Some Agenda 111 hospitals have reached roof level – Assafuah

Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah has revealed that some hospitals under the ongoing Agenda 111 project have reached lintel level.

He said this on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday June 25, while contributing to a discussion on the breakdown of the Covid Funds utilisation given by the Finance Minister in Parliament on Wednesday June 23.

Mr Assafuah said an amount of ¢700million has been released for the project.

“I can tell you that a number of the hospitals have reached lintel level,” he indicated.

He further said when asked to mention the areas where the project has reached roofing level that “It can’t also be that two years down the line nothing has been done about.”

The Agenda 111 project was initiated by the Akufo-Addo administration to build hospitals across the country.

Regarding the Covid funds spending, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta told Parliament that the government was prudent with resources to help protect lives and safeguard jobs.

He said every penny mobilised was used judiciously to enhance the country’s ability to contain the pandemic.

He also described the pandemic as the biggest shock to have hit the economy so far, hence the decision by the country to deploy all available resources to contain the effects on lives and businesses.
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Answering questions on how funds mobilised to support the Covid-19 fight were expended, the minister said it was untrue that the government was running away from accountability. “Mr. Speaker, I believe that this presentation demonstrates Government’s commitment to accountability and transparency. All programmed, mobilised and utilised funds have been duly reported on. As a Government, we continue to operate an open-door policy and welcome any opportunity to engage in the national interest,” he said.

He explained that an amount of ¢18.19 billion was mobilised in resources while GH¢12.04 billion was spent.

He said the amount spent to contain the spread and mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and properties.

Mr Ofori-Atta said the amount was expended between April 2020, when the pandemic struck the country, and May this year.
He also dismissed concerns that there were inconsistencies in the Covid-19 expenditures, stating that whatever was mobilised and spent had been documented and well accounted for.

The minister was answering questions on how much the country mobilised in resources to fight the pandemic and how much was actually spent.

“I wish to dispel the notion that there have been some inconsistencies in government data on Covid-19,” he said, noting that the expenditure captured by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his earlier presentation to the nation was in tandem with records at the ministry.

He thus urged the public to dismiss the rumours on data inconsistencies, as the funds were prudently used to protect lives and mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the economy.