NHIS, capitation grant and LEAP were acts of constitutional equity – Afenyo-Markin

Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has defended the social intervention record of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, describing it as constitutional obedience rather than political generosity.

Speaking at the IERPP lecture attended by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, with Hackman Owusu-Agyemang chairing the occasion, Afenyo-Markin said the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2003 marked a fundamental shift in Ghana’s healthcare system.

He recalled that under the previous “cash and carry” regime, patients who could not pay upfront were denied treatment.

“A sick Ghanaian who could not pay simply did not receive care. The NHIS ended that injustice,” he said.

He further highlighted the Capitation Grant, which eliminated direct school levies at the basic level, and the School Feeding Programme, which ensured children were nourished and present in classrooms.

“These were not handouts. They were structural corrections to ensure constitutional guarantees became reality,” he noted.

He also cited the LEAP programme as evidence that centre-right governance recognises the state’s duty to protect the most vulnerable.

“A tradition that believes in human dignity cannot abandon those unable to provide for themselves,” he added.