Akandoh has a different view
Akandoh disagrees, accuses government of deception
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, has stated that the Akufo-Addo-led government is deceiving Ghanaians with his much talked about Agenda 111 initiative.
According to him, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is prepping Ghanaians ahead of time, to accept his failure to deliver on the said initiative.
To him, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo right from the outset, knew that he could not build 111 hospitals under 18 months.
He said on Joy FM that, President Akufo-Addo made the Agenda 111 promise for political expediency; adding that Akufo-Addo’s new timeline for the completion of the project is evidence of the government’s deception regarding the Project.
“Clearly the President was preparing the minds of Ghanaians towards failure. This is clearly what the President was doing. All this while, you know that consistently, we have been criticising the Agenda 111 project, and it's rather unfortunate that what the President says out there is always different from what they bring before us in Parliament.
"In the 2021 Budget, it was clearly stated that 101 hospitals have been awarded. That was the language used in the Budget. Now in the 2022 Budget, the language then changed to cadastral plans being ready. This is clear deceit,” Mintah Akandoh stated.
The Juaboso MP stressed that funding for the project has not been made clear by the government; which is evidence of the insincerity on the part of the President.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the SoNA on Wednesday said, “I have to report that, like all major construction projects, it is evident that the initial schedule we gave for the completion of the 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 87 of the 111 sites. I have been assured that preliminary work on the remaining 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 7th January, 2025."
About Agenda 111
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2021, launched the Agenda 111 project.
This is to cover the design, procurement, construction, equipping and commissioning of 101 District Hospitals, 6 Regional Hospitals in newly created regions, and 1 Regional Hospital in the Western Region, 2 Psychiatric Hospitals in Kumasi and Tamale a redeveloped Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
The Agenda 111 project is to ensure that Ghanaians nationwide have access to quality healthcare services and with the National Health Insurance Scheme, boost the provision of healthcare infrastructure and financial accessibility to healthcare.
Each of the hospitals will cost $16.88 million, with $12.88 million being used for the construction of the hospitals and $4 million for medical equipment.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Kwabena Mintah Akandoh