the last few days exposed a number of health projects undertaken by successive governments which cost the taxpayer several millions of dollars, but have been abandoned.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & bSixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The Deputy Minister had alleged that the former Vice Chancellor and two other persons – former Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle Nunoo, and Prof. Aaron Nii Lante Lawson, have registered the University of Ghana Medical Center in their names.

“It will shock Ghanaians to hear that a limited liability company such as the facility has been registered in the names of Rojo Mettle Nunoo, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey and one Prof. Aaron Nii Lante Lawson in their respective names” the deputy minister reportedly said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”SvDUXGcZCF7q0ND3xcxrpePSeMwd3Jwi”]But speaking to Citi News’ Caleb Kudah, the former University of Ghana Vice Chancellor said the Deputy Minister lied.

“Lying to the people of Ghana that the company was registered in my name is unacceptable, it’s completely unacceptable.  It is a lie and he knows it. His Minister made an earlier lie and the fact that they continue with this lie is what annoys me. So you have a deputy minister and a minister of health lying about a public facility, lying about an individual or individuals and yet they perpetuate it. They go all with it hoping to create a bad name for me,” he noted.

Prof. Aryeetey explained that the Deputy Minister’s claim suggests that he is clueless on how companies are registered in the country, adding that the hospital was registered in the name of the University of Ghana.

He explained that when registering companies, there is the need to provide the names of the directors, adding that in this case, he was authorized as Vice Chancellor, while Prof Lawson was authorized as the Project Manager by the University Council to front for the hospital.

Confusion over the Medical centre

The Medical Centre, which cost about $217 million is still not operational, although the phase one has been completed for about a year now.

There is currently a tussle between the Ministry of Health and the University over the rightful managers of the facility.

Whereas the Ministry of Health believes it is the appropriate body to properly manage the facility, authorities at the University think otherwise.

Following the public uproar over the delay in opening the facility, the Ministry of Health further disclosed that it needs about $6 million to make it operational.

Health Ministry can’t claim ownership of Medical Centre

Prof. Ernest Aryeetey in the interview further challenged the Ministry of Health to provide evidence indicating that they must take ownership of the University’s Medical Center.

Prof. Aryeetey insisted that the hospital was never built for the Ministry, and charged the University to rise up and fight for its property.

“It was never built for the Ministry of Health, and I’m challenging the Ministry of Health or anybody with any information that the hospital was built for the Ministry of Health to come out and give us the evidence. The hospital is at Legon because Legon asked for it.”

Clueless Minister

Prof. Aryeetey also lambasted the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, saying he does not understand his job as the Minister.

“He hasn’t understood it, and because he is adding mischief to his lack of understanding it is leading to this kind of mess we have here. The University needs to stand up and fight for what is rightfully its property,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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There has been a tussle between the Ministry of Health and the University over the control of the facility which has been abandoned for nearly a year, since the completion of the first phase.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xT31zBC0eQz1wSkvbJjKt8EJhSj8L4d3″]The installation of all the necessary medical equipment for operations at the facility to commence are in place.

The Minority in a statement said it found it unfortunate, government’s moves to take over the facility since UG had signed an agreement with the Health Ministry, to entrust full ownership of the medical centre to the school.

“In 2015, the University of Ghana signed an agreement with the Ministry of Health in respect of the ownership, management and continued funding requirements of the University of Ghana Hospital and to entrust ownership of the hospital fully to the University of Ghana. This Hospital had been part of a bigger plan of the University of Ghana to develop a comprehensive Medical Centre towards achieving independence in medical education, research and care in a sustainable manner.

“This is why the Minority regards as unfortunate the overt gestures of the Minister of Health to derail well thought out plans by several governments over the years and to claim and wrestle ownership of the Hospital from the University of Ghana. The latter has the mandate to produce quality health professionals for health care delivery and to prosecute research to address national health challenges which ultimately would lead to improved health security for the nation,” excerpts of the statement said.

The 617-bed facility has ultra-modern medical gadgets for treating complicated medical conditions, and a helipad to airlift patients with emergency cases as well as a medical hotel.

Background

The government of Ghana in 2012 under the former President John Evans Atta-Mills entered into an agreement with Messrs Engineering and Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the Center.

According to former deputy Minister of Health, Rojo Mettle Nunoo, the original plan of the government was to allow the University of Ghana to manage the facility but the facility after its face phase was inaugurated by former President John Mahama on January 6, 2017 is still not in use because the Ministry of Health wants to take over its management.

Last week, cabinet gave a directive for the Ministry’s take over the facility, leading to some national security operatives storming the premises.

Although the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Robert Cudjoe had denied that the national security operatives were there to take over the facility, he argued that the Ministry need to take over management of the facility because it had oversight responsibility for all health facilities in the country.

“The Ministry is taking over, just like it is mandated to ensure the health of the populace for national development. All health-related facilities in Ghana, both public and private all fall under the purview of the Ministry of Health, so it was strange for anybody to say that a particular hospital shouldn’t have the ministry of health coming close,” Robert Cudjoe said in a Citi News interview.

We need $6m to run $217m UG Medical Centre – Gov’t

Meawnhile, a Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, has said an amount of 6 million US dollars is needed to begin operations at the University of Ghana Medical Centre.

According to him, the first phase of the Medical Centre, which cost 217 million dollars to establish, is yet to be completed because of the lack of funds needed for its operationalization.

“The hospital has not been officially handed over to the Ministry, it is not complete, as we speak now, the operationalization is not like the working capital, we need to put certain things in place before the hospital can be open to the public,” he said.

Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu said his outfit also needs an additional 50 million US dollars to complete the second phase of the project.

Presidency intervenes in UG, MoH impasse over Medical Centre

In the latest development, the Ministry of Health, University of Ghana and the Ministry of Education, have resolved to amicably settle their differences to ensure a quick operationalization of the 217 million-dollar University of Ghana Medical Centre, following an intervention by the Presidency in the impasse.

The parties, in a meeting convened at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday, reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the project which was commissioned by former President John Mahama in January 2017.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The Medical Centre, which has been equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities was inaugurated in January 2017 by former President John Mahama, but nearly a year down the down line, the facility is yet to be operational.

There is currently a tussle between the University of Ghana and the Ministry of Health as to who should manage the centre.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Ft2nI2n4Aw7ej21bMx12C3dioHB1uVoH”]Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, a Deputy Minister of Health, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, was unable to give timelines for the operationalization of the facility.

He said: “I wish I could give you a timeline, don’t forget I’m only a deputy minister, I report to a Minister, he has the programme; he will be able to tell you we can get it done tomorrow or the next day. But as far as I’m concerned, my boss and myself are moving heaven and earth to make sure we operationalize the hospital as soon as practicable…I cannot tell you something I’m not sure of… I’m not in the driving seat, I haven’t discussed this with my boss so I cannot give you any hope. How can I give deadlines when I’m not in the driving seat.”

The Deputy Minister further explained that, the operationalization of the facility has delayed because a sum of $6 million is needed to  put finishing touches to first phase of the project, but added that his outfit is supposed to do value for money assessment before the amount is released.

“What has been almost completed is the first phase. There’s a phase two that needs to be completed, and indeed even to operationalize it, it is estimated that we need another $6 million and to finish the phase two, we need about $50 million.”

Mr. Gyedu argued that, the value for money assessment is necessary to ensure that the tax payer is not shortchanged.

“I believe that as a prudent government we need to sit down and do the right thing and be sure that if we are going to pump the tax payers $6 million into a project that was originally supposed to cost less than the amount of money that has been spent, we need to do due diligence to be sure that indeed the $6 million we are pumping in is worth $6 million so that when we operationalize the hospital, we will not open ourselves up for any probe,” he added.

Tussle on who manages the Medical Centre

On the tussle regarding who should manage the facility, Mr. Gyedu said Cabinet is handling the issue and will give a directive on it in due course.

“So Cabinet’s decision was that halt all the hullabaloo for the Ministry of Health to look for the $50 million funding to do the phase two, whilst we wait for further deliberations for Cabinet to take a final decision on who should operationalize it,” he said.

Click here for the full interview of the Deputy Minister on the Citi Breakfast Show:

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Gov’t doesn’t know when UG Medical Centre will be operational [Audio] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the first phase of the Medical Centre, which cost 217 million dollars to establish, is yet to be completed because of the lack of funds needed for its operationalization.

[contextly_sidebar id=”cktvm7XkUQb8veVP964f0k8xyHVktHPP”]“The hospital has not been officially handed over to the Ministry, it is not complete, as we speak now, the operationalization is not like the working capital, we need to put certain things in place before the hospital can be open to the public,” he said.

Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu said his outfit also needs an additional 50 million US dollars to complete the second phase of the project.

He noted that it would be better to seek a loan to complete both phases of the project in order to save the Ministry from unnecessary interest charges that would be incurred by borrowing for the completion of each phase separately.

“The Chief of Staff summoned a meeting of high powered members of Cabinet. We met and the issue has been resolved, so as far as I know, my boss and my Ministry are actually looking for the 50 million to complete the phase two of the project, while Cabinet takes steps to resolve the operationalization, ”he said.

“Going for a loan of just 6 million dollars will be more expensive because every loan comes with process fees, commitment fees and other incidental costs. So to minimize the cost it will be worth our while looking for a bulk loan to the operationalization and completion of phase two,” Mr. Gyedu said.

Background

In 2012, the government signed a contract with Messrs. Engineering and Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the facility.

The University of Legon designated 400 acres of land for the entire project.

The first phase of the University of Ghana Medical Centre was completed in November 2016 and was handed over to the university.

It is yet to be operational following disagreements over the legitimate manager of the facility.

About 800 personnel are needed to get the facility fully operational.

But the Ministry of Health in recent times is laying claims to the facility, leading to uncertainties over who has the responsibility to manage the centre.

Phase one of the project was commissioned by then President John Mahama, who charged his successor Nana Akufo-Addo to work hard to ensure the facility is made fully operational.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We need $6m to run $217m UG Medical Centre – Gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, amid the apparent impasse between the Ministry of Health and the University of Ghana, the former Deputy Minister indicated that, a number of requests were made with regards to the management of the facility.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qLZE4tDsRa7gXxsqn9a4PQ8p2QZ1yLGF”]But “there was no doubt as to who was going to be the beneficiary of the project. The project was a relocation of the College of Health Sciences from the Korle Bu campus to the University of Ghana.”

He added that the then-president John Atta Mills was very clear “Legon needed a five-star teaching hospital that had all the necessary facilities and capacity to provide for medical professional training at the highest level.”

Sources closely involved with the project had already revealed to Citi News that an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Health and the University of Ghana in 2015, which gave ownership of the $217 million facility to the university.

Mr. Mettle-Nunoo explained further that “the Ghana health service runs government hospitals, but teaching hospitals do not come under the Ghanaian Health Service. They are run by independent boards.”

In 2012, the government signed a contract with Messrs Engineering and Development Consultant (EDC) of Israel to build the first phase of the facility which was commissioned in January 2017.

Mr. Mettle-Nunoo said he was “very clear at the time that this was a project that would be managed by the Univesity of Ghana and that is how Professor John Evans Atta Mills also understood it.”

Hospital awaiting financial clearance

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Professor Mohammed Salifu, who also spoke on Eyewitness News, said: “the hospital is supposed to be managed by a special purpose vehicle that is incorporated by the University of Ghana.”

As far as the delays are concerned, he said issues having to do with financial clearance had to be finalized, as its management was in the process of recruiting staff.

“The first tranche was for some 400 core staff to be employed that elapses this December. We have just gotten another one for 389 that will be effected from first January [2018]. So the staff has to be in place before the facility is used.”

Some 800 personnel are said to be needed to get the facility fully operational.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post UG Medical Centre intended to be managed by Legon – Mettle-Nunoo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Several traders, after being ejected from their shops at the Nkrumah Circle, have now set up their structures under the flying beam and along the main road adjacent to the construction site to sell their goods.

Items being sold by traders at the Circle area include; second hand clothing, phones, food stuffs and electrical items.

Speaking to citifmonline.com, most of the traders insisted they have no intention of leaving the area as they had nowhere to go having been displaced prior to the destruction of the footbridge.
“They cannot sack us from here because the chief contractor gave us permission to sell here because he had pity on us. If they sack us, we will come back here because we cannot engage in armed robbery” – she said

Meanwhile, the Safety Officer at the site a contractor on site, Andrew Kofi Amoateng has warned that the refusal of the traders to move from the construction site could result in a possible delay of the project and has called on authorities to intervene since several attempts by contractors to relocate these traders have so far proved futile.

“We have sacked them several times, they go and come back again. When we ask the AMA to take their things away, they will go and bring them back here again.  If something happens to them they will say it is the construction workers. This can affect our schedule because when you block something it is difficult for that thing to move forward.”

About the three-tier interchange at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle 

The Kwame Nkrumah Circle is a key intersection in the major road network in Accra. About 84,000 vehicles use it daily and constitutes a key bottleneck in the major road network that links the suburban areas of Accra to the central business district.

The 74.88 million euro project is being jointly financed with credit from the Brazilian Government and the Ghana Government.

According to the project design, the first of the interchanges will link the Akasanoma Road to the Nsawam Road, around the Vodafone building.

The other interchange will link the Nsawam Road to the Nkrumah Avenue, around the Ghana Commercial Bank building, while the third interchange will link Ring Road Central to Ring Road West.

By: Benjamin Epton Owusu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kwame Nkrumah Circle project under threat from traders appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.