Free SHS, NHIS, others: John Mahama lists social interventions by NDC governments

Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, has expressed shock at claims that the opposition political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), lacks a social intervention policy.

He believes that anyone who makes such an assertion needs further education on what constitutes a social intervention.

The former President made these remarks while addressing the media on Sunday, July 7, 2024.

He enumerated several social interventions initiated by the NDC:

"The District Common Fund was introduced by the NDC; we included it in the 1992 constitution. We stipulated that a total of 5 to 8% of total government revenue should go directly to the districts for their development. So, if you visit your district and find that the district assembly has built a school, a KVIP, a nursery, a sports recreational facility, or a community center, it is a social intervention by the NDC that has facilitated that.

Who introduced the GETFUND? It was Rawlings and the NDC. We enacted the GETFUND Law, and without GETFUND, where would our education be? A significant portion of school infrastructure is provided by GETFUND. So, how can you say we haven't introduced any social intervention? In any case, what is a social intervention policy?

It involves the introduction of policies that provide social services to people. We have provided more access to water than any other government in the history of this country. When Professor Mills came into office, access to water was at 57%; by the time we left office, it had increased to 76%. In Accra alone, we added 40 million gallons of water. For eight years, this government hasn't added even one gallon.

I hear the Ghana Water Company say that Accra's population is outgrowing its water supply. Accra is outgrowing because you haven't added a single gallon to it. You must plan and understand your population growth, and you must continue to increase the capacity to bring in more water. That's why I'm saying that we brought water from the northern direction of this country, and so places like Adenta, which hadn't seen water for 15 years, saw water for the first time."

"We've extended electricity more than any other government in the history of the country. When electricity arrives in an area, it rapidly changes the lives of the people; they can engage in small-scale enterprises. Rawlings introduced rural electrification and national electrification programs. So today, if we say that Ghana has more than 80% access to electricity, it is because the NDC introduced these policies. So how can anyone say the NDC has not provided any social intervention?

Even the NHIS, the NDC started the pilot in Damango and Nkoranza. Implementation began during President Kufour's tenure, but what President Kufour introduced was a Mutual Health Insurance Scheme. Today's Health Insurance was introduced by Prof Mills. He transformed it from a mutual, District Health Insurance to a national health insurance, so that your card can provide you with healthcare across the country. So, I wonder what gives these people this idea," he said.

"I can point to free school uniforms and free sandals. By the time we left office, every child in basic education had three textbooks. If that is not social intervention, I wonder what is. Even the progressively free SHS, I introduced it, so you can't say that we don't have any social intervention.

In the cocoa sector, our free fertilizer and free seedlings transformed the lives of cocoa farmers. Remember, before I left office, we had produced one million tonnes because of the policy we had of providing these inputs to farmers. If that is not social intervention, then I don't know. That argument must stop," he concluded.

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