Kwabena Mintah Akandoh is the Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament
• The government has debunked claims that it had spent millions of cedis even before the launch of Agenda 111
• The Minority insists they did and until there is evidence to the contrary, they will keep probing it
• Kwabena Mintah Akandoh explains the possibility of inviting the Minister of Finance to parliament to provide better details
The Minority in parliament has stated that until they get evidence of proof to back the statement by the government that no money was spent before the launch of the Agenda 111, they will not stop pushing for further investigations.
During a press conference, the Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, stated that, allegations that the government had spent GH¢636million on the project before its launch were not true.
The Minority, led by the Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, however, insists that they will push for investigation without any concrete evidence.
Besides, he added, since the Health Committee in Parliament requested documents on Agenda 111, they are yet to be offered a single detail.
“So, it is something they are cooking to do their own things and we will not allow that to happen. How can you start a project and before the commencement of the project you have spent GH¢636 million? When asked you say you think it is not true.
“We will follow it to the logical conclusion. We will find out where this money is and what they have used this money for. We will never allow this thing to go under the carpet. We will move another investigation into this issue,” he explained.
Mintah Akandoh added that if there is the need to drag the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to parliament to provide answers, that is exactly what they will do.
The Agenda 111 project, which was launched on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, will include 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialized hospitals in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
It is aimed at transforming the country’s inadequate healthcare infrastructure and expected to be completed in 18 months.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led the groundbreaking ceremony at Trede in the Ashanti region, where the project is starting at.
But the Minority insists that over GH¢600 million was already dedicated to the project even before the launch.
“The Minority is of the view that government has some explaining to do on how it spent GH₵636 million as detailed in Appendix 4D and 4E of the 2021 mid-year budget review. Per the appendices, some GH₵36 million has been spent on project designs, consultants and coordinators this year, however, the sum of GH₵600 million released and utilised in 2020 has no details whatsoever.
“It is, therefore, necessary that government explains the purpose for which it applied the GH₵600 million as indicated in the 2021 mid-year budget review,” parts of the statement read.
