Prince Kwame Adutwum, Assembly Member for the Sewua Electoral Area in the Ashanti Region, has alleged that the Sewua Government Hospital was commissioned before it was fully completed and ready for operation.

Speaking in an interview with Kwesi Parker-Wilson on Oyerepa Breakfast Time, Adutwum claimed that local traditional authorities and some community leaders deliberately stayed away from the commissioning ceremony because they believed the facility was not yet ready for use.

According to him, neither he nor the chief of Sewua, Nana Kwaku Amankwa Sarkodie II, attended the event.

“At the time they came to commission the hospital, I was neither informed nor invited. The chief, Nana Kwaku Amankwa Sarkodie II, was not around, but he called and advised me not to attend. His sub-chiefs also did not attend. None of us went there. I believe the chief knew the facility was not ready for commissioning,” Adutwum stated.

The Assembly Member further alleged that critical utilities such as electricity and water were not available at the facility when it was commissioned.

“There was no light and no water. They brought a generator to power the programme. Only the area where the event was held was cleared and prepared for the ceremony,” he claimed.

Adutwum argued that the commissioning created the impression that the hospital was ready to serve the public when, in his view, substantial work remained to be completed before it could become fully operational.

Background

The Sewua Government Hospital, officially known as the Sewua Regional Hospital, is a major health infrastructure project located in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region. The 250-bed facility was initiated to ease pressure on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and improve healthcare delivery within the region.

Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned the hospital in December 2024, just weeks before the end of his second term in office. During the commissioning, the then-President described the project as a significant investment in Ghana’s healthcare sector and a major step toward improving access to quality healthcare services for residents of the Ashanti Region and beyond.

However, concerns were raised by some stakeholders after the commissioning regarding the hospital’s operational readiness, with questions over staffing, equipment installation, utility connections, and other supporting infrastructure necessary for the facility to function at full capacity.

The latest remarks by the Sewua Assembly Member have renewed public discussion over whether the hospital was commissioned before it was fully prepared to provide healthcare services to the public. Authorities have yet to officially respond to the claims.