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Gov’t requires $1.7 billion to complete Agenda 111 projects – Mahama reveals
Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama says his administration will require a whopping $1.7 billion to complete the unfinished Agenda 111 hospital projects initiated by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo-led administration.
President Akufo-Addo launched the Agenda 111 project on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. The project covers the construction of 101 district hospitals and six regional hospitals in the newly created regions.
The Agenda 111 hospital projects in Ghana were scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024. However, only 21 out of the 111 hospitals are said to have been completed so far.
Addressing some members from the Christian Council during a meeting in Accra, President Mahama bemoaned that nearly 90 of the hospitals remain uncompleted, with some lacking even the most basic medical equipment.
“The previous government started Agenda 111 but has not been able to finish the hospitals. There are so many of them unfinished. Even the ones they commissioned don’t have a single bed. Now we need $1.7 billion to complete the Agenda 111 projects,” he stated.
President Mahama, as part of his administration’s efforts to ensure the completion of the remaining projects without further delays, has proposed a partnership with religious organisations to support the completion of some of the stalled projects.
He has therefore called on interested religious bodies to take on the uncompleted hospitals, complete them, and manage them to ensure that healthcare services reach more Ghanaians.
According to him, the government will not construct new hospitals in areas that have existing healthcare facilities even if the facility is a mission hospital. Additionally, what his government intends to do is to equip the existing healthcare facilities to meet international standards to serve more citizens within the catchment of the facility.
“If the missions already have a hospital in an area, we are not coming to compete with them by building another one. Instead, we will use resources to improve mission hospitals so they can better serve the community,” he reiterated.
However, President Mahama has reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that all Agenda 111 hospitals are completed and fully equipped to meet the healthcare needs of the country.
Source: gbcghanaonline.com
The Danish Children Fund (DCF), a Denmark-based NGO supporting children’s education, has encouraged students to prioritise their education and desist from misuse and abuse of drugs to enhance their holistic growth and development.
The call was made during a day’s sensitisation seminar on drug abused for students in Tamale to help them make informed life choices and stay away from abusing drug substances.
The event, held under an initiative dubbed: ‘Youths in Focus,’ brought together students, teachers and officials from the Ghana Police Service, Narcotics Control Commission and Ghana Education Service to educate young people on the dangers associated with drugs abused and their addiction trends.
Mr Benjamin Yin, Project Manager of DCF and Headmaster of Kalpohin SDA Basic School, speaking during the event, said the intervention was necessitated by increasing concerns over drugs abused among the youth in Tamale.
He said the organisation, which primarily focused on supporting needy children to remain in school, recognised the need to complement educational support with interventions that empowered young people to make responsible decisions.
Mr Yin highlighted some achievements of the DCF in the education sector in Tamale and said the organisation currently sponsored 55 vulnerable children to remain in school, most of whom were orphans.
He explained that out of the number, 23 beneficiaries were at Kalpohin SDA School, 18 at Tamale SDA School and 15 at Jakarayili School.
He said the support package included learning materials, food and other essential items to prevent school dropouts.
Beyond educational sponsorship, he said the organisation had invested in educational infrastructure to improve learning environments in beneficiary schools.
The Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Richard Akumi, Deputy Northern Regional Crime Officer, who addressed the students during the event, described the abuse of drugs among young people as a major challenge requiring collective action.
He said the Ghana Police Service had intensified efforts to tackle the abuse of drug in the region through law enforcement operations and community sensitisation programmes.
ASP Mr Akumi noted that the Northern Regional Police Command’s Special Operations Team had been carrying out operations across Tamale to dismantle drug hotspots and arrest suspects involved in drug-related activities. –GNA
Mr Samuel Akrasi, Principal of the Otaakrom Technical Institute in the Atwima Mponua District, has urged the media and research institutions to pay greater attention to youth unemployment after second-cycle education in the country.
He said increased reportage and research on unemployment among graduates of senior high schools and other second-cycle institutions would help create awareness at both grassroots and national levels and compel authorities and stakeholders to take the necessary steps to address the challenge.
Mr Akrasi made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of four workshops for the Institute.
He stressed the need for the media and researchers to investigate and publish data on unemployed graduates from senior high schools and other second-cycle institutions, noting that, in his view, the number of unemployed youth from such institutions exceeded those from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
According to him, TVET institutions produced more employable and self-employed youth than other second-cycle institutions in the country.
Mr Akrasi appealed for increased investment in TVET institutions through improved infrastructure, logistics, and training support to make technical education more attractive and accessible to the youth.
The principal noted that TVET education was becoming increasingly modernised and described the proposed workshops, expected to be completed within 18 months, as timely and beneficial to trainees.
The $7.5 million project, funded by the Social Investment Fund (SIF), includes an administration block and modern workshops for the Fashion Designing, Catering, Electricals, and Agro-Processing Departments of the Institute.
Mr Abass Nurudeen, Chief Executive Officer of SIF, said the project formed part of the 28 million-dollar Post-COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP), which seeks to improve the local economy by empowering the youth with employable skills under the TVET programme.
Mr Issahak Ibrahim, District Chief Executive for Atwima Mponua, described the project as a symbol of hope, opportunity and innovation that would help nurture a skilled generation for the district and beyond. –GNA
