Don’t abandon Agenda 111 – Assibey-Yeboah tells Mahama

Former Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has urged the Mahama administration to continue and complete the Agenda 111 hospital projects initiated under the Akufo-Addo government, describing them as critical national investments that should not be abandoned.

Speaking in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Faceon Tuesday, January 13, Dr. Assibey-Yeboah stressed that sustained infrastructure spending is essential for national development and job creation.

“Roll out the infrastructure spending that you are doing. Don’t abandon the Agenda 111 like we always do,” he said.

He rejected suggestions that the Agenda 111 hospitals constitute a financial burden, insisting they represent necessary long-term investments in the health sector.

“You start budgets, 111 hospitals, and then say you’re not going to do anything about them. They are not a drain. This is infrastructure spending. You are building hospitals,” he stated.

Dr. Assibey-Yeboah proposed a phased approach to completing the projects to make them more manageable.

“So stagger them. You can say you will complete 25 this year, something like that,” he suggested.

The former lawmaker also criticised the government’s decision to cancel the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) policy, announced in its first budget, arguing that the programme had delivered tangible benefits.

“They came and in the first budget [2025], they said they had cancelled the One-District-One-Factory policy. Does it make sense? Industries have been created. Jobs have been created. So go back to it—an industrialisation policy,” he said.

According to him, maintaining both infrastructure and industrialisation programmes is key to addressing unemployment, particularly among the youth.

“Because if you don’t give them jobs, the youth out there will come after you,” he warned.

The Agenda 111 project was launched by the previous NPP administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, following concerns that over 100 districts and some regional capitals lacked hospitals. Although construction began under the Akufo-Addo-led government, many of the facilities remain incomplete.

Since taking office, the minority has accused the current administration of abandoning the projects. The government, however, insists it remains committed to completing all Agenda 111 facilities, citing provisions in the 2026 budget as evidence of its resolve.