President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has admitted that the initial schedule he gave for the completion of 111 hospital projects in 88 Districts was overly ambitious.
He said identifying suitable sites around the country for the project had turned out to be even more problematic than anticipated.
The President disclosed this on the floor of Parliament when he delivered the 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday,however, added that a great deal of the preparatory work had now been completed, and work had started at eighty-seven of the 111 sites.
“Mr Speaker, I have to report that, like all major construction projects, it is evident that the initial schedule we gave for the completion of Agenda 111 was overly ambitious. Identifying suitable sites around the country, for example, has turned out to be even more problematic than had been anticipated. I can say that a great deal of the preparatory work has now been completed, and work has started at 87 of the 111 sites. I have been assured that preliminary work on the remaining 24 sites is ongoing.
“We have every intention of seeing this project through to a successful end, which would enable me to commission all 111 hospitals before I leave office on 7th January 2025,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo also said though the Ghanaian economy is in “a difficult place”, the government was taking requisite measures to put the country back on the path of growth and development.
“The road to recovery will be hard and long, but we have started on a good footing by accepting that we are in a difficult place and are taking the difficult decisions that will get us out,” he said when he delivered his address on the State of the Nation to Parliament on Wednesday.
The President told Parliament that the present economic downturn occasioned by the devastation of the COVID-19 was not limited to Ghana but had worsened the economic outlook of economies around the world.
Before the pandemic, he noted, Ghana’s economic performance between 2017 and the beginning of 2020 demonstrated that the country was making rapid progress.
“Indeed, in 2017, 2018 and 2019, we recorded average annual GDP growth rates of 7 per cent, making us one of the fastest growing economies in the world. We grew the economy from the cedi equivalent of fifty-four billion United States dollars ($54 billion) at the end of 2016 to the cedi equivalent of seventy-two billion dollars ($72 billion) in 2020, a thirty-three percent (33%) increase.”
President Akufo-Addo stated that pandemic was not something that anyone could have planned for, and as a result, many a country, including Ghana, had been knocked off their planned trajectory, accruing huge deficits that have underwritten social cohesion.
The situation, he noted was aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has worsened the economic outlook of the entire world.
“We, in Ghana, have not escaped this development, and the consequences are being felt in rising living costs at our markets and at fuel stations.
The Government, President Akufo-Addo reiterated, “remained alive to its responsibilities to the Ghanaian people.”
“The difficulties of the time notwithstanding, we intend to continue to grow this economy and bring prosperity. That will only happen when we continue to invest in the future.
Mr Kwabina Mintah Akandor, Ranking Member of Health reacting to President’s address to Parliament described it as the saddest moment in the history of the country and that the President is completely out of touch with the reality on the ground.
He said since the government launched its agenda 111 project it failed to tell Ghanaians the source of funding for that development.
He said the President’s claim that the initial schedule government gave for the completion of Agenda 111 was overly ambitious was regrettable.
“Clearly from the beginning of his statement to the end, the President was completely out of touch with the reality on the ground.
“When you are giving the State of the Nation Address what you do is that you tell the people what you are doing, challenges and problems in the sector and how you intend to solve that problem” he added.
Nevertheless, the Majority side maintained that the President’s presentation to Parliament was exceptional and a call for compromises.
Dr Stephen Amoah, a member of the Finance Committee in his reaction stated the proceeds from the E-levy were intended to consolidate fiscal space because of the huge deficit in the economy.
He touted the government’s achievements in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, education, and health which he said was unmatched in the history of the country.
He said despite the Minority walking out before the passage of the E-levy, they must be lauded for their fierce resistance to the Bill, which he said the government would learn from and put the revenue from levy to judicious use.
GNA