Fraud and Security Analyst, Mr Richard Kumadoe has cast doubt on the veracity of government’s claim that land issues are negatively affecting the ongoing Agenda 111 project.
This comes after Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu revealed that land litigation in Accra and Kumasi are affecting the project.
Mr Agyeman-Manu however, said the government was working hard to ensure that these challenges are addressed to enable the project move on smoothly.
“It is too early for me to predict whether we will finish or not. But optimistically, that is what we want to do and we try to push ourselves.
“We still have challenges with even land especially in the big cities like Accra and Kumasi. We are now changing the infrastructural design so that instead spreading across bigger land area we want to go up. So they are doing designs.
“Even in the communities, in the districts, some chiefs are coming and there are litigation in some areas,” the Dormaa Central Member of Parliament said while taking delivery of some medical supplies from the Italian government on Thursday May 5.
But speaking on the New Day show on TV3 Monday May 9, Mr Kumadoe said “It is not true that government cannot find lands
“Have they gone to Asantehene to ask for lands and they haven’t been given? Have they gone to La Mantse to ask for lands?”
Reacting to his comment, Communications Director for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) Mr George Ayisi said the Health Minister was telling Ghanaians the reality on the gerund.
He stressed that it is a fact that land litigations have blocked the project in some areas from starting.
“Health Minister was being candid with Ghanaians,” he said on the same show adding that “This government and the President, we are committed to finishing Agenda 111 by 2025.”
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday August 17 201 commissioned the Agenda 111 project which will ensure the construction of 111 hospitals across the country.
During the commission of the project in Trede in the Ashanti Region the President said among other things that the project will be providing 20,000 jobs for health professionals when completed.
He said the Ministry of Health is going to recruit more doctors, nurses and pharmacists when the project is done.
He also said that more indirect jobs are also going to be created by the project implementation.
The president further indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed years of under investment in Ghana’s health sector.
To that end, he said his administration is improving on the investment in the health sector of the economy.
He said “I am glad that the biggest ever investment in the nation’s healthcare is being made .We have met this morning because of the ravages of Covid 19 which has affected every country on the planet . For us in Ghana not only has the pandemic disrupted our daily lives, but it has also exposed the deficiencies with our healthcare system because of the years of under investment and neglect.
Source: theheraldghana