President John Dramani Mahama has criticised the previous administration’s handling of the Agenda 111 hospital project, saying the decision to start all 111 hospitals at the same time was not prudent.
He made the comments during a meeting with the Northern Regional House of Chiefs on Friday, May 15, before travelling to Geneva for an international engagement.
President Mahama said the project lacked proper planning and should have been done in phases. He argued that launching all 111 hospitals at once created serious financial and operational challenges.
“I don’t think it was a very prudent idea to start 111 hospitals at the same time. At least they should have been phased out,” he said.
The President said some contractors took mobilisation funds but failed to work on site. He described the situation as a major waste of public resources. “With some of the projects, people took the mobilisation and never went to the site,” he said. He added that the state is now taking steps to recover funds from defaulting contractors.
President Mahama said his government has reviewed the Agenda 111 programme. He explained that priority will now be given to completing 35 hospitals that are near completion. He added that more projects will be completed in phases in future budgets.
The President also said faith-based health organisations will be invited to help complete some of the hospitals.He said these groups may adopt selected facilities and help bring them into operation. “We’re also inviting the faith-based organisations that run hospitals to adopt some of the hospitals,” he said.
He also noted that law enforcement agencies are pursuing contractors who failed to deliver on their obligations. The Agenda 111 project, launched to expand healthcare infrastructure across Ghana, has faced delays and concerns over cost and execution.
