Social Commentator, Mr. Stanley Akamiri Abopaam, has raised serious concerns about the implementation and financial management of the Agenda 111 project.
Speaking on A1 Radio, he criticized the lack of strategic planning and the alleged misuse of funds associated with the initiative.
Agenda 111, an ambitious health infrastructure project launched by the former Akufo-Addo administration, aimed to construct 111 hospitals across the country. However, the project has faced significant delays and funding challenges.
President John Mahama recently stated that the country would require USD 1.7 billion to complete the initiative.
Mr. Abopaam expressed skepticism over the feasibility of the project from the beginning. “From the onset of the Agenda 111 projects, I raised issues by virtue of my training as a budget person,” he said. “My concerns were that, in some of these projects, you need the funding before execution. Given the economic mess we find ourselves in as a country, it was always going to be difficult to execute these projects to completion.”
He further argued that the project was not properly thought through, leading to scattered developments without meaningful progress. “We have spent money dotting these projects across the country, yet many remain incomplete. Even worse, the process was exploited as a looting avenue,” he alleged.
According to Mr. Abopaam, the financial mismanagement associated with Agenda 111 is alarming. “The same architectural plan was reportedly paid for multiple times—over 100 times. Money that could have completed five or six hospitals from start to finish ended up in individuals’ pockets under the guise of design costs,” he revealed.
He criticized the previous government’s approach, stating that even wealthier nations would not embark on such a massive hospital construction project without a phased and well-financed plan. “Not even America would wake up one day and declare they are going to build 110 hospitals at once,” he remarked.
Mr. Abopaam called for greater accountability and a reassessment of Ghana’s infrastructural development strategies. “The waste must stop. We need to be more tactical in our approach,” he urged.
The Upper East Region has eight of these Agenda 111 projects, many of which remain incomplete, further fueling frustrations among residents.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com | 101.1MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
