Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
The government’s plans to build hospitals all over district capitals in the country, popularly called Agenda 111, as announced by President Akufo-Addo in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, will commence on Tuesday.
The massive project involves the construction of 101 outstanding districts hospitals, two specialised hospitals for the middle and northern belts, the redevelopment of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, plus the development of six new regional hospitals and an extra regional hospital for the Western Region.
The District Hospitals Project was first announced in April 2020 by President Akufo-Addo during his 8th COVID-19 management updates to the nation, and is programmed to take 12 months to complete from commencement of each unit to completion.
At a news conference in Accra yesterday, Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said that since the President’s announcement, the Project Implementation Committee chaired by Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare, has worked on securing 88 of 101 sites of about 15 acres each, procuring the services of consultants both for the entire project and the specific sites as well as securing funding for the project.
Commencement Funding of $100 million has been made available through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) for the execution of the project.
He said the project is budgeted at nearly 17m USD, and each of the district and specialised hospitals are being funded by the government, adding that the EPC arrangements have been made for the construction of the regional hospitals.
“Contractors for the various projects have also been procured and are commencing work, with the first set starting from the coming week. Preference was given to local contractors and local labour,” he said.
The minister said President Akufo-Addo expects the projects to be completed on schedule to scale up healthcare delivery at all district levels and ensure that the Ghanaian can access high quality healthcare at all district levels.
He said the projects will also provide thousands of jobs for the healthcare staff to be recruited and posted to all these 111 facilities as well as their ancillary workers in the communities, adding “the housing and local services associated with these projects are also expected to add a new layer to local economic activities in service of the local communities.”
“The government is calling on all, especially the local beneficiary communities, traditional leaders, youth and all actors in the local health sector, to give their full support to this project for the benefit of the Ghanaian people,” the minister said.
He added that on Tuesday, August 17, President Akufo-Addo will observe the commencement of works at Trede in the Ashanti Region, saying “other contractors in other districts are also expected to commence works afterwards. Local communities are encouraged to take an interest and support not just the commencement of works but the follow up on progress in the coming months.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu