The New Patriotic Party has called on its senior members to ensure that public statements on the Afari Military Hospital are grounded in verified records and reflect the party’s agreed position, following recent comments that have generated debate over the status of the project.
In a statement issued on June 16 and signed by Co-chair of the NPP Policy Committee on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the party said the views expressed by some leading members had prompted it to place the documented facts concerning the hospital before the public.
“The Party holds its senior members in high regard, and their voices carry weight with the public and the media,” the statement said.
“For that reason, the Party reminds all senior figures that public commentary made as leading members of the Party should rest on the established facts and reflect the agreed position of the Party.”
The statement stressed that differences of opinion should be addressed through internal party channels rather than through public pronouncements unsupported by available records.
“Where a member disagrees, the proper course is to raise the matter through the Party’s own channels, where it can be tested against the record, rather than to air it in terms the facts do not support,” it added.
The party’s intervention follows recent public discussions over the level of completion of the 500-bed Afari Military Hospital and claims that government would require about US$85 million before construction could resume.
According to the NPP, official records from the Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Defence show that the core hospital had reached 92.5 percent completion by September 2024, with overall completion rising to 98 percent by January 2025.
It dismissed suggestions that the project remained around 60 percent complete, describing such claims as inaccurate.
The statement further disputed assertions that US$85 million remained outstanding to the contractor, saying there were no records at either the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Defence supporting such a figure.
It explained that the original US$180 million contract had been fully paid, while an additional US$19.3 million negotiated to compensate for delays arising from earlier relocations had also been settled.
The party said a separate claim initially exceeding US$6.5 million had been renegotiated to US$3 million, of which US$2.5 million had already been paid.
“On the available records, the only amount outstanding to the contractor is US$500,000,” the statement noted.
The NPP also sought to clarify the history of the project, stating that physical construction at Afari commenced in 2014 and that completion stood at about 40 percent by the end of 2016.
It said the facility subsequently progressed to 98 percent completion between 2017 and January 2025.
“The record shows the opposite, with the facility moving from 40 percent to near completion over that period,” the statement said.
The party reiterated its desire to see the hospital completed and made operational to serve the Ghana Armed Forces and residents of the Ashanti Region, while insisting that any additional payment requests must be supported by verifiable records before public funds are committed.
