Accra: Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, has clarified the happenings in the Zipline contract for providing drone services in healthcare delivery. Speaking at the Government's Accountability Series Press Conference at the Presidency in Accra, Mr Akandoh recalled that a contract was signed in 2018, which took effect in 2019.
According to Ghana News Agency, as part of the contract, there were clauses known as 'take or pay' in the agreement, stating that in the agreement, the contract was sole-sourced. Mr Akandoh highlighted that the Ghana Government is currently obligated to pay $88,000 per center each month, across six centers, totaling a little over half a million dollars monthly for the drone services.
Mr Akandoh emphasized that initially, it was projected that the government of Ghana funds would not be used to pay for these drone services. He cited a statement from his predecessor, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who addressed Parliament explaining the absence of the Finance Minister's signature on the contract, asserting that the public purse would not be implicated.
The Health Minister noted that despite these initial assertions, the government has been financing Zipline's services. He further explained that the intention was for these services to focus on hard-to-reach areas and emergencies. However, a review revealed that only 12% of activities were in hard-to-reach areas, with emergency services accounting for just 4%.
Mr Akandoh also remarked on the variety of items delivered by the drones, including condoms, blood donor cards, mosquito nets, food and nutrition items, and educational materials. He stressed the need for ensuring value for money and mentioned ongoing engagements with Zipline to address this concern.
The President, according to Mr Akandoh, has directed ministries to ensure value for money in their operations, prompting these reviews and discussions with Zipline.