The contractor responsible for the delayed Weija Children’s Specialist Hospital project has reportedly been arrested and detained by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) shortly after attending a meeting with the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, at the Ministry of Health on Friday.
According to information available, the contractor had travelled from the United States specifically to honour an invitation from the Health Minister to discuss the completion and operationalisation of the long-delayed World Bank-funded hospital project.
The meeting followed assurances by the Health Minister in Parliament earlier this week that the contractor had requested to be physically present in Ghana to resolve all outstanding issues delaying the handover of the facility.
Details surrounding the contractor’s arrest have not yet been officially disclosed by EOCO or the Ministry of Health. It is therefore unclear whether the detention is directly linked to procurement concerns surrounding the project or to other ongoing investigations.
The reported arrest comes amid growing public pressure on government to open the 120-bed children’s specialist hospital, which has remained idle despite the completion of most construction works and the recruitment of staff.
Addressing Parliament on July 8, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh attributed the delay to the contractor’s failure to complete outstanding works and formally hand over the facility.
According to the Minister, although the Ministry has assembled the full complement of staff required to run the hospital, critical installations and some medical equipment remain outstanding, preventing the facility from becoming operational.
He stressed that once the contractor hands over the project, the hospital could begin serving patients within 24 hours.
Background
The Weija Children’s Specialist Hospital was constructed under the World Bank’s COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project at a cost of approximately US$10.5 million.
The modern 120-bed facility is expected to become one of Ghana’s leading referral centres for specialised paediatric healthcare, serving children in Greater Accra and neighbouring regions while reducing pressure on facilities such as the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
However, the project has been dogged by procurement challenges. The World Bank previously declared about US$3.8 million in medical equipment procurement as “misprocurement” after a post-procurement review found significant pricing irregularities, resulting in the cancellation of that portion of project financing.
The World Bank has since urged the Government of Ghana to urgently complete the remaining works, install outstanding equipment, satisfy environmental and safety requirements, and operationalise the hospital to improve access to specialised healthcare for children.
As of Friday evening, neither EOCO nor the Ministry of Health had issued an official statement explaining the reasons for the contractor’s arrest. Further details are expected as investigations continue.
