President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has argued that flagbearer of opposition National Democratic Congress John Mahama cannot be trusted to fulfill his promise to provide free primary health care to all Ghanaians, stressing that the litany of health-related promises that he failed to fulfill as President makes it obvious that he cannot fulfill his latest promise.
The President cited the failure of the presidency of John Mahama to implement a one-time premium payment for health insurance after his party promised it in 2008, to buttress his point.
He noted that NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) in 2003, including John Mahama, had even kicked against the bill proposing the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Taking on John Mahama Saturday, 26th September 2020, in Bibiani, to climax his three-day tour of the Western North Region, President Akufo-Addo chastised Mr Mahama for his shifting positions of matters, saying that persons seeking public office must demonstrate consistency in their views on issues.
“Today, Mahama says he is bringing free primary healthcare if voted for. Can we trust him? Did he fulfill his promises for which reason we should believe that he would fulfil this? No, we cannot trust him,” he proclaimed.
He reminded his audience that “When the Bill governing the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme was being passed in 2003, I was in Parliament. I witnessed the NDC MPs, which included Mahama, kicking against it by staging a walk out of the House,” stressing that but “When President Kufuor successfully implemented it, Mahama and Mills said they would implement a one-time payment of the National Health Insurance, but for eight years, eight solid years, that promise never became a reality.”
During his tour of the Western North region, President Nana Akufo-Addo interacted with traditional authorities, cut sod for the construction of the Western North Solid Waste Treatment Facility in Sefwi Wiawso; and inspected ongoing work on the construction of a new senior high school at Awaso.
