Akufo-Addo has no credible funding source for Agenda 111 – Akandoh

The Ranking Member for the Health Committee in Parliament, Kwabena Minta Akandoh, has said President Akufo-Addo has no funding source for Agenda 111; hence it is unachievable.

According to him, the continuous changing of the timeline for the project means the president is only preparing the minds of Ghanaians that he will not be able to complete it.

"That is clear; I mean, there is no ambiguity in that; let's see where we came from. Do you remember that in 2020 the president promised us that he was going to build 88 hospitals within one year? It's in public records.

"So at the end of 2021, we were expecting that we would see 88 hospitals, but that didn't come on; he increased it to 111. Even if anything, when he promised 88 hospitals, and it's ambitious, he should have learnt lessons from there. He then promised 111," Mr. Akandoh told Starr FM's Parliamentary Correspondent, Ibrahim Alhassan.

He continued, "When he promised 111, what the president is telling us is that he didn't think through the project. The president didn't think of the cost of the project; he didn't look for a source of funding for the project because, as I speak to you now, nobody knows the source of funding for the project."

The Ranking Member further explained that "For your information, the budget of Ghana is in public records; go check the records as far as Agenda 111 is concerned. An allocation of 580 million Ghana cedis was made. Ask yourself how many hospitals can that amount construct?"

President Akufo-Addo, when addressing Ghana's Parliament on the State of the Nation on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, admitted that the initial schedule he gave for the completion of Agenda 111 was overly ambitious.

According to the President, identifying suitable sites around the country for the project has turned out to be even more problematic than anticipated.

He, however, added that a great deal of the preparatory work has now been completed, and work has started at eighty-seven (87) of the one hundred and eleven (111) sites.



"Mr. Speaker, I have to report that, like all major construction projects, it is evident that the initial schedule we gave for the completion of Agenda 111 was overly ambitious. Identifying suitable sites around the country, for example, has turned out to be even more problematic than had been anticipated.

"I am able to say that a great deal of the preparatory work has now been completed, and work has started at eighty-seven (87) of the one hundred and eleven (111) sites. I have been assured that preliminary work on the remaining twenty-four (24) sites is ongoing.

"We have every intention of seeing this project through to a successful end, which will enable me to commission all one hundred and eleven (111) hospitals before I leave office on January 7 2025," President Akufo-Addo assured.