Former Deputy Defence Minister Kofi Amankwa-Manu has rejected claims by former New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful Kennedy Agyapong that Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee was prevented from visiting the Afari Military Hospital during the previous administration.
According to Amankwa-Manu, the allegation is not true and does not reflect what actually happened during the period when the committee carried out its oversight duties.
He explained that the Defence and Interior Committee was responsible for monitoring the work of the Ministry of Defence and therefore could not have been denied access to a facility under the ministry’s control.
During an interview , the former Deputy Defence Minister described the claim as unfounded and questioned why such an allegation was being made.
“It cannot be true. It simply cannot be true. Because he was the chairman for the Defence and Interior Committee and the Defence and Interior Committee has oversight responsibility over the Ministry of Defence.
“If you want to go or come to Afari, on what basis would you be prevented? In the first place, the Committee on Health does not have oversight responsibility over the activities of the Ministry of Defence and yet when they put in the request to come and visit Afari, then Minister Dominic Nitiwul actually accompanied the Committee on Health to Afari.”
His comments come after Kennedy Agyapong recently criticised the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, claiming it made little progress on the Afari Military Hospital project during its eight years in office.
Kennedy Agyapong also alleged that members of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee were denied access to the facility when they attempted to inspect the project.
However, Amankwa-Manu insists that such a situation could not have happened given the committee’s oversight role over the Ministry of Defence.
