Ibrahim Adjei: Don’t end zipline, renegotiate for better terms

Former Assistant Secretary at the Office of former President Akufo-Addo, Ibrahim Adjei, is urging the government to renegotiate its contract with medical drone delivery firm Zipline, rather than cancel it, arguing that the service remains vital and can be improved with better terms.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Monday, December 1, Mr. Adjei said discussions should focus on securing value for money, not discarding an emergency healthcare support system that has demonstrated clear benefits.

He argued that returning to the negotiation table would allow the government to properly assess operational costs and agree on more efficient, affordable service delivery.
“What Mahama Ayariga should do is to negotiate with Zipline for the cost of the service to get better terms, because it is a business,” he said.

Mr. Adjei also dismissed claims that retaining Zipline creates a monopoly in the drone health-delivery sector. He pointed out that similar models operate successfully in countries such as Rwanda and China and encouraged the government to support local innovators to enter the space.
“Why not encourage Ghanaians to also enter this sector of medical health delivery? Nobody is saying that Zipline should have a monopoly. There is a lot of investment in this space, as is being replicated in Rwanda, China and other countries,” he said.

His remarks come in response to Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga’s call for the immediate termination of the Zipline contract, which he described as a “total waste” of public funds. The demand followed Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s request for the Health Minister to brief Parliament on efforts to restore operations at three Zipline centres shut down due to the government’s GH₵175 million indebtedness.

The debt has significantly disrupted Zipline’s ability to deliver emergency medicines to remote areas.

Addressing Parliament, Mr. Ayariga insisted that the Ghana Health Service is capable of acquiring and managing its own drones without relying on Zipline.