Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister for Health, has admitted that the current NDC administration will not be able to complete all the hospitals under the Agenda 111 initiative by the former Akufo-Addo government.
The Health Minister highlighted that the government remains committed to improving healthcare infrastructure, but must be realistic.
According to the Health Minister, the NDC government cannot complete all Agenda 111 projects, with some of the Hospitals at varying levels of completion.
He disclosed that while some projects are at advanced stages, others remain at early phases.
Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, April 22, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh stated, “If we say that we will be able to complete all the Agenda 111 projects, which are over 100, within one year or even four years, it is a lie.
Let’s be realistic and I started saying this even in opposition, and you heard me loud and clear that there was no way we were going to complete these 111 hospitals within the timeframe the president gave us.”
It will be recalled that Kwabena Mintah Akandoh had earlier blasted former President Akufo-Addo over his recent call on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to complete the Agenda 111 hospital project.
According to Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, he wished Akufo-Addo had not made those comments, arguing that his government spent 4.8bn on Agenda 111, yet not a single facility was operational.
Speaking at a press engagement on Monday, April 13, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh stated, “The former president, I wish he had not made this statement. Unfortunately, he has said it. He told all of us Ghanaians that Agenda 111 would be completed before he left office”.
“Let me even grant him the longer period he gave, that he would complete all Agenda 111 hospitals before leaving office. By that time, he left office, he had spent GH¢4.8 billion on the project, yet not a single facility was operational,” Akandoh stated.
“So, this is the person calling on us to complete Agenda 111,” he added.
His comments follow calls from former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who has told the NDC-led John Mahama government that the stalled Agenda 111 hospitals must be completed.
According to Akufo-Addo, the completion and operationalisation of the stalled Agenda 111 hospitals will boost Ghana’s healthcare.
Akufo-Addo made this known while speaking over the weekend at the launch of the Kyebi Government Hospital’s centenary celebrations.
The event was organised by the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional State and the Kyebi Government Hospital.
Akufo-Addo stated, “We must also be honest, not every project was realised, not every project was completed. At some facilities, we reached advanced stages that could not be finished before our term ended.
Agenda 111 must be continued. Continuity, not disruption, is how health systems succeed,” he said.
The Agenda 111 was a flagship under the former Akufo-Addo government, which was designed to construct 111 hospitals nationwide to bridge gaps in access to medical care.