The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Ayew Afriye, has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has a track record of continuing health projects inherited from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to him, unlike the NDC, which often abandons projects initiated by the NPP, his party remains committed to ensuring continuity in healthcare development.
“The beauty of NPP’s thinking is that we always continue projects inherited from the NDC. Whenever the NDC comes into power, they are unable to continue ours,” he said on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, March 19.
Dr. Afriye cited examples such as the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), which was initiated under the NDC but fully operationalized under the NPP.
“We gave them [NDC] a full budget for UGMC, and we operationalized it. It was under NDC, but we continued it. That is the difference,” he stated.
He further dismissed claims that the NPP only invests in healthcare projects in its strongholds, pointing to the Upper East Regional Hospital as proof of the party’s commitment to nationwide development.
“In the Upper East, we lost all the seats, but look at a caring government that still made allocations for a hospital there. That is what governance should be about,” he emphasized.
Dr. Afriye accused the NDC of abandoning key projects such as the Afari Military Hospital for years, despite its importance to the country’s healthcare system.
“The Afari Military Hospital was supposed to be in Kumasi, but they tried to move it to Accra, then to the north. Eventually, after three or four years, it returned to Kumasi,” he stated.
“The people of Ghana don’t care about NPP or NDC when it comes to healthcare. All they care about is access to quality health services. Over-politicization is not good; it is dangerous for healthcare,” he added.
