Government transparency about the state of hospitals being built as part of Agenda 111 is demanded by Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.
In an appearance on the Super Morning Show on Thursday, he stated that in order to allay the concerns of many Ghanaians, it would be necessary for the government to account for the different costs related to the projects.
On Wednesday, June 22, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta informed Parliament that the government has released 600 million to start the hospital building.
However, Mr. Iddrisu thinks there aren't enough hospitals to justify the money granted for their construction.
"So, in addition to the headline, please provide the locations of the hospitals and the amount of time and money invested at the start of the procedure.
How much money has been invested in that project so far? We are interested in the implementation status," he stated.
Speaking in Parliament about the government's Covid-19 spending, Mr. Ofori-Atta said that after the epidemic, the government made the audacious choice to build up health facilities in the districts and regions without district or regional hospitals.
With a total of 600 million dollars set aside for that purpose, "111 District, Regional, and Mental Hospitals (Agenda 111) were scheduled for building."
Additionally, "amounts of $779.05 million were planned [for the continuation of the Agenda 111 projects] in 2021. A sum of 763.92 million yen has been released from this.
But in response to this, Mr. Iddrisu has requested that the government provide a detailed explanation of how these funds have been used.
According to some estimates, using the 2020–2021 exchange rate, $600 million will likely equal $100 million. With that amount, two district hospitals should have been finished at the very least.
He said that according to the Finance Minister's calculations, the government had already spent 1.3 billion on Agenda 111.
"Ghanaians are curious about the whereabouts of the projects. Even so, are there any contractors there? Without fear of disagreement, I can say that they simply enlisted the aid of party activists and provided them with funding.