In Summary:
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Former Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa has claimed that the New Redemption Hospital project was a CDC initiative, citing it as one of the projects started under the Weah administration and being completed by the current government.
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We have verified the project documents and media reports, which show that the New Redemption Hospital project originated under the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
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Sirleaf’s government approved the use of World Bank-supported Ebola Emergency Response Project funds for the construction of the hospital and broke ground for the hospital in December 2017.
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Although the Weah administration later secured significant additional funding and carried out major construction and expansion works, the project’s initiation predates the CDC’s tenure, making Cllr. Koffa’s claim misleading.
On December 6, former Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, who also serves as Chairman of the CDC’s National Headquarters Construction Committee, claimed at a CDC rally in Buchanan City that the New Redemption Hospital project is a CDC initiative originally started by the party.
Cllr. Koffa made this claim while listing projects undertaken by the Weah administration that are currently being completed and dedicated by the Boakai administration.
Some of the projects he listed were the IRISE public school Project in Nimba County, the VIP Lounge at the Roberts International Airport, and the NOCAL Building in Monrovia. He also named the new NPA and LPRC Corporate Office Buildings, the Emery Hospital in Gbapolu County, and the New Redemption Hospital as projects initiated by the CDC.
The Claim
An excerpt of his statement reads: “They say CDC Government ain’t do nothing, but when they go dedicate the massive school that was built in Nimba under George Weah, then they put their name on it. When they go for the Presidential VIP Lounge at the RIA, then they put their name on it. They’re coming dedicate the NOCAL Building in Monrovia, the first time after 12 years of UP. The National Oil Company building was under CDC, the NPA Building was under CDC, the LPRC Building was also under CDC. The Hospital in Gbarpolu was under CDC, the New Redemption Hospital that they tried to steal, that was CDC, and the 14 Military Hospital, that was CDC.”
Rating Justification
To verify his claim, we reviewed project documents and multiple media reports and found that the New Redemption Hospital project was initiated under the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
According to a December 2017 FrontPage Africa report, former President Sirleaf broke ground for the construction of the hospital on December 19, 2017, just weeks before leaving office.
Additionally, The News Newspaper reported in 2024, quoting Deputy Finance Minister Dehpue Y. Zuo, that the Government of Liberia, in 2016, approved the use of part of the funds from the World Bank–supported Ebola Emergency Response Project (EERP) for the construction of the 166-bed New Redemption Hospital in Caldwell Township.
Deputy Minister Zuo spoke to journalists after he, along with the World Bank Country Manager, Madam Georgia Wallen, had toured the facility of the new Redemption Hospital in Caldwell.
Meanwhile, our review of the project’s Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) of March 2017 also confirms that a portion of the Ebola Emergency Response Project funds was allocated by the Sirleaf administration for the hospital’s construction.
According to the ESMP document, following the Ebola outbreak and its devastating impact on the health sector, the Government of Liberia moved to strengthen the health system’s resilience to future shocks. The Ministry of Health (MOH) identified the construction of the new Redemption Hospital, specifically Phase I, as one of the priority interventions to be funded under the EERP grant during Sirleaf’s administration.
In July 2018, after former President George Weah took office, the then-World Bank’s Liberia Country Manager, Larisa Leshchenko, announced that the Bank would provide US$14 million for the construction of the new Redemption Hospital, building on the earlier EERP funding decision.
Madam Leshchenko made the announcement when she laid the first block for the new Redemption facilities, as part of Phase I of the construction works on the Hospital.
Three years into the Weah administration in May 2020, the World Bank approved an additional US$54 million IDA credit (IFISH project) to expand and operationalize the New Redemption Hospital and strengthen health services in Liberia.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, we conclude that Cllr. Koffa’s claim that the New Redemption Hospital is a CDC-initiated project is misleading.
While substantial construction and expansion of the hospital took place under President George Weah, particularly after the approval of the US$54 million World Bank (IDA) financing in 2020, the project was initiated under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration, which officially broke ground for the hospital in December 2017. The project has also continued into the current Boakai administration, with completion expected in 2025 or 2026.
