Build hospitals with judgment debt money – Napo

Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia has ideas about how to put to good use the $47m ordered to be retrieved from Waterville Holdings Limited - build district hospitals and name them after Waterville.

The Supreme Court last Friday ordered Waterville Holdings Ltd. to return to the state €25 million ($47 million) it obtained illegally out of claims it brought against the state in 2009. This monumental ruling has been hailed widely as a triumph of the nation’s interest over parochial agenda of a few.

Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, the Manhyia MP also said $47 million can be used to reconstruct Kantamanto, Makola and Kumasi Central markets razed down by fires in recent months.

The hockey stadium in Accra cost $10 million, he said. The money could solve the various demands made by about eight different labour unions when they embarked on incessant strikes this year, he continued.

'Napo' as he is also known, revealed that the judgement debt money could cater for the building of several hospitals such as the Teshie hospital which cost $10 million. His position was further validated in view of a $75 million loan, he said, has been procured by the government to build seven district hospitals.

Based on this assessment, the MP believes $47 million should be used for specific development projects. He explained, the money should “hit a specific account” or a “recovery fund” and should be solely targeted at building projects in various districts.

These projects can be named “Waterville hospital” or “judgment debt hospital”, he suggested.

He said the ruling revealed the mood of the supreme court justices. They were “pissed off”, according to him, at the ease and speed with which the plan was hatched and transacted. They are also appalled at the dilly-dallying of state prosecutors, he observed.

It was only God who has saved us, he concluded.