Weija Children's Hospital contractor calls out Health Ministry

Awerco Construction Limited, the contractor for the Weija-Gbawe Children’s Hospital, has given the Ministry of Health (MoH) a 24-hour ultimatum to retract what it describes as false and defamatory portions of a recent press statement, threatening legal action if the Ministry fails to comply.

In a strongly worded letter dated May 8, 2026, lawyers for the company demanded that the Ministry withdraw the disputed sections “in the same manner it was published.”

The contractor accused the Ministry of unfairly blaming it for delays in operationalising the hospital and attempting to shift public attention away from the actual causes of the delay.

The dispute escalated after the Ministry of Health linked the delayed commissioning of the facility to alleged procurement irregularities and unresolved contractual issues.

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The Ministry claimed the World Bank had flagged “misprocurement,” including concerns that prices of some medical equipment had been inflated by as much as 11 times their actual cost, leading to the withholding of outstanding payments.

Awerco has vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as “unfounded.”

The company stated that it was never formally notified of any such concerns and would have provided the necessary clarifications on equipment pricing if given the opportunity.

"Our Client has been wrongly portrayed as being responsible for the Ministry’s inability to commission and operationalise the Weija Paediatric Hospital,” the letter stated.

The contractor further rejected claims that it obstructed the commissioning process.

According to Awercoc, it only drew the Ministry’s attention to mandatory contractual handover procedures and the absence of critical protective systems, such as Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units and Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVR), which are essential to protect sensitive medical equipment.

The company warned that operating the hospital without these systems could damage equipment and compromise patient safety.

It also highlighted the Ministry’s failure to settle outstanding payments despite repeated requests over the past year, which has delayed mandatory end-user training for hospital staff.

“Failure to undertake such training poses an additional risk to the project and to potential patients, as critical medical equipment may not be operated properly,” the letter noted.

Awerco questioned the logic of the Ministry’s rush to operationalise the hospital if it genuinely believed the procurement prices were grossly inflated.

The company insists the Ministry’s statement was misleading and intended to deflect attention from the real reasons behind the delayed opening of the much-anticipated children’s hospital.

VKB/VPO

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