The National Chairman for the National Democratic Congress, Hon Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has disclosed that the Mahama administration made plans to establish a medical school at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in order to upgrade the Sunyani Regional Hospital into a teaching hospital.
Hon Johnson Asiedu Nketiah then accused the former Education Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh for taking a singular decision to abandon the plan made by the NDC in 2017.
”A program for the expansion of University of Energy and Natural Resources here in Sunyani to include a medical school before the conversion of the Sunyani Regional Hospital into a Teaching Hospital was underway before the NDC exited office in 2016. Regrettably, all these plans were abandoned when the NPP government took over the reins in 2017.
Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who was worried about how these plans were suddenly abandoned further blamed the Health Minister, Hon Kwaku Agyeman Manu who is also from the Bono Region for not prevailing on the then Education Minister for his singular decision to abandon these plans.
”This is even though we have had a son of Bono and MP for Dormaa Central, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, serve as Minister of Health in the last seven years”.
Mr Asiedu Nketiah in his press statement indicated that ”we are reliably informed that when Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh took over as Minister for Education following the exit of the NDC in 2016, he took a position that the proposed Medical School should not be implemented so that UENR could concentrate on its so-called core mandate.
According to Mr Nketiah ”neither our own Bono brother Kwaku Agyeman Manu nor President Akufo-Addo could prevail upon one single Minister of Education to change his mind to allow the medical school to be established.
Kindly read the full statement below;
A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (NDC), HON. JOHNSON ASIEDU NKETIAH, ON THE FAKE PROMISES AND NEGLECT OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE BONO REGION BY THE AKUFO-ADDO/BAWUMIA NPP GOVERNMENT OVER THE PAST SEVEN (7) YEARS
Wednesday, 22nd November, 2023
1. Good morning to you, our distinguished friends from the media. We are highly honoured to have you here, and we thank you for availing your esteemed platforms to us to address our fellow countrymen and women on a vital subject.
2. Over the past week, the Flag-bearer and leader of the National Democratic Congress, H.E John Dramani Mahama, and his team comprising National and Regional Party Executives have been touring various parts of the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions. During the course of this tour, dubbed “Building Ghana Tour,” the Flag-bearer and his entourage met with traditional authorities. It engaged and interacted with representatives of professional bodies, farmers, artisans, traders, market women, and other organized groups.
3. These engagements have allowed us to listen to the people’s concerns and to aggregate views, petitions, and ideas that would eventually find expression in the NDC’s manifesto for the upcoming 2024 General Elections. The Building Ghana tour has also allowed us to share our superior policy proposals with the good people of the Bono Region, key among which is the 24-hour economy policy intended to create more employment opportunities for Ghanaians, a Cashew Marketing Board to support farmers and regulate the cashew industry; a revamping of the dying poultry industry; the cancellation of the obnoxious licensure examination for teacher trainees; and the Big Push policy which is going to be 10 billion dollar investment in infrastructure to address the socioeconomic needs of the people.
4. In the course of this tour, ladies and gentlemen, we have been confronted with the stark reality of our country today, as seen from the perspective of the people whom we lead. Everywhere we have been, the message has remained the same: Ghana has retrogressed in the past seven years under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government.
5. The tour has further brought the curious case of acute neglect and abandonment of development in the Bono Region under this government. The evidence is there for all to see, and this has been corroborated by the chiefs, opinion leaders, and the people of this region. The truth is that the Bono Region is currently experiencing its worst spell of underdevelopment under the Fourth Republic.
6. Friends from the media, almost all the campaign promises made to this region by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government have turned out to be pipe dreams.
Empty, grandiose, and unfulfilled promises, laced with slogans, are the visible legacies of the current government in the Bono region. The road network in the regional capital, Sunyani, and other parts of the area has not seen any improvement from what was left behind by the erstwhile Mahama/NDC government; educational, health, and other infrastructure are in disrepair.
7. Seven years into the life of this government, the people of the Bono Region continue to be served with the same old and empty promises. The most recent is a dubious sod-cutting undertaken by President Akufo-Addo to convert the Sunyani Regional Hospital into a teaching hospital.
8. Ladies and gentlemen, it is an indisputable fact that the NDC is the tradition that is credited with constructing three regional hospitals located in Cape Coast, Ho, and Sunyani under the leadership of President Jerry John Rawlings, of blessed memory. It is equally a fact that under the supervision of President J.E.A Mills, also of blessed memory, the NDC rolled out a policy to convert all three (3) regional hospitals and the already existing Tamale Regional Hospital into teaching hospitals.
9. Consistent with our conversion policy, the NDC opened a medical school in Cape Coast and converted the Cape Coast hospital into a teaching hospital. Under President Mills, the NDC built the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho and subsequently converted the Ho hospital into a teaching hospital. We also opened a medical school at the University of Development Studies (UDS) at Tamale.
10. A program for the expansion of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) here in Sunyani to include a medical school before the conversion of the Sunyani Regional Hospital into a Teaching hospital was underway before the NDC exited office in 2016. Regrettably, all these plans were abandoned when the New Patriotic Party took over the reins of government in 2017. This is even though we have had a son of Bono and MP for Dormaa Central, Kweku Agyeman Manu, serve as Minister of Health in the last seven years,
11. We are reliably informed that when Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh took over as Minister for Education following the exit of the NDC in 2016, he took a position that the proposed Medical school should not be implemented so that UENR could concentrate on its so-called core mandate. Unfortunately, neither our own Bono brother Kweku Agyeman Manu nor President Akufo-Addo could prevail upon one single Minister of Education to change his mind to allow the medical school to be established.
12. The program was reinstated upon assumption of office by the current Education Minister, Dr. Yaw, Adu Twum. Still, unfortunately, no budget allocation has since been made towards its realization by the failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
13. It is important to emphasize that of the three additional public universities that were established by the erstwhile NDC administration, namely the University of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources and the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in Somanya, UENR which is located here in Sunyani is the least endowed in terms of infrastructure. The reason is that, whereas funding was expeditiously sourced from China and Brazil for the other two universities, funding for UENR which was to come from Turkey encountered some challenges.
14. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to cure this delayed funding from the Turkish government, the erstwhile NDC government turned to GETFund to provide funding for the completion of the works at UENR, while we looked for other foreign funding sources. However, upon assumption of office, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government collateralised the GETFund for fifteen years for a so-called “Daakye Bond”, which they have since used for consumption purposes. This has made it impossible for them to continue funding the expansion works we commenced at UENR which included the establishment of a medical school for the University.
15. If we may ask, how does one operate a teaching hospital without a medical school? Where would that hospital draw medical students for the purposes of training them? This clearly goes to expose the insincerity and deceitfulness of President Akufo-Addo’s latest promise to convert the Sunyani regional hospital into a teaching hospital. We daresay that, this is another big scam. Having realised that another election is fast approaching, the NPP is up to their usual trick of deceiving the people of Bono again.
16. As a matter of fact, the Finance Minister only last week presented to Parliament what will be the last budget of this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration. It will interest you to know that the 2024 budget made no provision whatsoever for a medical school or a teaching hospital in the Bono region. Parliament has not considered nor passed any legislation backing the establishment of a Sunyani Teaching Hospital. Neither has Parliament considered nor approved any loan facility for these projects. Where, then is the funding for this project going to come from? For all intents and purposes, this is another deceitful sod-cutting exercise undertaken by President Akufo-Addo calculated to deceive the chiefs and good people of the Bono region.
17. It must be noted that this is not the first time President Akufo-Addo and this NPP government will be making such an empty promise of building an ultramodern health facility in the Bono region. In the run-up to the 2020 General Elections, President Akufo-Addo organized a similar sod cutting for the construction of an ultramodern Accident and Emergency Center for Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital. The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana who graced the occasion was so glad that he equated President Akufo-Addo to Jesus Christ at the sod-cutting ceremony. Nearly four years down the line, that project remains a Trojan gift – empty, fraudulent and non-existent. Yet this is the same man who is making a promise to the Bono people again.
18. Fellow fellow citizens and women, it is sad to note that the Sunyani Regional Hospital has not seen any refurbishment in the past seven years to enable it to play its role as a significant Regional referral Hospital. To add insult to injury, there is no work currently ongoing at most of the Agenda 111 sites in the Bono Region especially the one at Brekum East which has been totally neglected. This leaves many in the Bono region having to travel over long distances to Sunyani to seek medical care at the overstretched facility.
19. Friends from the media, my brothers and sisters, we in the NDC do not think that essential projects like UENR Medical School and Sunyani Teaching Hospital must be subjected to empty promises, deception, and cheap political sloganeering as we have witnessed under this failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government.
20. These are important projects that touch the very heart and soul of the people of this region. The people of Bono deserve a befitting Regional Teaching Hospital that matches modern standards. We in the NDC have long recognized this need and have kept faith with the good people of this region. We established a Regional hospital in 1990’s, a University subsequently, and we were in the process of establishing a medical school to complete this nexus before we left office in 2016. This is a track record that speaks to a genuine commitment to the development of this region.
21. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the current government, which has wholly relegated the development of the region. Had the efforts of the previous NDC administration been continued, this region would have boasted of an appreciable level of development, especially in the areas of health, education, and road infrastructure.
22. My brothers and Sisters, the ruling New Patriotic Party has taken the Bono region, the birthplace of Prof. Kofi Abrefa Busia, the first leader of the Danquah-Busia tradition to ever lead our dear country Ghana, for granted for far too long. And it is about time this truth is spoken without mincing words. We have noted recent demands and calls on the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to give the people of this region their fair share of the national cake. Such calls are in the right direction and must be sustained by the chiefs, clergy, youth and other opinion leaders in the region.
23. While at this, we call on the people of the Bono region to embrace the superior policies and track record of the NDC in this region. As you my be aware, H.E John Dramani Mahama, the Nation Builder, has promised to complete all abandoned developmental projects across the country ranging from schools, roads, hospitals among others, when elected in 2024 before rushing to start new ones. We therefore appeal to you to support and vote massively for him and the NDC in the 2024 general elections to afford us the opportunity to once again pursue genuine development for the Bono region. We have done it before; our superior track record is there for all to see; and we shall surely do it again when you give us the opportunity to serve you again in 2024 “insha Allah”.
May God please the good people of Bono Region. And may God bless our homeland Ghana.
SIGNED.
HON. JOHNSON ASIEDU NKETIA
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, NDC
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