Accra: The Minister of the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has given details on why the Police Hospital, whose construction started over 20 years ago, under the John Agyekum Kufuor administration, has not been completed. Speaking in an interview on Pan-African TV with veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Muntaka indicated that the construction of the Police Hospital, which was supposed to be one of the country's national emergency centres, like the 37 Military Hospital, has been marred by corruption.
According to Ghana Web, when Muntaka assumed office as minister, he tried to retrieve documents pertaining to the hospital project after some parties involved in the construction sought to meet him, but he could not find any documents. Muntaka expressed his frustration, stating, 'Sometimes I wonder how we've been running our country. I'm looking for the document, the contract, the ministry cannot find a copy, the police cannot find a copy, the Minister of Finance cannot find a copy, the Attorney General cannot find a copy. I said, 'Go to the archive'. They went to the archive. The file on International Hospital was empty,' he narrated.
He added that despite the absence of documentation, a British company involved in the project was keen on meeting him. Muntaka refused the meeting due to the lack of information and facts regarding the project. His investigation led him to discover a letter from the Ministry of Finance about a company called Crown Agents, which mentioned the Cabinet.
Muntaka wrote to the Cabinet for details on the contract for the hospital's construction and found that the government ordered an audit into the project in 2015. This audit revealed that over £40 million had been spent on the construction project, which originally had a total cost of £15 million.
He explained, 'When the Cabinet response came, then I realised that in 2015, the Cabinet approved a forensic audit to be done on the International Hospital, that's the Police Hospital, which was done. We didn't find the report. But once PwC was mentioned, I wrote to them that I needed an official copy, and they brought it separately. When they brought it, Crown Agents was mentioned, so I also wrote to Crown Agents. I needed a copy of what they had done, only to realise that in 2015, PwC had done a forensic audit that showed that International Hospital had been overpaid by about £40 million, and therefore, the government should take steps to retrieve this money and terminate the contract.'
He further revealed that in 2023, another forensic audit was authorized by the Cabinet, conducted by Crown Agents, which confirmed the overpayment of well over £40 million. Muntaka, along with the Attorney General, has now terminated the contract and is working on re-awarding it to ensure the project's completion.
He concluded by stating that necessary steps have been initiated to retrieve the payments cited in the audit reports.