A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has lauded the President, Nana Akufo-Addo’s initiative to build hospitals in some 88 districts in the country.
The Agenda 88 project, which is expected to last for a year, is scheduled to commence this month, according to the President.
Answering a question as to which projects Akufo-Addo can be remembered for in the health sector same way former president John Mahama is noted for completing some hospitals like the Ridge Hospital, he mentioned the district hospitals yet to be constructed.
On Face to Face on Citi TV, Mr. Otchere-Darko asked Ghanaians to look out for the hospitals as they would end up being better and built at lesser costs compared with the amount of money spent building the hospitals John Mahama is noted for.
“One of the challenges that we have seen as a country is that our health system is extremely weak and we need to strengthen it. This whole idea of Agenda 88 [hospitals] tells you that there are districts in this country that don’t have hospitals. If there were enough hospitals in this country, and hospitals that when you go with your NHIS card you could be treated, I don’t think we would be having the Agenda 88 that we are having,” he remarked.
“Mark this on the wall, when Akufo-Addo starts rolling out the hospitals, you will realise that they can be built better and cheaper than what has been put up because it is not about just putting up infrastructure for the sake of it. Are you giving the country value for money? Because if Akufo-Addo can build, for instance, a district hospital for under $20 million and Mahama was building for US$40million, what does that tell you?” he wondered.
About Agenda 88
President Akufo-Addo announced the ambitious plan to construct the 88 hospitals during his eighth national address to give updates on the novel coronavirus situation in Ghana.
The President also promised to construct six new regional hospitals and rehabilitate the Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi, which is the regional hospital of the Western Region, all in a bid to boost healthcare delivery in the country.
The standard 100-bed facilities which will be in districts without hospitals will also have accommodation for staff.
The Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama on the back of this has directed the various district assemblies without hospitals to identify and release a minimum of 15 acres of land for the projects.
Mahama’s hospitals
Ex-president John Mahama is noted for leaving some hospitals such as Ridge Hospital, Shai Osudoku District Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Ga East Municipal Hospital.
There are however many claims by the opposition NDC that the governing NPP abandoned hospitals which could not be completed by Mahama when since coming into office.
The NDC has constantly drummed home these calls for the government to complete Mahama’s unfinished hospitals.
This however heightened when the President hinted of constructing the 88 district hospitals.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, for instance, asked the government to focus on completing abandoned hospital projects in the country instead of starting new ones.
According to him, such an approach is feasible compared to the promise of completing over 90 hospital projects in a year with a non-existent source of fund.
But the government keeps debunking these claims, insisting that it is still on course in finishing what John Mahama started.