Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, publisher of the Daily Statesman newspaper and a private legal practitioner, says even though President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo may come across as “unusually ambitious”, he usually puts “his mouth where his ambition is and his money where his mouth is.”
Mr Asare Otchere-Darko was reacting to claims by cynics of the Akufo-Addo government, especially members of the opposition National Democratic Congress, who insist that it will be humanly impossible for the government to execute its plan of beginning the construction of some 88 hospitals in the country this year because the required funds had not been budgeted for to allow for such ambitious projects to take place.
During his address on Sunday, President Nana Akufo-Addo disclosed that the government will, this year, begin constructing 88 district hospitals in districts without hospitals and six additional regional hospitals in the newly created regions.
A joke?
But members of the NDC say the proposed project is “a joke and impossible”, with the Minority in Parliament saying it is “a campaign façade”, and nothing to address the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has accused President Nana Akufo-Addo of using the coronavirus updates for politics.
“The construction of 88 district hospitals and six regional hospitals has nothing to do with Covid-19. I do not think he wants to imply that Covid-19 is going to exist for an additional one year.
“At this point in time, what I have realised is that the President is hiding behind Covid-19 update to do general campaign because he has realised that he hasn’t gotten the opportunity to go to the field to campaign,” he stated.
Possible
However, Mr Asare Otchere-Darko, who is also the founder of the Danquah Institute, has explained that President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Cabinet have thoroughly “dissected” every aspect of what he said and moves are being made to find funding for the projects.
He asked members of the NDC to a take a cue from the fact that even though the current expenditures on Covid-19 were not budgeted for, the President has been able to provide subsidies for electricity and free water to mitigate the sufferings of Ghanaians amid the pandemic.
“I’ve heard some senior NDC politicians making jokes that there is simply no money budgeted for health in 2020 to allow the President to deliver 88 hospitals. Well, there wasn’t COVID-19 when the budget was made. There wasn’t any 50% subsidy for electricity and 100% free water in the budget but that and many more are happening. The same way, before COVID-19, there was no budget for collapsed banks, savings & loans, etc and yet this government found the money,” Mr Asare Otchere-Darko wrote on his Facebook wall.
He appealed to members of the NDC to hold on whilst the President makes public how the projects will be executed.
“Please tell the NDC to have patience; they must be in no rush to Dec 7. The President said the details of the hospital projects will be made transparent and open to public scrutiny and action.
Trust Nana, he may be unusually ambitious but he usually puts his mouth where his ambition is and his money where his mouth is,” he said.
Source: Daily Statesman
