Akufo-Addo building 88 hospitals within a year is a 'lie' - Joyce Bawah

Special aide to former President John Mahama, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, has said the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's plan of building hospitals in the 88 districts in the country without medical centres is a "lie".

According to her, there are hospitals constructed by the previous administration which the government refused to open to Ghanaians.

She urged the government to put them to use and put the money back into the economy for the people of Ghana.

Nana Addo said the government will soon commence the construction of hospitals in the 88 districts in the country without hospitals.

He said the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the massive gap in health infrastructure in the country and the need for government to attend to it.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation during his updates on Ghana's situation on the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday, April 26, 2020, he said, "There are 88 districts in our country without hospitals. We have six new regions without regional hospitals. We do not have infectious disease control centres dotted across the country and we don't have enough testing and isolation centres for diseases like COVID-19. We must do something urgently about this."

"That is why the government has decided to undertake a major investment in our healthcare infrastructure – the largest in our history. We will, this year, begin constructing 88 hospitals in the districts without hospitals. It will mean 10 in Ashanti, nine in Volta, nine in Central, eight in Eastern, seven in Greater Accra, seven in Upper East, five in Northern, five in Oti, five in Upper West, five in Bono, four in Western North, four in Western, three in Ahafo, three in Savannah, two in Bono East and two in North-Easter regions.

"Each of them will be a quality, standard design 100-bed hospital with accommodation for doctors, nurses, and other health workers and the intention is to complete them within a year," he added.

However, Joyce Bawa in reaction to the President's address said Ghanaians don't need to be promised unrealistic goals.

In a Twitter post, she wrote: "What's the plan for all of us as Ghanaians? Do we need to be promised unrealistic goals for the purpose of speech making? 88 hospitals within a year is a lie.

We have hospitals, put them to use, and let’s put the money back into the economy for the people of Ghana."

What’s the plan for all of us as Ghanaians? Do we need to be promised unrealistic goals for the purpose of speech making? 88 hospitals within a year is a lie.

We have hospitals, put them to use and let’s put the money back into the economy for the people of Ghana.

— Joyce Bawah Mogtari (@joyce_bawah) April 26, 2020