Akufo-Addo has been explaining why his govt couldn't complete the project
Akandoh disagrees, accuses government of deception
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been explaining why his government could not implement the Agenda 111 project in 2021.
The government of Ghana on August 17, 2021, launched the Agenda 111 project - touted as the biggest health sector infrastructure project in Ghana's history. Each project was scheduled to be completed in 18 months from its start date, the government said.
This project entailed 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.
But delivering the State of the Nation Address, SoNA, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, the President admitted for the first time that the timeline given by his government for the construction of all hospitals under the government’s Agenda 111 project, was overly ambitious.
He said many unforeseen difficulties caused delays in the construction processes.
However, he revealed that a greater part of preparatory work has been completed, with 87 projects currently under construction, adding that the projects will be completed for commissioning before his tenure ends.
“Agenda 111 is an ambitious project, which must and will be done, and which will create some 33,900 jobs for construction workers, and, on completion, some 34,300 jobs for health workers.
“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 87 of the 111 sites. I have been assured that preliminary work on the remaining 24 sites is ongoing,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He stressed that the government has every intention of seeing the project through to a successful end, which will enable him to commission all the 111 hospitals before he leaves office on 7th January 2025.
“Mr. Speaker, we have saved lives and fared much better than we had feared, and the experts predicted, but the consequences of lockdowns, border and business closures, and unplanned expenditures have combined to have a devastating impact on our economy,” he noted.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo