The Member of Parliament for Nbadam Dr Mark Kurt Nawani has said that it may take the government twenty-one years to complete the Agenda 111 project if the current low resource allocation persists.
The government has so far spent a little over GHS189 million on allocations for the facilities aiming to improve healthcare deficiency in the country.
With an estimated cost of GHS17.5 million, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Health Committee is questioning the government’s commitment to the completion of the project before it leaves office.
He told TV3’s Komla Klutse in an interview on Monday August 7 that “If you come to Nabdam my own district, recently the chiefs and people protested against the level of work that has been done over there.
“It is also at the foundation level, just the footing had been laid, and no filling had been done, the contractor I understand was changed but it is still the same thing, no work has been done at Nabdam. I am very sorry to say that the president has not been fair to the people of Nabdam, we have to blame the NPP government for all this.
“It is obvious that the government has no intention of finishing the Agenda 111 projects, if you look at it, it will take 21 years if they continue to allocate this level of resources to it per year.
“Come 2024, with the new government, they are going to inherit uncompleted projects and that is very untenable. When the NDC left power they had about 52 uncompleted projects but now we are going to have almost got to 200 uncompleted projects if we continue with this level of allocation for the project per year.”
Recently, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said three contractors had been terminated for failing to meet standards.
He said this when he and his team started visiting 88 of the Agenda 111 projects currently under construction.
On Thursday, June 29, he said, the team arrived at site no 33 out of the 54 sites in phase 1 of the inspection.
That site is Trede, where the President first cut sod for the projects, he said.
“The projects are progressing steadily, albeit with some challenges. 45 of them have been encouraged to finish civil works before this year is over, looking at the progress of work.
“3 contractors have been terminated for failing to meet standards. We can do this. Let’s keep at it,”Mr Oppong Nkrumah who is also Ofoase Ayirebi lawmaker tweeted.
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, August 17 2021 commissioned the Agenda 111 project.
During the commission of the project in Trede in the Ashanti Region the President said among other things that the project was going to provide 20,000 jobs for health professionals when completed.
He said the Ministry of Health was also going to recruit more doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.
The president further indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed years of under-investment in Ghana’s health sector.
To that end, he said his administration was improving on the investment in the health sector of the economy.