Deputy Tourism Minister, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has admitted that the construction of five amphitheatres promised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has stalled due to a lack of funds.
Mr Okraku-Mantey explained that the construction of these amphitheatres was predominantly funded by the World Bank.
The Deputy Minister said this during the Manifesto Debate on Creative Arts on Joy FM.
However, he revealed that the initial budget had been depleted, leading to delays in the project’s completion.
“The construction centre 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 Deputy Minister further elaborated that the government had sought additional funding from Parliament to ensure the timely completion of the amphitheatres.
According to him, an initial $500,000 per facility which was secured for the project did not suffice due to market factors.
“The budget increased because of market prices, and so it affected how the plan that we had to finish the amphitheatre. 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.”
He mentioned that the Minister of Tourism and Culture had gone to Parliament to defend the request for more funds, stating that the project should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
“We know we want to finish before December, but for the sake of Parliament, he mentioned quarter one next year,” he added.