Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
• President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of district hospitals in Trede on Tuesday
• The Minority in Parliament accused government of spending the GH¢600 million in the account even before the commencement of the Agenda 111 project
• The Finance Ministry has come out to debunk the claim
The Finance Ministry has indicated that the GH¢600 million deposited in the Health Infrastructure Account at Bank of Ghana (BoG) has not been used yet.
The Ministry’s comment follows claims made by the minority in parliament that the government had already made use of the funds in the account before breaking grounds for the Agenda 111 project.
In a press release sighted by GhanaWeb, the Finance Ministry said the US$100 million which is equivalent to GH¢600 million will be disbursed to contractors according to the project work plan.
According to the Finance Ministry, only GH£36 million has been released as part of pre-construction mobilisation for the Agenda 111 project.
“In 2020, GH¢600 million was released to the Health Infrastructure Account at Bank of Ghana (BoG) to support the implementation of the District and Regional Hospital Projects. This is the equivalent of the US$100 million as announced by government and will be disbursed to contractors in accordance with the project work plan,” part of the statement said.
The statement added, “The said amount had been released into the project account at the BoG but not utilised yet. Project commencement has just begun. So far, only GH£36 million has been released as part of pre-construction mobilisation.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of district hospitals on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at Trede in the Ashanti region.
Each hospital under the Agenda 111 project will cost US$16.88 million.
About Agenda 111
The Agenda 111 project includes 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised 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.
