Deputy Tourism Minister Mark Okraku-Mantey has acknowledged that the construction of five amphitheaters promised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has encountered delays due to funding shortages.
During a Manifesto Debate on Creative Arts aired on Joy FM, Mr. Okraku-Mantey revealed that the World Bank was primarily funding the project. However, the initial budget has been exhausted, causing the work to stall.
He explained that the project’s progress has been hampered by the need for additional funds.
“The construction center predominantly has a lot to do with budget, because this is funded by the World Bank, and so we’re supposed to get additional funding to finish it has delayed,” Mr Okraku-Mantey said.
The initial allocation of $500,000 per amphitheatre proved insufficient because of rising market costs. Consequently, the government has requested further financial support from Parliament to move forward with the construction.
“The budget increased because of market prices and so it affected how the plan that we had to finish the amphitheater. We’ve made a request for additional funding, it’s in the process, the moment we get it, in the next two weeks I am sure some money should come in, we will go back to site.”
The Deputy Minister mentioned that although the government aimed to complete the amphitheatres by December, a more realistic deadline is now set for the end of the first quarter of 2025. The Minister of Tourism and Culture has defended the funding request in Parliament, with expectations of receiving the necessary funds within the next two weeks to resume work.
“We know we want to finish before December, but for the sake of Parliament, he mentioned quarter one next year,” he added.
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Construction of amphitheaters promised by NPP stalled due to lack of funds – Okraku-Mantey
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