President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
Former President of the Ghana Institute of Planners (GIP), Alfred Kwasi Opoku, has called on the government to transparently inform the country about the source of funds for the completion of the Agenda 111 initiative outdoored by the government.
He said every Ghanaian would wish that Agenda 111 succeeds before the end of President Akufo-Addo’s tenure so the next government won’t abandon it as is the norm in the country to stall the dissipation of public funds in the country.
Mr Opoku pointed out that the question on the lips of every Ghanaian is, where is the direct source of funds for the bold initiative by the government?
He also quizzed that beyond the first GHC100 million capital to commence the project, where is the source of funds to ensure the completion of the project?
Thus, Mr Opoku has charged the government to tell the country where the funds to complete the projects are coming from and how much will be allocated to the various contractors to complete the project.
He said if that is not done and the project is not completed before the end of the tenure of the Akufo-Addo, and another government comes and abandon the project as has happened since the first Republic, that means the country hasn’t learned anything at all.
Mr Opoku thus emphasizes that what Ghanaians would like is for the NPP government to come transparently to inform the country of a sustainable source of funds to complete the bold initiative.
He, however, admonished the government that in the situation where they couldn’t finish Agenda 111 before the end of their tenure, they must come out to inform the country where the project got to and how much it is going to take to complete it.
Mr Opoku directed that the government must come out with a report detailing all the unfinished projects and their sources of funds to complete them so the next government will not find the need to abandon them when they come to power.
He said if this is done, the next government cannot tell the country they won’t complete the unfinished project because the previous one has detailed everything for the next to be able to finish it but not relying on the constitutional provision that the next government completes the previous government’s projects only when it is “practicable”.
Mr Opoku pointed out that this will ensure that a national consensus is reached on not abandoning unfinished projects in the country that will benefit the whole country.
He cited the example of the Saglemi Housing Project that if the previous government documented it in a report detailing the progress of the project, the source of funds for the project, the current government would not find it easy to just abandon it to rot for so many years as have been witnessed in the country.
Mr Opoku said this in an interview with Kwame Tutu on the 100 Degrees program on Onua TV on Monday, August 23.
He was speaking on the backdrop of the launch of the Agenda 111 initiative by the government to construct 111 hospitals across the country to cater to the country’s healthcare deficit, especially in the pandemic time in the country.
“The wish of every Ghanaian is for Agenda 111 to succeed, so we don’t witness the abandonment of government projects and the dissipation of public funds as we have seen for so long. Now what everyone is asking is where is the source of funds for the President to finish the project beyond the first GHC100 million to start the project?” he pointed out.
He continued, “What we are asking the government is to come out transparently to inform us on the clear source of funds for the project, how much will be allocated to every contractor to complete the project so it would not be one of those abandoned projects dotted around the country. If that happens, it will cause financial loss to the state”.