A former Health Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Alex Segbefia said that though both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP), use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to project their policies, the President of the land has no right to do same.
According to him, President Akufo-Addo cannot use his position to campaign whilst addressing Ghanaians on updates in the fight against the novel coronavirus.
Reacting to the President’s eighth address in which he outlined a grand plan to building 88 district hospitals and 6 regional hospitals within a year, Mr. Segbefia said, President Akufo-Addo deviated from his speech as compared to the previous ones he made and ventured into the realms of politics with his latest update.
He maintained that President Akufo-Addo used the platform to campaign because the 94 hospitals he has promised to build are unachievable, saying it is only to gain political points from Ghanaians.
A Political Communications Expert, Dr. Kobby Mensah in an interview accused both the NPP and the NDC of latching onto the COVID-19 crisis to send out their political message ahead of the December 2020 elections.
But speaking in an interview on the Happy Morning Show on Happy 98.9FM, with Samuel Eshun, Governance Expert, William Amofa said “If the promise to build 88 district hospitals is politics or not, the NPP came to power through politics. The opposition has seen that the project could possibly help the NPP keep the seat. Hence the need to attack the project’s viability. Whether Ghanaians like it or not both political parties will play politics with the COVID-19.
He added “The vision to build 88 new hospitals is good and should be done. The question is with Ghanaians suffering in this pandemic where will we get the money for the project?”
READ MORE: Mahama’s hospital projects not abandoned – Health Minister
However, Political Communications Expert, Dr. Kobby Mensah, in an interview accused both the NPP and the NDC of latching onto the COVID-19 crisis to send out their political message ahead of the December 2020 elections.
Dr. Kobby Mensah described both parties as opportunistic who are vote-buying using the pandemic as an avenue to distribute foods and other items to the public.