Akufo-Addo Urges John Mahama To Prioritise The Completion Of The Agenda 111 Projects

• President Akufo-Addo has urged John Mahama to prioritise the completion of the Agenda 111 project
• He said while his government has successfully completed a number of the hospitals, so many are still under construction
• The Agenda 111 project was launched as part of Ghana's response to the Covid-19 pandemic

President Akfuo-Addo has called on President-elect John Mahama to make completing the Agenda 111 hospital projects one of his top priorities after being sworn in.

He made this call at his final State of the Nation Address held in parliament on Friday, January 3, 2025.

The Akufo-Addo administration launched the Agenda 111 project in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, which overwhelmed existing hospitals.

The project would see the construction of 111 district and regional hospitals, including psychiatric hospitals.

The President noted that despite some hospitals being complete, many others are still at various stages of completion and demand the president-elect's attention.

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Akufo-Addo told Parliament that the Agenda 111 project is a cornerstone of Ghana’s healthcare development and, when completed, would strengthen the healthcare system.

On X, applied economist Alfred Appiah noted that the outgoing government had used spin to overstate their capabilities in relation to the construction of the hospitals.

"The outgoing government knew it would not be able to complete most of the Agenda 111 projects before its term ended. This is why it informed the IMF that the projects would be reprogrammed for completion over five years. However, locally, it continued spinning narratives about finishing a significant portion before leaving office. In the end, only three were ‘commissioned’ " he said.

Akufo-Addo says Ghana not broke

President Nana Akufo-Addo insisted during his final State of the Nation address that Ghana was not broke despite its inability to pay its domestic and external debt.

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The outgoing leader attributed the critical assessment of Ghana's debt struggles to propagandists.

Akufo-Addo's comments sparked an uproar from some opposition legislators who questioned the president's data. Amid an economic crisis, Ghana’s public debt was GH¢761 billion as of October 2024.

In 2022, per Reuters, Ghana suspended payments on most of its external debt in a bid to address its balance-of-payments deficit.

These included Eurobonds, commercial loans, and most bilateral loans. Observers criticised Akufo-Addo's assertion about Ghana's debt status during his State of the Nation Address.

On X, applied economist Alfred Appiah noted the restructuring as debt as an example of why the President's claim was false.

"The country that failed to pay its debts and had to restructure obligations to domestic and foreign investors to meet the requirements for an IMF bailout isn’t broke? What message does that send to the investors who suffered significant losses due to these debt exchanges?"

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Akufo-Addo commiserates with Kantamanto fire victims

YEN.com.gh reported President Akufo-Addo has reacted to the recent devastating Kantamanto market fire in the Greater Accra Region.

In his final State of the Nation Address in Parliament on January 3, 2025, President Akufo-Addo highlighted the devastating impact of the fire on the livelihoods of the affected traders and their dependents.

He assured them that the government would afford them all the necessary support to rebuild their businesses and recover from the tragedy.

Source: YEN.com.gh