NDC’s over-politicization of healthcare projects dangerous, abandoned Afari Military Hospital for many years — Dr Ayew Afriye

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Ayew Afriye, has criticized the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for what he describes as the over-politicization of healthcare infrastructure in Ghana.

According to him, the NDC has a track record of neglecting healthcare projects initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for political reasons, a situation he believes is detrimental to national development.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, March 19, the Effiduase-Asokore MP accused the NDC of abandoning key projects started by the NPP, including the Afari Military Hospital and other major health facilities.

“The NPP always continues projects that the NDC leaves behind. But when the NDC comes, they are unable to continue. Mr. Speaker, they abandoned the Afari Military Hospital for years. It 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.

Dr. Afriye argued that Ghanaian citizens do not care about political party affiliations when it comes to healthcare, indicating that all governments must prioritize continuity to improve healthcare delivery.

“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 emphasized.

He also pointed to the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), which was initiated under the NDC but operationalized under the NPP government, as an example of how his party prioritizes continuity in healthcare projects.

“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 noted.

The lawmaker further dismissed claims that the NPP only invests in healthcare in its strongholds, citing the Upper East Regional Hospital as evidence of the party’s commitment to equitable healthcare 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 stressed.

Dr. Afriye urged the NDC to put aside partisan considerations and focus on completing abandoned projects for the benefit of all Ghanaians.