Weija Paediatrics Hospital Project: A World Bank Project and Matters Arising

The Ministry of Health has become aware of media publications on the ongoing Weija Paediatrics Hospital, a World Bank Project under the Ministry.

The Ministry of Health wishes to state as follows:

That they have not made, nor caused to be made, any publication whatsoever regarding the said Hospital Project, “we further wish to clarify that work on the project by Awerco Construction Limited is ongoing and continues without any form of interference from the Ministry”.

The Weija Paediatric Hospital Project is contracted by the Ministry of Health and Awerco Construction Ltd. on a Design-and-Build basis.

The contract includes supply and installation of medical equipment.

The World Bank is not a party to either the Works or Equipment contract with the Contractor except for the funding of the project.

The Ministry of Health has not issued any notices of termination, suspension, or cancellation to the Contractor.

For the record, the World Bank conducted a Post-Procurement Review (PPR) of the CT scanner purchased for the project by the previous government.

Their finding was that the price was high, that all items purchased were three to 11 times the average or fair market price.

This has caused the World Bank to cancel $ 3.8 million US Dollars which was used to procure these equipment.

The Ministry of Health has not cancelled the Weija Pediatric Hospital Project or any contract with Awerco Company Ltd.

The project is still a Ministry of Health facility nearing completion, with snagging ongoing and preparations underway for takeover and operation.

The Ministry continues to engage the Contractor and the World Bank separately, in accordance with their respective contractual and funding roles.

The Ministry of Health wishes to advise media houses to cross check their facts from the official sources of the Ministry before publishing their stories.