By Moment of Wisdom GH – Time for Wisdom
The recent debate over the delayed completion and operationalisation of the Afari Military Hospital in the Ashanti Region has once again exposed the tendency of political actors to prioritise blame over solutions.
A fact-check published by JoyNews argues that claims suggesting the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration did nothing on the project are inaccurate. Indeed, available records indicate that some work was undertaken during the NPP’s eight years in office.
However, that is not the central issue troubling many Ghanaians.
The real concern is this: if the NPP administration managed to complete only about 53% of the project after eight years in government, why is the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration being heavily criticised after just 15 months in office?
Many of the criticisms directed at the current government create the impression that the facility was fully completed and ready for commissioning when power changed hands. The facts, however, suggest otherwise.
Before leaving office in 2016, the NDC administration had reportedly completed approximately 40% of the project within two and a half years. This means that significant progress was achieved during a relatively short period.
The question that naturally follows is: what happened during the subsequent eight years?
No objective observer can deny that some progress was made under the NPP administration. Yet, if only a little over half of the project was completed after two full terms in office, it becomes difficult to justify placing the entire responsibility for the delay on a government that has been in office for just over a year.
If the NPP had maintained the same pace of progress throughout its two terms—completing another 40% in its second term—the conversation today would likely be about commissioning and operating the hospital rather than debating which political party deserves credit.
This issue goes beyond party politics. The Afari Military Hospital is not an NPP project or an NDC project. It is a national project funded with public resources for the benefit of Ghanaians.
Residents of the Ashanti Region and neighbouring areas have waited for years to access the specialised healthcare services the facility promises to provide. Patients do not care which government claims ownership of the project; they care about when the hospital will finally open its doors.
Political parties should therefore focus less on defending their records and more on explaining to the public what remains to be done, how much funding is required, and when the facility will become operational.
Ghanaians deserve transparency, accountability, and urgency.
The most important question is not who did what.
The question is: When will the Afari Military Hospital finally begin serving the people it was built for?
Moment of Wisdom; Time for Wisdom.
