A member of the NDC Communications Team, Wonda Madilo, has backed calls for the termination of the government’s contract with Zipline, insisting the deal is riddled with corruption, mismanagement, and deep structural failures within the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, December 1, he claimed the Zipline arrangement has been compromised from the start and has failed to deliver value for the millions of cedis committed to it.
He said the health sector’s challenges cannot be blamed solely on logistics, but on what he described as entrenched inefficiencies and questionable dealings surrounding the contract.
According to him, the problems associated with Zipline’s operations reflect broader governance failures.
“The fact is that the Zipline contract has been fraught with a lot of deals, corruption, mismanagement, and a lot of ineptitude within the Ghana Health Service, which is why they are unable to manage their stock,” he stated.
He added that the country has witnessed repeated shortages of essential medicines, not only due to warehouse issues but also because drugs were simply not imported on time, an indication of poor oversight and accountability.
“There have been instances where drugs were in short supply, not only because of the warehouse, but because they didn’t import the drugs into the country. These are systemic challenges to be dealt with, not to cover them with drones. Do the drones manufacture drugs?”
His remarks reinforce Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga’s strong push for the government to terminate the Zipline contract entirely, describing it as a waste of public funds.
Mr Ayariga’s call followed concerns raised by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who requested a parliamentary briefing on stalled Zipline operations after three centres shut down due to the government’s GH₵175 million debt to the company.
Addressing Parliament, Mr Ayariga argued that the Ghana Health Service has the capacity to procure and operate its own drones without relying on what he sees as an overpriced and inefficient partnership.
