He said the sponsors for the reconstruction have withheld the funds meant for the hospital.
Making a statement on the floor of Parliament, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that the sponsors withheld the funds after Ghana entered into an engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Mr. Speaker, what has happened is that after the engagement with the IMF, funding from those sources that Parliament approved of, the funding has been withheld by the sponsors,” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said.
“Mr. Speaker, until the nation is given a clean bill of health by the IMF, it is going to be difficult for the funding to be released. This is why the government now wants to situate it within the context of Agenda 111, and that will mean that the facility will have to be scaled down a bit.”
Earlier this year, the Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Nsiah Asare had indicated that the La General Hospital will be reconstructed this year.
He gave the assurance after residents of the La community and its environs demonstrated against the stalled project.
According to him, the government is working on the hospital and urged the residents to be patient because very soon they will see some action at the La General Hospital.
He explained why the project was delayed because there was supposed to be a facility to do the project but it didn't go through hundred percent and so the president has charged the Ministry of Health, and the Office of the Chief of Staff to work on it and make sure that something happens as quickly as possible.
On Tuesday, August 10, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the commencement of construction of the La General Hospital Redevelopment project.
Nana Addo indicated that the redevelopment project has been occasioned by a report from the Ghana Health Service, which indicated that the five-storey structure of the Hospital had developed gaping cracks, which made the facility unfit for use.
Furthermore, the unplanned nature of the entire hospital campus required that it be reorganized so that it can function efficiently as a 21st-century hospital, which will serve the needs of residents of La and its adjoining communities.