The president of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has urged President Akufo-Addo to divest the contentious National Cathedral site.
Mr Cudjoe has proposed that the proceeds from this sale, valued at approximately US$58 million, be allocated to completing vital hospital projects across the nation.
His recommendation arises amidst mounting concerns over the sluggish pace of the Agenda 111 initiative, a flagship program initiated by President Akufo-Addo in August 2021.
Cudjoe stresses the importance of prioritizing the finalization of crucial healthcare infrastructure projects over other ventures.
He critiques the government’s strategy of spreading resources thinly across all 111 hospitals, likening it to the unfinished National Cathedral project.
“The Health Minister should do the commissioning. Nana should focus on properly completing 15 out of the 111 District hospitals before his tenure ends. He requires $1.5 billion to complete 70% of Agenda 111. Pray for him, as finding that money in this tight economy will be difficult without a stroke of luck or a lottery win.
“Which is why whatever he has now should be used to properly complete 15 to 20 of these hospitals instead of allocating it thinly across all 111 and leaving them resembling the ungodly and unsightly Cathedral site. Also, can he allow auctioneers to sell his man-made wonder, the Cathedral site, to art collectors? We could get money to help complete at least one district hospital.
“P.S. My friend Kofi Tonto reminds me that the Health Minister is a designated nominee of the president, pending approval by Parliament, so he can’t commission the project.
“Well, I still think the designated nominee remains the CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority, doesn’t he? If not, then a deputy health minister should do the commissioning,” he said in a Facebook post.