Promises Galore At SONA, As Akufo Addo Promises Another 111 Pipe Dream Hospital Projects

President Nana Akufo-Addo has launched Agenda 111 to construct hospitals across all regions in Ghana amidst skepticism of the project’s feasibility.

During his first State of the Nations Address (SONA) since he was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential elections, President Akufo Addo claims the plan to construct 111 hospitals nationwide will be “the largest infrastructural development” in Ghana’s history.

“Construction of some hospitals has commenced and will continue without interruption. Agenda 111 is the largest infrastructural development in our history and will lead to Ghana becoming a centre of medical excellence and a centre of medical tourism,” President Akufo Addo boasted.

“The government will continue to invest in the health sector, and continue to recruit more health workers. An electronic medical record system is currently underway, following its implementation in key health facilities. Upper East, Upper West, and Bono regions will go live on the e-health system in five days.” 

However, critics are finding it difficult reconciling this promise with a similar one he made in 2020, which his administration failed to deliver on. 

Speaking in a televised address early 2020, President Akufo-Addo assured the entire country that he was empathetic to the inadequate health facilities in the country and that his government was set to construct hospitals in 88 districts as well as some six regional hospitals across the country.

“Each of them will be a quality, standard design 100-bed hospital with accommodation for doctors, nurses, and other health workers,” President Akufo-Addo said, promising to complete the entire project I less than one year.

At the time, critics bashed the President for making unrealistic promises, but government officials and communication mouthpieces of the governing party went on the offensive claiming the president will not renege on his promise.

As it eventually turned out, however, not a single hospital block was constructed within the timeframe promised by the President.

When he appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament a few weeks ago, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, admitted the faux pas, saying the promise was a mere vision. In other words, it was a pipe dream.

“That was the President’s vision which was supposed to have been translated into action. He set up a committee at the presidency led by the Chief of Staff. I was a member. We pulled one or two infrastructure from our ministry. There was a representation from the Ghana Health Service too,” Agyeman Manu told the appointment committee.

In what critics saw as cheap politicking of Ghana’s problematic lack of health infrastructure, not a single one of those promised 88 hospitals had been built by the end of 2020.