By Members of the Majority caucus on the Health Committee of Parliament have criticized John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for dismissing the government’s Agenda 111 policy as unrealistic, arguing that it contradicts the NDC’s 2020 manifesto.
John Mahama recently expressed doubts about the feasibility of the Agenda 111 policy, citing the limited time remaining for the New Patriotic Party in government to execute it.
However, the Majority Caucus countered by highlighting that the NDC’s 2020 manifesto had proposed the construction of district hospitals in all districts, indicating what they perceive as inconsistency on the part of the NDC’s flagbearer.
During a media engagement in Parliament on Tuesday, March 19, Dr. Ayew Afriyie, the chairman of the Health Committee of Parliament, accused John Mahama of exhibiting inconsistency in his statements.
“If you call this [Agenda 111] overly ambitious if you call this unrealistic, then it is an attack on the NDC manifesto. Because if you say what you mean and you mean what you say, you don’t forget it at any point in time. Your boys may go and make politics out of it but you, the leader don’t go that route because of the manifesto.
“If you said you were going to build 88 hospitals and the NPP says it will do 111 hospitals, what is wrong with that? The former president is being disingenuous, he has been inconsistent and Ghanaians don’t have short memories as he has always said. We are clear on the principle that every district must have a hospital for universal health coverage and to be able to attain it, there must be access for all and there must be equity.”
The chairman also disclosed that more than 50 percent of the Agenda 111 hospitals are 60 percent completed.
“Over 50 percent of Agenda 111 hospitals have past 60 percent completion and under the NDC, they were able to complete 6 hospitals.”
