Politics of Friday, 10 April 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Akufo-Addo only Ghanaian president in history who hasn’t built any hospital – Sammy Gyamfi

National Communications Officer of NDC, Sammy Gyamfi National Communications Officer of NDC, Sammy Gyamfi

As though to suggest that the ruling government is living on glories of its predecessors, the Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi claims President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the only Ghanaian president in history who has not built a hospital.

Sammy Gyamfi claims all major hospitals being used in the fight against the novel coronavirus are the legacies of former President Mahama, who served a four-year term as president of Ghana.

His comments resurrected controversies which followed after Health Minister, Kweku Agyeman Manu indicated in a press briefing earlier this month that, the Bank of Ghana Hospital would be used to treat VIP coronavirus patients and staff of the bank.

Though the minister clarified his statement as regards the use of the hospital after several backlashes, the NDC seem unmoved by clarifications, so far.

Sammy Gyamfi claims the Akufo-Addo-led administration has made a name for itself with its incessant borrowing but the idea of putting up a hospital has never been a reason for such borrowing.

The NDC communicator said in a tweet, “Despite his unprecedented borrowings, President Akufo-Addo will go down as the only President in Ghana’s history who hasn’t built a single hospital. Yet, he intends to use The Bank hospital built by @JDMahama exclusively for VIP COVID-19 cases. Unacceptable! #GodBlessJM.”

“#ButForJM where would we have been on COVID19? #GodBlessJM”, he asked rhetorically in another tweet.

Per data available to him and the NDC, all the policies and programmes the Akufo-Addo-led administration has initiated in the fight against the coronavirus is hinged on the infrastructural investments of the Mahama administration.

So far, the main hospitals being used as treatment centres for coronavirus patients across the country are the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), University of Ghana Medical Centre, and the Bank of Ghana Hospital.

In a related development, Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako has raised doubts about the authenticity of claims by the opposition NDC that the hospital in question is indeed a legacy of the erstwhile Mahama administration.