Ranking member on parliament’s health committee and MP for Juaboso, Kwambena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed that there is no ministry overseeing the building of hospitals under government’s Agenda 111 projects.
According to him, when the Agenda 111 project was announced by President Akufo-Addo, it was moved from the ministry of health to the presidency, where he reckoned the project will be handled with due diligence, and feasibility studies, appropriately done. Nonetheless, he argued that seems not to be the case, especially in reference to how the project has stalled.
“There’s no ministry overseeing Agenda 111. They have formed a whole bureaucratic system at the presidency led by the Chief of Staff.”
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
The ranking member of parliament’s health committee highlighted that there is a unit within the ministry that is currently responsible for the capital investments such as the Agenda 111. However, due to the movement of the project from the ministry, he noted that government had to go in for a private company to manage Agenda 111.
Mr Akandoh revealed that the private company government went in for was originally named Call One Ltd and the objective of the company was trading in general goods, imports and exports of general goods and was incorporated on 30th November 2015. He however contended that the company swiftly switched its name to bid for the project.
“Immediately the 88 hospitals were announced in April, in May, Call One metamorphosized into Hospital Infrastructure Group. They had to change their name and amend their object. So, the object changed from trading in general goods, imports and exports of general goods to trading in general goods, imports and exports of general goods, project management, infrastructure development, construction, real estate development and management just so that they can have the opportunity to manage Agenda 111.”
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
He indicated that contrary to expectations, there are instances where media houses have written to the ministry of health for information on Agenda 111 and they receive a letter from the ministry telling them they have no information on Agenda 111 because it’s not being managed by the ministry. To this, he emphasized that people struggle before they even get information with regards to Agenda 111 project.
Status of Agenda 111 project
Chronicling the decision by government to introduce the project, Mr Akandoh recounted that in the year 2020, in one of the addresses of President Akufo-Addo, he promised Ghanaians he was going to build 88 district hospitals and gave a timeline that the project will be completed at the end of 2020. He stated that at the end of 2020, not a single one of the hospitals was completed, after which the President increased to 111 after the 2020 elections.
Commenting on the status of the hospital project, Mr Akandoh lamented the indifference by government in ensuring its completion. He indicated that there is a health infrastructural deficit in the country which the former regime made frantic efforts to put not less than 60, 000 bed capacity to the already existing one.
“That is why today, we have the University of Ghana Medical Center, Dodowa district hospital, Ridge hospital, Tepa hospital, Kumawu hospital, Fomena hospital and others.”
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
Currently, Mr Akandoh emphasized the need for continuity when it comes to projects in the country, albeit government hasn’t shown any commitment with regards to that. He explained that in any reasonable governance and jurisdiction, government should be thinking about completing those projects before even moving forward to others.
“The projects that this government inherited, six to seven years down the lane, some of these projects were sixty and eighty percent complete. As I speak, we haven’t completed those projects… Don’t forget that we’ve gone for some loan facilities and we are paying interests on those loan facilities, whiles those facilities are not being put to good use. So, any attempt by any government to add on to the health infrastructure, I am totally for it. “
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh
