Yesterday, Members of the Minority on Parliament’s Health Committee visited the Afari Military Hospital and attempted to hold a press conference to paint the picture that the facility is “near completion” and that the current NDC government is simply delaying its operationalisation.
The optics were carefully crafted: opposition MPs touring a construction site, pointing at unfinished walls, and implying that if the NPP under Nana Addo were still in power, the hospital would already be functioning.
This narrative is propaganda. It is misleading, historically inaccurate, and deliberately ignores the full timeline of the project. It twists facts to score cheap political points at the expense of truth and public understanding. Below is the factual breakdown that exposes their claims as false:
1. The Afari Military Hospital Was Initiated and Nearly Completed Under the NDC, Not the NPP
The Afari Military Hospital was never an NPP idea or priority. It was conceived, designed, funded, and pushed to over 80% completion during the NDC’s administration of 2009–2016, under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama.
As part of the NDC’s comprehensive plan to expand healthcare access and improve medical services for both military personnel and surrounding civilian communities in the Ashanti Region, the project was awarded, construction began, and major structural works—including the main hospital blocks, wards, administrative sections, and basic infrastructure—were substantially finished before the 2016 general elections. Records from the Ministry of Defence and the Ghana Armed Forces from that period confirm that the project was far advanced and on track for full completion and commissioning by 2017, had the NDC remained in office.
The NPP inherited a nearly done project—not a concept, not an abandoned site, but a facility that only required final finishing works, equipment installation, and staffing to become operational.
2. The NPP Stalled the Project for Eight Years
Despite the hospital being near completion in late 2016, the NPP government under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo allowed it to sit idle, gathering dust and deteriorating, for eight long years. No meaningful work was done on the site between 2017 and early 2025. Budgets for the project were repeatedly slashed or completely removed; contractors were left unpaid; and critical equipment orders were cancelled or never placed.
In a public statement in March 2025, former NDC Minister for Defence, Dr. Omane Boamah, explicitly stated: “When we handed over power in January 2017, Afari Military Hospital was over 80% complete. We had already procured most of the structural materials and were in the process of securing medical equipment. The NPP did nothing with it for eight years. They abandoned it, and today they have the nerve to turn around and blame us for delays?”
This eight-year period of neglect is the single biggest reason the hospital is not fully operational today. The NPP did not build it, did not finish it, and did not care for it—they only remembered it now that they are in opposition, purely for political gain.
3. The Minority’s Visit Was Political Theatre, Not an Honest Assessment
Yesterday’s tour by the Minority was not a sincere effort to oversee healthcare infrastructure or hold government accountable. It was a carefully staged political event, designed to create misleading visuals and soundbites.
If they were truly concerned about the hospital’s completion, why did they not visit or speak about it even once during their eight years in power? Why did they not allocate funds, follow up with contractors, or take steps to operationalise it when they had full control of the national budget, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ghana Armed Forces?
Their sudden interest today is hypocrisy of the highest order. They are pointing at unfinished sections that remain so because of their own eight-year neglect, and trying to shift the blame onto the very government that has now moved to revive the project they killed.
4. The NDC Government Has Taken Concrete Steps to Reset and Complete the Project
Since returning to office in early 2025, the NDC government has made the completion and operationalisation of Afari Military Hospital a key priority. Unlike the NPP, we have taken practical, measurable steps:
- We conducted a full technical audit of the site to assess the damage caused by eight years of abandonment and identify remaining works.
- We re-engaged the original contractors and supplementary service providers, clearing all outstanding arrears owed to them—arrears that the NPP refused to pay.
- We have secured funding specifically for final finishing works, installation of medical equipment, and training of staff.
- Construction work resumed in mid-2025 and has proceeded consistently, with no interruptions, and progress is visible to anyone who visits the site.
Within just over one year in office, we have achieved more for this project than the NPP did in eight full years. We are committed to ensuring the hospital is fully functional and delivering quality healthcare services before the end of our term.
5. The NPP’s Claim That It “Always Continues NDC Projects” Is a Cover for Its Own Failures
The NPP has repeatedly claimed as part of its propaganda that “we always continue projects started by the NDC, but the NDC abandons our projects when they return to power.” This is a false narrative and a desperate attempt to hide their own poor track record.
The truth is:
- The NPP does not “continue” NDC projects—they abandon them, stall them, or allow them to rot, only to rebrand and claim credit later. Afari is just one example among many: the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital expansion, the Eastern Corridor Road, and several district hospitals were all started or advanced by the NDC, only to be neglected for years under the NPP.
- On the other hand, when the NDC returns to power, we do not abandon projects started by others—we review them, fix mismanagement, cut wasteful costs, and ensure they are completed to benefit Ghanaians. We do not play politics with national development.
Their claim is a cover-up: they failed to deliver on projects they inherited, failed to start meaningful new ones, and now try to rewrite history to pretend they were better managers.
6. The True Lesson: Afari Shows NPP Incompetence, Not NDC Failure
The story of Afari Military Hospital is not evidence that the Nana Addo administration performed better, or that they are more committed to development. It is clear proof of their incompetence, lack of vision, and disregard for the needs of the people of Ashanti Region and Ghana as a whole.
If the NPP had continued the work the NDC left in 2016, this hospital would have been fully operational for eight years by now, saving lives, providing jobs, and strengthening our military health system. Instead, they chose to neglect it, while wasting resources on white-elephant projects and unnecessary expenditures.
Today, the only reason there is any work happening at Afari is because the NDC is back in power—because we care, because we planned it, and because we are committed to delivering on our promises.
Conclusion: Reject the Propaganda, Accept the Facts
The NPP’s narrative that the Afari Military Hospital demonstrates their superiority is completely false. The facts are clear:
- NDC: Conceived it, funded it, built it to near-completion.
- NPP: Abandoned it for 8 years, allowed it to deteriorate, did nothing to finish it.
- NDC (2025–present): Revived it, funded it, resumed work, and are on track to complete it.
The Minority’s visit yesterday was politically motivated, designed to create a misleading image that the NPP was better at delivering development. Citizens must reject this propaganda and base their judgment on the actual timeline, records, and performance of both parties.
Afari is not a story of NDC failure. It is a story of NPP neglect—and a shining example of how the NDC resets, revives, and delivers what we promised.
By: Bright Nudokpo, Aspiring NEC Member, NDC. 2026.