I called for cancellation of Zipline contract - Majority Leader tells Parliament

The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, has told Parliament that helium personally called for the cancellation of the declaration the Ghana Health Service (GHS) signed with Zipline Ghana to present indispensable healthcare products to distant wellness facilities. 

He said helium was against the Zipline declaration due to the fact that the GHS could not proceed to walk GH¢170 cardinal each twelvemonth for the institution to beryllium sending humor and different products to wellness facilities by drone.

In his view, the GHS should person developed its in-house capableness to present the humor done its ain drones to chopped outgo enormously.

“The Ministry of Health should person bought its ain drones by now; you cannot proceed spending that benignant of wealth that you are paying a work provider, arsenic it is simply a full discarded of money,” Mr Ayariga said.

Minority Leader’s concern

Speaking connected the level of Parliament past Friday, Mr Ayariga insisted that the Ministry of Health should person bought its ain drones aft each those years the declaration had existed.

“So please, that is my idiosyncratic presumption of the matter,” helium said, erstwhile helium responded to a interest the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, expressed implicit the cancellation of the Zipline declaration conscionable past week.

He said Zipline Ghana announced the shutdown of 3 of its centres conscionable this week due to the fact that of implicit GH¢170million outstanding wellness claims.

“Mr Speaker, we cognize the captious relation Zipline has been playing, particularly successful delivering medicine to agrarian wellness care,” helium said.

He, therefore, said it was important that the Minister of Health addressed the issue, particularly regarding steps being taken to woody with it “because it is not those of america successful the cities that volition endure from this shutdown”.

“It is those successful the agrarian areas who different would request exigency aesculapian attraction and if determination is blood, determination is the request for them to get humor transfusion arsenic rapidly arsenic possible,” helium said.

Mr Ayariga said adjacent successful his statement connected the 2026 fund statement, helium indicated intelligibly that helium was against the Zipline contract. 

He recalled that the Zipline declaration was signed determination successful 2021 but specified declaration had been a drain connected nationalist resources. 

“Can you ideate each twelvemonth if we are spending GH¢170 cardinal truthful that they volition spell and driblet humor successful immoderate colony and past travel back.

“Meanwhile determination is roadworthy web starring to astir each town, each assemblage successful this state and determination are lone fewer locations that you would accidental the roads are not accessible,” helium said.

The Bawku Central MP said the wealth expended could person tarred the roads to each those locations that Zipline delivered medicals and the GHS could person bought their ain drones and done their ain deliveries anytime they needed to bash a delivery. 

Drones aren’t expensive

Asking however overmuch the outgo of a drone was, the Leader said immoderate drones were arsenic inexpensive arsenic $4,000 and $5,000, with the astir costly drones not costing beyond $10,000 and $20,000.

“By present we would person had drones for each territory successful this state managed by the Ghana Health Service.

“Let america spell and bash a full calculation of however overmuch wealth we person wasted connected this Zipline contract.,” helium said.