By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Aug. 14, GNA – Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, says a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the National Cathedral has raised concerns about how public funds allocated to the project were used.
He said money spent on the National Cathedral could instead have been used to complete critical health infrastructure, including the uncompleted Agenda 111 district hospital in the Bolgatanga East District.
Dr Ayine disclosed this at the launch of the Free Primary Healthcare Programme in Bolgatanga East by President John Dramani Mahama as part of his two-day Resetting Agenda Tour of the Upper East Region.
He said he had received the PwC report on the National Cathedral a week earlier and was yet to brief President John Dramani Mahama on its contents.
Dr Ayine criticised the way the National Cathedral project was undertaken, stressing that the funds could have been channelled into completing district hospitals.
“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you may laugh, but there has been a resurgence in messaging about the National Cathedral by very eminent religious people.
“You don’t build a house of God in the manner in which they went about it,” he said.
The Attorney General said the Government should rather prioritise projects that directly improved the welfare of citizens, particularly health infrastructure.
He disclosed that the Bolgatanga East Agenda 111 hospital had been included among the health facilities selected for completion under the Government’s programme to complete stalled Agenda 111 projects.
According to him, he had pressed the Minister of Health to disclose the list of hospitals selected for completion and was pleased to find the Bolgatanga East facility, located at Zuarungu, on the list.
“Mr President, it is better to complete Agenda 111 than to spend money on the National Cathedral,” he said.
Dr Ayine also highlighted the health challenges facing the Bolgatanga East Health Centre, particularly its limited capacity to perform Caesarean sections.
He said the facility’s small operating theatre could not adequately handle situations where several pregnant women required emergency surgery at the same time, forcing health authorities to refer patients to the Upper East Regional Hospital.
He said the Health Minister had consequently promised to provide the facility with a modern, state-of-the-art operating theatre.
The National Cathedral project, initiated under the previous administration, has been the subject of controversy over its financing, construction and management, with calls for greater accountability over public funds committed to it.
The current Government promised to investigate the project and prosecute people found to have misused state resources.
President Mahama urged Ghanaians to take advantage of the home-visit component of the Free Primary Healthcare programme to improve their health status.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
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