The arrest of the Weija Children's Hospital contractor by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) will not resolve the ongoing dispute delaying the facility's opening, former Deputy Minister for Health, Alexander Akwasi Acquah has heavily criticized the move, arguing that the government should focus on settling outstanding payments and addressing critical technical requirements rather than weaponizing state institutions.

The Akyem Oda MP strongly condemned the arrest during a live interview on Citi FM's Eyewitness News, emphasizing that deploying state security forces to handle a commercial disagreement will only prolong the hospital's closure. He warned that this aggressive approach will destroy professional trust and discourage future private contractors from partnering with the government on critical national infrastructure.

This core argument highlights that a strictly financial dispute requires an administrative settlement rather than a criminal investigation to get the facility running. Alexander Akwasi Acquah stressed that because the contractor is holding the facility as leverage for unpaid work, treating the situation as a law enforcement issue ignores the underlying breach of contract.

“I think this is a very bad move by the government. We know about this issue. From the account of the contractor, there were outstanding debts, and that’s why the hospital has not been opened. If we had sat down to find a lasting solution, it would have helped our cause better,” he said.

This lack of clarity regarding EOCO’s legal jurisdiction in a commercial matter creates immediate risks that could completely halt the opening of the 120-bed specialist facility. Mr. Alexander Akwasi Acquah warned that instead of forcing a resolution, the arrest creates an adversarial environment that threatens necessary technical handovers.

“If you call the contractor into a meeting, giving him the impression that you are going to resolve the impasse, and then cause his arrest, I don’t think that is the right way to solve the problem,” he added.

His remarks come after the contractor was arrested by EOCO officers on Friday, July 10, following a meeting with Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, regarding the delayed commissioning of the Weija Children's Hospital. The meeting's primary goal was to ensure that the facility, which is structurally complete but has not been used, is completed and handed over.

Sources claim that because of the pressing need for specialized pediatric healthcare services, the government pushed the contractor to make the hospital available to the general public. The contractor reportedly refused, stating that the facility would only be opened once the remaining contract balance had been settled or the government had given clear guarantees about payment.

The two-year operational delay of the Weija Children's Hospital has transformed a state-of-the-art facility into a symbol of institutional waste, sparking deep public anger and political finger-pointing. While a fully completed, 120-bed specialist hospital sits empty, local families are forced to travel long distances or crowd into general clinics for basic pediatric emergencies.

The 120-bed Weija Children's Hospital was strategically positioned to serve as a critical healthcare relief valve for the entire Greater Accra Region. By remaining locked for over two years, the facility has directly worsened the severe overcrowding crisis at Ghana's primary referral centers, creating a dangerous bottleneck in pediatric emergency care.