Editorial: This is not time for politics; 94 hospitals projects must be supported

During his 8th address to the nation on measures being put in place to deal with the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, President Akufo-Addo announced that his government had decided to build 88 district hospitals in districts that do not have any, and six regional hospitals in the newly-created regions.

According to the President, all the projects would be completed within a year to help deal with the Covid-19 and future outbreaks of any disease in the country. The President also indicated that the modalities for the construction of the new hospitals would soon be announced by his government.

The announcement by the President has been met with mixed reactions from Ghanaians. Whilst a section of them welcome the news and pray that the project comes into fruition, others also think otherwise. Members of Parliament (MPs) representing the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were the first to raise doubts about the projects. According to these MPs, it is a campaign promise being made by the President which would never be fulfilled.

Next to join the fray is the flagbearer of the NDC, Mr John Dramani Mahama, who also thinks these hospitals will never be constructed within the period the President has set, and that Nana Addo is being overly ambitious.

Hear him: “While more investment is required to augment the existing health infrastructure, it is important that the plan to do so is credible and clearly thought through. What we should avoid is knee-jerk promises that appear reactive rather than product of critical thinking and a well-coordinated response to an existing or emerging problem.”

To Mahama, the promise to construct 94 new hospitals in one year is understandable, “considering his rather tall list of unfulfilled or poorly implemented promises from year to year.” But whilst the NDC leader is casting doubts over the project, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has welcomed it.

The General Secretary of the GMA, Dr Justice Yankson, told Joy FM that it is good idea and hoped other ongoing projects would be completed as well. “As the GMA has always said, these health facilities that have been left should be completed for the common good of Ghanaians. And it is clear that some activities are happening when it comes to completing old projects, maybe the issue is with the speed at which this is being done. But 88 districts without hospitals is a huge number compared to the number of facilities that are yet to be completed.

“So we cannot ignore them, especially in a country that has a policy that every district must have a hospital. The issue of an infectious disease centre is one that, as a country, we have paid lip service to for a long time, so if at this point, Covid-19 has exposed a lot of inadequacies in our health system, and the state, through the President, has taken a decision to construct these infectious disease centres for us, then. as the Ghana Medical Association, we endorse it.”

It is an undeniable fact that should the Covid-19 spread to the rural areas where health facilities are simply non-existent, it would be very difficult to manage. This is the reason why The Chronicle thinks every Ghanaians must support the decision to build the 88 district hospitals. The doubt being cast on the whole project by the NDC flagbearer is to be expected, and The Chronicle does not blame him, because, as an opposition leader, one does not expect him to welcome the news by his opponent.

Nevertheless, we think Mr Mahama would be a happy man if these projects are executed to serve the interest of the very people he is seeking to lead. One of the major problems confronting this country is the Pull Him Down (PHD) syndrome that has characterised our politics. The if it is not me then it must not be done mentality has thwarted the forward march of this country for a very long time. In this case, we blame for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and NDC – the two parties that have ruled this country since the Fourth Republican Constitution was ushered in.

In any proper democracy, when one’s opponent comes out with an idea that would serve the best interests of the country, he is supported to do so, but unfortunately, the opposite is the case in Ghana.

This conduct, we insist, will not help in the rapid development of the country. We expect every opposition party to support good ideas and even come out with suggestions that would help in implementing them.  Political parties must put the interests of the state ahead of any other interests to support the overall development of the country.

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