Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the Chairman of the Greater Accra caucus of the Minority, has warned the government that tensions in the area are rising. He has threatened that they, along with the residents of La and Ga Mashie, are prepared to stage a demonstration if government fails to allocate funds for the reconstruction of the La General Hospital in the 2024 budget.
Vanderpuye delivered this ultimatum during a session in Parliament on Tuesday, firmly stating, “I am assuring you that, if we don’t see it in the 2024 budget, we will not let the budget in this house pass. We will ensure that the proceedings will be disrupted until we see the La General Hospital’s funding secured in the budget. We will demonstrate our determination that this land belongs to us. This will be yet another showdown.”
He continued, “We will make sure that the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance do not find peace in their ministries. We are going to mobilize the people of La and Ga Mashie to occupy your offices if you do not take action for the La General Hospital.”
In response to these mounting tensions, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament, attributed the delay in the reconstruction of La General Hospital to a withholding of funds by the facility’s sponsors.
“What has occurred is that, following Ghana’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the sponsors have withheld the funds that Parliament had previously approved.”
He further explained, “Until the IMF provides the nation with a clean bill of health, it will be challenging to release the funding. That is why the government is now considering placing it within the framework of Agenda 111. However, this means the facility may need to be scaled down to some extent.”
The La General Hospital faced demolition in July 2020 due to severe structural problems reported by the hospital’s administration. Although President Akufo-Addo laid the foundation stone for the La General Hospital Redevelopment Project on August 10, 2020, work on the project has yet to commence.