Former President John Dramani Mahama has once more lamented the government’s abandonment of the healthcare facilities set up by his government. Mr. Mahama was speaking at the opening of the 865 sqm Lordina Foundation Maternity and Children’s Ward, constructed and furnished to commemorate his 30th wedding anniversary to Lordina Mahama, the former first lady. The facility contains 45 beds, 10 baby cots, a Kangaroo Mother and Child Care Centre, a Delivery Room, and a Recovery Ward, among others.
The former President demanded that the government operationalize the finished health facilities while also urging it to complete abandoned ones. He further bemoaned that the number of health facilities commenced by previous governments that have been neglected has been heart-wrenching for him as a politician.
He used the opportunity to urge the President and the government to stop wasting money that belongs to the taxpayers and to act quickly to complete these hospitals. Mr. Mahama added that there had been several calls from the minority in parliament on the operationalization of the neglected hospitals.
Last year, after the Minority paid a visit to some project sites that were still uncompleted, and had not been handed over to the Health Ministry, the ranking member on the health committee of parliament, Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said that a private member’s motion on the situation of the nation’s abandoned hospital projects will be submitted when Parliament resumed in October 2021.
One can understand the frustration of the former President over abandoned projects, considering the depth of work and resources that were invested in improving the health sector through infrastructure by his administration.
We saw the construction of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (Legon Hospital), as well as the face lifting of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) and Ridge Hospitals (Greater Accra Regional Hospital). These are only but a few of the numerous health facilities that have been constructed across the country, with some complete and needing operationalization while others remain uncompleted. Some of the hospital projects undertaken by the Mahama administration include the Shai Osodoku District Hospital, Fomena District Hospital, Abetifi District Hospital, Tepa District Hospital, The Bank of Ghana Hospital, and Maritime Hospitals.
The government has promised in its Agenda 111 project, to construct 101 district hospitals, 7 regional hospitals for the new regions, including the Western Region; 2 new psychiatric hospitals for the Middle Belt (Kumasi) and Northern Belt (Tema), respectively; and to upgrade the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital in the Western Region. This was a flagship project of the government however, we have not seen the projects materialize.
President Akufo-Addo cut sod in the Ashanti Region in August 2021 to indicate the launch of hospital projects across the country, yet, there has been no sign of commencement of the projects across the country. The President has guaranteed that all of the Agenda 111 hospitals would be finished and operational before the end of his term in office in January 2025.
Will it not be in the best interest of Ghanaians to at least complete the unfinished hospitals by the previous governments before embarking on new ones which may take more time and resources to complete? When the existing hospital projects are completed and operationalized, it will create more jobs for the nurses and health workers and will overall improve the health care service in the country. The government must focus on immediate priorities and not just on making promises to Ghanaians that they may not be able to fulfil.