The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr has appealed to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to immediately intervene in the heightening controversy surrounding the opening of the University of Ghana Medical Centre.
According to him, he is unconvinced by governments’ explanation as to why it has failed to commission the facility.
“I’ve been very frank with this matter from day one. I am not convinced by the explanations that come from the ministry and government and then it’s taking too long a time for government to resolve the challenge” he said on Metro TV.
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Kweku Baako’s comments follow the arrest of Reginald Sekyi-Brown, a student of the University of Ghana, who, on Wednesday, 30 May 2018, displayed a placard at an event at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in the middle of a speech by First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
The police say Mr Sekyi-Brown was being investigated for interrupting the programme. He has since been granted bail.
Mr Sekyi-Brown and others started a campaign for the hospital to be opened for healthcare services.
A tussle between the University of Ghana authorities and the Ministry of Health over control of the facility has resulted in the newly-built medical centre remained closed to the public, with its state-of-the-art equipment wasting away.
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But Mr. Baako wondered why the UGMC though has been completed, still remains shut.
He believes the Ministry in charge of the facility is losing the debate and therefore the President must intervene as soon as possible.
“The delay is not good in terms of public argument and I think the ministry is losing the debate, the government side is not convincing and therefore Nana Addo should intervene as soon as possible. The government is his because the delay is too protracted” he noted.
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Commenting on the arrest of Reginald Sekyi-Brown, the astute journalist said his arrest was over-dramatized hence the noise surrounding it.
“The gentleman when he was arrested should have been allowed to go because I think it’s not a big deal. Yes, it was okay but what if that was a camouflage and so their reaction was just over-dramatized and has brought the focus back on the state of the facility,” he said.
