Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer for the 2016 elections, has accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of failing to provide basic amenities and healthcare for Ghanaians.

The former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana said this in a lecture on the topic: ‘The Role of Financial Discipline and Investment in National Development’ at a National Financial Literacy and Investment Summit organised by the University Students Association of Ghana (USAG) at the University for Development Studies, Wa campus.

In his speech, Dr Bawumia criticised government, indicating that Ghanaians cannot relate to claims by the government of huge investments in the water sector.

“The NDC claims to have put in over a billion dollars in the area of water infrastructure. Yet, today many places across the country are seeing the worst shortages of water in decades. So, what is the essence of the claims being made by the NDC with respect to investments in water when after seven years, the people are rather seeing worse shortages than they were before these so-called investments?” he queried.

Commenting on the health system, he indicated that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had collapsed, as patients now had to pay before receiving treatment.

He also pointed out that most of the health facilities lacked infrastructure and equipment for delivery of quality health care.

“What Ghanaians can relate to are the many illnesses and drugs, which have been taken out of the NHIS care lists, the capitation policy, and the situation where patients seeking to be treated on the basis of possession of the NHIS card are turned away in favour of patients with money. For many Ghanaians, the sad reality is that the killer Cash and Carry programme, which the NPP worked to cancel, has been technically introduced back as a result of the failure of the NHIA,” he added.

“Again, despite these huge claims of investment, our hospitals across the country keep crying over very essential equipment and facilities. I had this sad reality hit home when a close relative passed away last year as a result of the lack of oxygen at Tamale Teaching Hospital. The recent closure of certain departments in Korle-Bu re-emphasises this point.”