Photo: Kennedy Ohene Agyapong
• We were there for eight years and added nothing’
KENNEDY Agyapong has thrown a political grenade into the New Patriotic Party’s efforts to claim credit for the troubled Afari Military Hospital project, admitting that the Akufo-Addo administration failed to make any meaningful progress on the facility during its eight years in power.
The outspoken former Assin Central MP and failed NPP flagbearer hopeful stunned political observers when he openly criticised his own party, insisting that Ghanaians deserve honesty rather than partisan spin over the delayed hospital project.
In a candid media interview, Agyapong said attempts to pin the entire blame for the stalled project on the current National Democratic Congress administration ignored the reality that the NPP also had eight years in government without completing the facility.
‘I HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH’
The former lawmaker, who chaired Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, declared that political loyalty should never come before national interest.
“I am an NPP, but I have to tell you the truth. We are talking about Ghana, and nobody should play politics with everything,” he said.
His remarks are likely to cause discomfort within sections of the NPP, where the Afari Military Hospital has become a major point of political contention following renewed public debate over delays in its completion.
PROJECT SPANS THREE ADMINISTRATIONS
According to Agyapong, the project did not begin under the Akufo-Addo administration as some political narratives suggest.
He traced its origins to the government of former President John Agyekum Kufuor before noting that the succeeding NDC administration continued work on the facility but also failed to complete it during its own eight years in office.
That, he argued, means responsibility for the prolonged delay must be shared across successive governments rather than selectively assigned to political opponents.
‘WE WERE THERE FOR EIGHT YEARS’
Agyapong was particularly dismissive of suggestions that the project’s problems should be measured only within the last 15 months.
He reminded critics that the NPP itself had ample time to complete the facility but failed to do so.
“Has Afari Hospital been there for 15 months? We were there for eight years. You didn’t do it. Don’t blink your eye, I am telling you the gospel truth,” he said.
The blunt assessment amounts to one of the strongest public acknowledgements by a senior NPP figure that the party failed to deliver on a major health infrastructure project despite spending two terms in government.
BLOCKED FROM INSPECTION
Agyapong also revealed that while serving as Chairman of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, attempts by the committee to inspect the project site were unsuccessful.
According to him, members of the committee were prevented from visiting the facility despite efforts to assess progress on the project.
Although he did not provide further details on why access was denied, the revelation raises fresh questions about oversight and transparency surrounding the hospital’s development over the years.
‘CRITICISE BOTH NPP AND NDC’
In a rare call for political self-reflection, Agyapong urged Ghanaians to hold all governments accountable regardless of party affiliation.
He insisted that both the NPP and NDC must face criticism whenever they fail to deliver on promises made to the public.
“We will criticise NDC, we will criticise NPP. That is the only way to go,” he said.
“Ghana, we should love our nation and stop playing politics with everything, and do the right thing for the country.”
FRESH HEADACHE FOR NPP
The comments are likely to fuel renewed debate over the Afari Military Hospital and could hand political ammunition to the NDC, which has repeatedly accused the previous government of failing to complete critical infrastructure projects.
Coming from one of the NPP’s most influential and outspoken figures, the admission carries particular weight and may deepen uncomfortable questions about the party’s record on unfinished projects.
For now, Kennedy Agyapong’s verdict is clear: when it comes to Afari Military Hospital, neither side can claim clean hands.
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