The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to abandon what it describes as an unjustified US$85 million claim linked to contractor Euroget De-Invest (EDI), insisting that only US$500,000 remains outstanding on the Afari Military Hospital project.
The opposition caucus urged the government instead to settle the outstanding balance and ensure The contractor completes the remaining 2 per cent of the project without further delay, warning that It would resist any attempt to approve the larger payment.
“We will fiercely resist this scheme. We demand value for money, and we will protect the public purse. The government must immediately abandon this fraudulent US$85 million claim, pay the outstanding US$500,000, and ensure the contractor completes the remaining 2 per cent of the work without further delay,” Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Kofi Amankwa-Manu said.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Amankwa-Manu rejected recent claims by Deputy Defence Minister Ernest Brogya Genfi, that EDI was demanding US$85 million before returning to the site to complete the project.
“The Deputy Minister’s assertion that the contractor, Euroget De-Invest (EDI), is demanding US$85 million before returning to the site is a manufactured crisis. Let the facts be clear: no records at the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Defence support this outrageous claim,” he said.
Mr Amankwa-Manu argued that financial records relating to the project showed that the original The US$180 million contract sum, secured through a loan arrangement, had been fully paid.
He further stated that an additional US$19.3 million negotiated by the Government of Ghana to cover delays associated with the project had also been settled.
“The negotiated additional funding of US$19.3 million (Government of Ghana) for delays caused by The NDC’s misguided relocations have been fully paid,” he said.
According to him, a subsequent claim of more than US$6.5 million was negotiated down to US$3 million, of which US$2.5 million has already been paid.
“The only outstanding amount owed to the contractor is US$500,000,” he said.
The Minority questioned how an outstanding balance of US$500,000 had become linked to an alleged demand for US$85 million.
“To jump from an outstanding balance of US$500,000 to a sudden demand for US$85 million is not just mathematically absurd; it is criminal,” Mr Amankwa-Manu said.
He warned against any attempt to approve what he described as a newly generated and unjustified claim.
“Any attempt to use the back door to pay this newly generated, unjustified amount of US$85 million can only be described by the popular Ghanaian cliché: ‘Create, Loot, and Share’,” he said.
The Minority maintained that any payment arrangement must meet standards of accountability and value for money, insisting that the government focus on completing the nearly finished hospital rather than entertaining what it considers an unfounded claim.
