Residents of the Ahanta West Municipality in the Western Region have taken their frustration to the streets, picketing the Bokoro Agenda 111 hospital and petitioning government to provide a clear time-bound plan for making the facility operational, more than a year after it was commissioned by the previous administration.
The action, led by members of Advocacy for Citizens’ Ghana (ACG), a non-partisan pressure group, saw protesters dressed in red and black displaying placards with messages including “Stop the Politics, Save Lives” and “Healthcare Delayed Is Dangerous.”
ACG Convener Stephen Malvin Cobbinah said the continuing closure of the facility, which was commissioned two days before the December 2024 general election, had left communities without access to quality healthcare and placed severe strain on the few functional facilities in the municipality.
“This situation has raised serious concerns and heightened frustration among residents who continue to struggle with access to quality healthcare,” he said. He called on the Ministry of Health to clarify what proportion of the hospital was complete at commissioning, outline the outstanding works required, and present a road-map for full operationalisation. “We expect transparency, clarity and swift action in the interest of the people,” he added.
The hospital has remained closed since the current administration assessed it as incomplete. In March 2025, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh visited the site and said only about ten percent of medical equipment had been installed at the time of commissioning, estimating that GH¢140 million would be needed to make it fully functional. The government said it inherited the site with an incomplete installation, while the previous administration maintained the hospital had been completed.
A November 2025 budget allocation of GH¢100 million to complete ten Agenda 111 hospitals nationwide prompted additional concern in the constituency, as it remained unclear whether Bokoro was among the selected facilities.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Communication Directorate in Ahanta West also weighed in, questioning remarks attributed to the Chief of Lower Dixcove, Nana Akwasi Agyemang IX, who reportedly said equipping the Bokoro hospital could cost more than building it. The party called for clarification on the basis of that estimate.
