–Finance Minister Says Liberians Have Waited Nearly a Decade for Facility as Government Pushes Project Team to Deliver Without Further Delay
MONROVIA, LIBERIA — Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has called for an accelerated push to complete and operationalize the long-awaited New Redemption Hospital, warning that Liberians have waited too long to benefit from a major health facility conceived in the aftermath of the Ebola crisis.
Ngafuan made the call during a tour on Friday, August 14, of the hospital construction site in Caldwell, outside Monrovia, alongside senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and Health Minister Dr. Louise M. Kpoto and her team.
The visit provided the Finance Ministry with a firsthand assessment of the facility’s construction progress and the infrastructure still required to bring the hospital into full operation.
Ngafuan said the government had not come to the site to assign blame for the project’s long history of delays, but to determine what is required to complete the remaining work and ensure that the facility is finally delivered to the Liberian people.
“We’ve come to listen honestly and to do what we call the 100-meter dash to the finish line,” Ngafuan told project officials and contractors during the tour.
A Decade in the Making
The New Redemption Hospital has a history stretching back to the post-Ebola period, with Ngafuan noting that the project journey began around 2016.
Nearly a decade later, he said, Liberians have repeatedly heard about the facility and seen its physical structure take shape, but have yet to receive the full benefit of the investment.
“It’s been a marathon,” Ngafuan said, likening the project to a long-distance race in which the construction team has now reached the final stretch. He urged those involved not to slow down when the finish line is within sight.
The Finance Minister said the impressive physical structure has raised public expectations and, consequently, increased the government’s responsibility to deliver.
“The reward for doing well is the burden to do well, and to do well quickly,” he said.
Ngafuan said the government’s objective is therefore not simply to complete more work, but to complete it quickly.
186-Bed Facility Takes Shape
The tour revealed a major health complex designed to provide a broad range of services, with the new hospital expected to have approximately 186 beds when fully equipped and functional.
According to the project briefing, the facility is expected to focus heavily on maternal and newborn care, while other services will continue to operate at the existing Redemption Hospital.
The existing facility is expected to retain services including internal medicine, dentistry and other services that will not be transferred to the new complex.
The proposed arrangement is expected to follow a model similar to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, with different components operating under an integrated management structure. A board is also expected to be instituted for Redemption Hospital.
The new complex includes specialized infrastructure such as an MRI and CT scanner building, an accommodation and education center, a water purification and processing facility, a mortuary and other auxiliary structures.
Built Around Patient Needs
The facility’s design also incorporates features intended to address some of the practical realities faced by patients and their families.
A dedicated patient-attendance facility is being constructed to accommodate relatives who traditionally accompany hospitalized patients. The facility will provide areas where relatives can prepare food, wash, shower and attend to other basic needs while supporting their hospitalized family members.
The hospital also includes triage and emergency-entry arrangements designed to improve patient flow and infection prevention.
Patients arriving at the facility will undergo initial assessment, including temperature checks, while patients requiring isolation can be separated before entering the main hospital areas.
The new facility includes three isolation units with three beds, as well as registration areas, pharmacy and laboratory services, consultation rooms, nursing stations and waiting areas.
The design also includes accessibility features, including elevators, as part of efforts to make the facility responsive to patients with disabilities.
Water, Drainage and Support Infrastructure
Beyond the hospital buildings, the project incorporates infrastructure intended to support sanitation, water management and the overall functionality of the complex.
The tour included a water purification and processing center designed to collect and process water for use within the facility.
The project team also explained that drainage systems have been designed to collect and channel water, while environmental considerations have been incorporated into the site plan.
The complex also includes laundry and kitchen facilities, a triage area, emergency access and a designated market area outside the main hospital fence where relatives can purchase food and other items.
Finance Ministry Pledges Support
Ngafuan said the Finance Ministry views its role as enabling the Ministry of Health and other government institutions to achieve their development targets.
He described the Finance Ministry as the institution that helps provide the resources needed for ministries and agencies to deliver on government priorities.
“Health is key to us,” he said, placing healthcare alongside roads, agriculture, sanitation, tourism and education as critical components of the government’s development agenda.
He said the Finance Ministry would continue working with the Health Ministry and development partners to help advance the project, while acknowledging that some delays can arise from factors beyond the government’s immediate control.
Ngafuan was accompanied by his Deputy Minister for Economic Management, Assistant Minister for External Resources Alice Williams, Director of Aid Management, and members of the Ministry’s Aid Management Team.
World Bank Watching Closely
The project also remains under close observation by international development partners, particularly the World Bank.
Ngafuan singled out Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, as a strong supporter of the project.
According to Ngafuan, Diagana has followed the New Redemption Hospital project from its early stages and routinely asks Liberian officials for updates whenever they meet at the World Bank.
Ngafuan said Diagana is expected to visit Liberia in September as he concludes his tenure and that the New Redemption Hospital is expected to feature prominently on his agenda.
The Finance Minister said Liberia should therefore be prepared to provide an honest account of the project’s progress and remaining challenges.
“This is not a feel-good session,” Ngafuan told project officials. He urged them to provide accurate information rather than optimistic timelines that could later prove unrealistic.
‘No More Delay’
Ngafuan’s strongest message was directed at the need for honesty and adherence to whatever completion timeline is ultimately established.
He said the government does not want another cycle in which new deadlines are announced only for the project to experience further delays.
“Talk honestly,” Ngafuan urged. “Because when we set a timeline now, it’s a timeline that we must meet. We will not tolerate delay thereafter.”
He thanked the Health Ministry, the project management team, contractors and other partners for the work already completed, describing the physical facility as “very impressive.”
But he stressed that the impressive structure must now be transformed into an operational hospital that patients can actually use.
Ngafuan used a vivid metaphor to describe the situation, saying Liberians have effectively been shown the “bowl” and allowed to smell the “food” for years without getting the opportunity to eat it.
“Let’s dish it out,” he said. “And let them begin to eat it.”
Government Pushes Toward Delivery
The latest inspection comes as the Boakai administration seeks to demonstrate greater emphasis on completing long-delayed public projects and converting government investments into services that directly benefit citizens.
For the Health Ministry, the New Redemption Hospital is expected to significantly expand capacity for maternal and newborn services while complementing services that will remain at the existing Redemption facility.
For the Finance Ministry, meanwhile, the project represents a test of whether government can move a major post-Ebola investment from prolonged construction to actual service delivery.
After years of planning and construction, Ngafuan said the project has reached a stage where the focus must shift decisively from explaining delays to completing the work.
“We’re not just doing more. Do more quickly,” he said.
With the project now in its final stretch, the government’s challenge is clear: finish the facility, equip it, operationalize it and finally allow Liberians to benefit from the hospital they have been waiting nearly a decade to see fully delivered.
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