Former Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has expressed disappointment over the prolonged delay in making the Afari Military Hospital in the Ashanti Region fully operational, describing the situation as a missed opportunity to improve healthcare delivery in the country.
Speaking to the media shortly after donating a pickup truck and 15 motorcycles to the Ghana Police Service at the Accra Regional Police Headquarters on Tuesday, June 16, the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer aspirant openly criticised successive administrations, including the NPP government under which he served as Chairman of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee.
Kennedy Agyapong said the hospital project, which was envisioned as a major healthcare facility to serve military personnel and civilians alike, should have been completed and operational years ago, given the significant investment that had gone into its construction.
Reflecting on the history of the project, he noted that the foundation for the hospital was laid during the administration of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, while substantial construction works were undertaken under a subsequent National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
According to him, despite inheriting the project when the NPP assumed office, the party failed to take the necessary steps to ensure its completion and operationalisation during its eight years in government.
“This hospital was started by President John Agyekum Kufuor. The locations and all those things. NDC came to start it, and when we came, I am NPP, and I am telling you the gospel truth. I was the chairman for Defence and Interior, and we didn’t do anything.
“When we decided to go and inspect Afari, they stopped us. I heard somebody saying the Afari Hospital has been there for 15 months, but we were there for eight years and didn’t do it.”
