Fact-Check: Mills, Mahama governments did not abandon Euroget projects

Dr Gideon Boako, Spokesperson for the Vice-President, in an interview on Suyani-based Sompa FM, claimed the Mills/Mahama governments abandoned health infrastructure initiated by the Kufuor administration.

According to him, 9 health facilities that were supposed to be built under the Euroget agreement signed with European-Egyptian company, Euroget De-Invest S.A., were left unattended to after the NDC governments led by Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills and later, John Mahama assumed office.

He said it took the Akufo-Addo-led administration, which took over power in 2017, to continue and complete the building of the facilities. He made the claim on July 27, 2024.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified Gideon Boako’s claims and presents the facts as follows.

Claim: “President Kufour initiated something called Euroget Project, an initiative to construct hospitals. The Mills/Mahama governments abandoned the projects. The Akufo-Addo government continued works on them and has since completed them.”

Verdict: False

Explanation:

In April 2008, the government of President John Agyekum Kufour signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with European-Egyptian company, Euroget De-Invest S.A. for the building of eight hospitals and a military hospital, costing US$339 million and US$180 million respectively under the Ghana Hospital Project.

The health facilities that were to be constructed under the MoU included two regional hospitals each in Kumasi, specifically at Sewua, and in Wa as well as a 500-bed Military Hospital at Afari, also in Kumasi.

The MoU also included the building of six district hospitals at Nsawkaw, Madina, Konogo-Odumasi, Salaga, Twifo Praso and Tepa.

According to media reports, Cabinet and Parliament approved the agreement in October and November 2008 respectively. (See here).

The 2009 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented in March 2009 captured the projects under the “Project and Programme Loans as at end 2008”. (Appendix 12).

Then Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama was said to have launched the project in Wa in the Upper West Region on July 31, 2010, and also, cut sod for the construction of the 160-bed Wa Regional Hospital.

The commencement of works on the projects, however, faced a setback “due to the difficulty Euroget De-Invest SA was facing with raising the requisite financing based on the unconfirmed promissory notes issued by the government,” according to John Jinapor, who was then the Spokesperson for John Mahama

The Euroget Group in November 2011 contracted Barclays Bank Plc, U. K. and Absa Capital South Africa to raise funds for the project.

Barclays Bank through Absa Capital, in a letter dated August 24, 2012, sought approval from the Ministry of Finance to raise the funding.

The approval was, subsequently given, according to media reports and works later commenced on the various sites.

At a 2014 press briefing, Euroget Group Chairman, Dr. Deraz Said stated that works had commenced on 5 of the projects and were advancing steadily.

The projects, he said, were under construction included the Regional Hospital in Wa and the District Hospitals at Salaga, Tepa, and Nsawkaw as well as the Military Hospital in Kumasi.

The contracts for the construction of the Kumasi Regional and Konongo District Hospitals were scheduled to be awarded in July, he told the media.

Construction of the Madina/Kwabenya and Twifo Praso District Hospitals was expected to begin in September same year.

 Eight of the projects were scheduled to be completed before 2016 while the military hospital was expected to be handed over by February 2017. However, none of them was completed by these timelines.

Wa Regional Hospital

Construction of the 160-bed regional hospital began in 2012, about 2 years after the sod-cutting, according to media reports.

The Site Engineer, Abou Shamar, in April 2016, indicated that the project was about 75 per cent complete.

Works on it continued under the Akufo-Addo administration and in August 2019, it was commissioned by the President for use.

Afari Military

Several timelines have been given for the completion of the Afari Military Hospital. However, it is yet to be completed and operationalized.

The Fourth Estate’s investigation in 2022 found that the facility was almost completed and had been equipped.

A source involved in the project execution The Fourth Estate spoke to blamed the non-completion on inertia.

Graphic Online on December 5, 2023, reported that contractors had returned to the site to resume work after issues about financing, which resulted in them stopping work and packing out of the site, were resolved.

At the time, Resident Engineer, Abou Shamar had said that the project was likely to be completed in 3 months, according to the report.

But that has not happened and the Health Minister, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, during his tour of health facilities in the Ashanti Region in June 2024, stated that government was working hard to ensure the facility together with the Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua was operationalized by August.  (See here). But that timeline has also been missed.

Ashanti Regional Hospital

The site for the building of the 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua in the Bosomtwe District was handed over to the contractor in September 2015 for construction to begin.

Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the site, Euroget Group Chairman and CEO, Dr. Deraz Said stated that although it was scheduled to be completed within 20 months, he was hopeful it would be completed ahead of time.

But not only has the initial schedule for completion been missed but subsequent schedules have also been missed.

The Health Minister, Bernard Okoe-Boye, in June this year, gave August 2024 as the new timeline for its completion. But that has also now been missed.

Six District Hospitals

Part of the MoU signed in 2008 was for the construction of six district hospitals in Salaga, Tepa, Nsawkaw, Twifo Praso, Konongo Odumasi and Madina.

The Twifo Praso District Hospital was completed and commissioned in November 2020. The Tepa District Hospital in Ahafo Ano Municipality was also in September 2020, and the Asante Akim Municipal Hospital at Konongo in October 2022. The Tain District Hospital at Nsawkaw was commissioned in November 2020 and the Ga East Municipal Hospital at Kwabenya in November 2019.

The East Gonja District Hospital in Salaga is, however, yet to be completed. Media reports in February 2016 indicated it had been abandoned but works on it resumed in May the same year.

In July 2024, there were publications of a report on health infrastructure by the President’s Advisor on Health, in which report the project was said to be 68 per cent complete. (See here and here).

It is, thus, clear from the facts that the projects numbering 9 were initiated by the Kufuor government, funding was secured under the Atta Mills era and construction started under the Mahama administration and continued under the current regime with 5 of them completed.

Therefore, Dr. Boako’s claim that the projects were abandoned under the Mills/Mahama government is false.