Felix Ofosu Kwakye, a former Deputy Information Minister, has described as a knee-jerk response, the Agenda 111 project introduced by President Akufo-Addo to improve healthcare in the country.
According to him, the project is intended to limit the level of commendations being given to former President John Dramani Mahama.
His comments follow government’s launch of its Agenda 111 policy. The project will involve the construction of 101 district hospitals, the construction of 7 Regional Hospitals for the new Regions. This includes a new one for the Western Region and the construction of 2 new psychiatric hospitals for the Middle Belt and Northern Belt respectively.
Also, the rehabilitation of the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in the Western Region will be achieved under the policy.
“Indeed, this whole talk about 88 hospitals and later 111 hospitals was a knee jerk response to the plaudits the [former] President Mahama was receiving, when it became clear that the investments he made in healthcare, by expanding infrastructure in that sector, had become the main thing in the fight against Covid.
“President Akufo-Addo was keen to douse those plaudits and so he rushed to make a promise to build 88 district hospitals. In a state of frantic, he said that the project will start in July 2020 and be completed in 12 months which is July 2021. Everybody disbelieved what he said. It was met with scepticism and derision and true to the predictions of Ghanaians, that project did not materialise”.
Felix Ofosu Kwakye
Furthermore, Mr. Kwakye explained that President Akufo-Addo did not have to wait for Covid-19 to make a significant impact in the health sector.
Funding for designated hospitals
He further noted that although government had initially announced the construction of 88 district hospitals, there hadn’t been much work done in the allotted locations.
The former deputy minister further examined government’s ability to follow through with the Agenda 111 policy.
Justifying his stance, he noted that government had revealed that each hospital would cost about $17million to complete. That notwithstanding, per his calculation, he found out that government should have funding of about $1.5 billion if it wants to complete 88 district hospitals alone.
However, only $100 million is available as funding, which is about six per cent of the money needed to complete those projects.
“Does this sound to you that the President is going to be able to deliver 111 hospitals in 18 months when he has only six per cent of the funding that is required? The thing that will convince us is the availability of money. We should ask him, where is the $1.6 billion that Agenda 111 needs?”
Felix Ofosu Kwakye
Vision for Agenda 111 hospitals
During the launch of the Agenda 111, President Akufo-Addo revealed that the project will play a critical role in making Ghana the centre of excellence for medical care in West Africa by 2030.
Speaking at the ceremony for construction of the hospitals at Trede, in the Ashanti Region, the President explained that the project is expected to also increase the country’s GDP by $2 billion.
Additionally, he indicated that it will equally create direct and indirect jobs in the sector.
“My vision is to help make Ghana the centre of excellence for medical care in West Africa by 2030 [by] leveraging on Ghana’s favourable status in the region as the most peaceful country in West Africa, the beacon of democracy of the continent and land of opportunities.
“This, we will achieve in investing more in the development of our healthcare infrastructure”.
President Akufo-Addo
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