The Minority in Parliament is calling on the Ministry of Health to without delay put the Weija Children’s Specialist Hospital into full service, insisting that there is no valid reason for keeping the facility closed to the public.

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, says activating the hospital will significantly improve access to healthcare in the Weija area while also absorbing a large number of jobless health workers.

Speaking to the media, he rejected suggestions that the project was affected by procurement irregularities or inflated costs under the previous administration, maintaining that the entire process went through the required statutory approvals.

“It is the considerate position of the Minority that the Weija Children Hospital be opened now. There is no further reason for delays in operating that hospital especially as we need employment for the many unemployed youth; the nurses and the lab physicians in the system.

“Also the population in the Weija catchment area is the more reason why the hospital should be operating as of now. There has been this position by government that the last regime was involved in misprocurement and delays. This is not true,” he said.

He further argued that the Ministry of Health cannot place responsibility for any alleged breaches on the contractor, explaining that all transactions were cleared by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA).