Coronavirus was also not in the budget - Health Minister to critics

The government has been subjected to critiques from the opposition party ever since president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced in his 8th address that plans are underway to begin the construction of 88 new district hospitals and six new regional hospitals within a year.

The opposition has questioned the feasibility of the project especially when the expenditure for the construction of the new 88 district hospitals was not captured in the 2020 budget statement.

Speaking at this afternoon's press briefing held at the Ministry of Information, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has questioned the claims of the NDC.

Touting the government's capabilities, he noted that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and reliefs was also not captured in the 2020 budget.

"I'm hearing nuisances on the radio, that it wasn't in the budget but COVID-19 was not in the budget. That is correct, but all of a sudden we have managed to buy PPEs, we have managed to award a few contracts to some centers, we have managed to quarantine people, 1030 for two good weeks in good hotels in Accra. And we have paid for all, to the extent that one foreigner sits in his hotel room, using selfie telling his people back home that Ghana, Ghana.

"See where I'm living. A big 3-4 star hotel, to be paid for by the state. There's a lot that we have done over the last few months. All these expenditures were not in the budget," Mr. Agyemang-Manu explained.

Earlier on, Gabby Otchere Darko, a leading member of the NPP, in a post on his social media platforms on April 27, 2020, said President Akufo-Addo will find money to fund the construction of 88 hospitals in various districts across the country.

"Don’t be quick to doubt a government that had to find, so far, GHS18.55 billion to tackle a financial sector disaster, not of its doing, it did not expect, did not budget for, but knew it had to fix to save the economy and the livelihoods of millions of Ghanaians," his post read.

Don’t be quick to doubt a government that had to find, so far, GHS18.55 billion to tackle a financial sector disaster, not of its doing, it did not expect, did not budget for, but knew it had to fix to save the economy and the livelihoods of millions of Ghanaians.

— Gabby Otchere-Darko (@GabbyDarko) April 27, 2020