NPP completed Sewua Hospital, Anyone Saying Otherwise Is A Liar – Simon Osei-Mensah
Former Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government completed the Sewua Hospital, adding that anyone who says otherwise is not telling the truth.
Speaking in an interview with Kofi Boakye on Nkwantannanso on Opemsuo Radio, Mr. Osei-Mensah rejected claims that the Sewua Hospital was left incomplete, insisting that the facility was fully completed and commissioned before the NPP left office.
“We completed the Sewua Hospital 100 percent. Anyone who says the hospital was not completed is simply not telling the truth. The project was fully completed and officially commissioned,” he said.
According to him, the only outstanding issue at the time he left office was the construction of the access road to the hospital, explaining that responsibility for staffing and operationalising the facility rested with the Ghana Health Service after it had been handed over.
Reflecting on his tenure, Mr. Osei-Mensah said healthcare emerged as the Ashanti Region’s biggest challenge when he assumed office in 2017 after conducting an assessment of the various sectors.
He said the assessment showed that Ashanti ranked last in healthcare delivery among Ghana’s then ten regions, prompting his administration to prioritise interventions in the sector.
“As soon as I realised healthcare was the biggest problem, I undertook further consultations to identify the immediate interventions required,” he stated.
Mr. Osei-Mensah said one of the first decisions taken was to push for the withdrawal of the capitation policy, which had been piloted in the Ashanti Region since 2012.
He explained that following engagements with relevant stakeholders and authorities, the policy was withdrawn from the region in 2017 because many believed it was negatively affecting healthcare delivery.
The former Regional Minister also stressed the need for governments to continue projects started by previous administrations, arguing that such projects are funded with taxpayers’ money and should not be abandoned because of political differences.
According to him, his administration identified nine major uncompleted health projects across the region, including the Bekwai, Fomena, Konongo, Tepa, Sewua, Afari and Kumawu hospitals, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Maternity and Children’s Block, and the Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Centre expansion at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
He said seven of the nine projects were completed including Sewua Hospital during his tenure, while the Afari Military Hospital had reached about 98 percent completion before his administration left office.
Mr. Osei-Mensah explained that although plans were made to partially commission the Afari Military Hospital, the contractor advised against it because the sewage system had not been completed, making it impractical to open the facility at the time.
Mr. Osei-Mensah maintained that his administration focused on reviving abandoned projects to strengthen healthcare delivery across the region and improve access to essential services.
He reiterated that development continuity was critical, stressing that public projects must be protected from political disruptions to ensure value for money and effective service delivery.
