Newly elected Member of Parliament for Lambussie constituency and former General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Professor Titus Kofi Beyuo, has expressed disappointment with the New Patriotic Party’s Agenda 111 policy.
According to him, it was a brilliant vision by the Akufo-Addo-led government but was poorly managed.
In a conversation with Joy Prime’s Roselyn Felli on the Prime Morning show, Prof. Beyuo insisted that the brilliant initiative was bound to fail, given its ineffective rollout and funding challenges.
Sharing his thoughts on whether the NDC government is putting measures in place to complete the project, the MP said, “I have strong views about Agenda 111, and I still do now. I think it’s an ambitious project that defies all logical reasoning of project management. When you want to do a project, basic project management principles will tell you that you either test it, like a pilot, and see how it will go before you roll it out on a bigger scale. To start one hundred and eleven hospitals at once without specified funding was a huge challenge. To start these hospitals and situate the whole thing in the Office of the President is an even bigger challenge.”
“Who is better trained, better equipped, better knowledgeable, and more experienced to handle the construction of hospitals than the Ministry of Health? We have the engineers who can supervise the work. So, when you situate that in the Office of the President, then it’s confusing. And then you realize that they tried to start all at once, but couldn’t go far. Even the ones that they claim to have completed, unfortunately, are just buildings.”
He said he “definitely” knew from the outset that the project was headed for challenges, especially with the time frame provided for their completion.
He acknowledged that building a hospital in his constituency was beneficial because it was needed. However, it is problematic when hospitals are built in communities that already have existing health centers.
“In fact, when they said it was going to be done in 18 months, I said it was just not possible. Then they kept changing the date, confirming what I was saying. And you know, a hospital is more than the building. So, Lambussie, my constituency, is a beneficiary of Agenda 111; we have one of the projects there. I welcomed it because a constituency like Lambussie does not have a district hospital, so this is a very welcomed project for us. But you go to other places, and you’ll find a hospital there, and then they are trying to build Agenda 111. You go to some places and find a vibrant CHAG hospital, and they’re trying to build Agenda 111.”
He said his concerns about adequate human resource planning to achieve the goals of the initiative were ignored by the previous government, which contributed to their failure to complete the project before leaving office.
Prof. Titus Beyuo congratulated the newly appointed Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, on his new position and expressed optimism that the Sefwi Juaboso MP would deliver his best to improve the sector.
He stated that Mr. Akandoh’s nomination is appropriate and that he is competent to handle the role.
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