Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has urged lawmakers to refrain from politicising Ghana’s economic and healthcare challenges, cautioning that economic decline often carries serious and irreversible human consequences.
His remarks were made on the floor of Parliament in response to a statement by the Member of Parliament for Offinso North, Fred Kyei Asamoah, who spoke on the reported death of Charles Amissah — a hit-and-run victim who reportedly died after being turned away by three major hospitals.
In his contribution, Asamoah emphasised that no circumstance should justify the loss of life, citing a comment by former President Nana Akufo-Addo: “We know how to bring back the economy, but we don’t know how to bring back lives.”
However, Speaker Bagbin cautioned against partisan comparisons or attempts to revisit previous administrations in the debate, stressing that no government in Ghana’s history has managed a flawless emergency response system.
“Don’t go into those issues because there is no government that has come to govern this country and all ambulances are working and running at all times,” he said, adding, “Even during the reign of the person you quoted, it’s the same thing. And that quotation was wrong.”
He also highlighted the often-overlooked link between economic stability and public welfare.
“Please, when you lose an economy, you lose lives. You don’t know that? So when you say you are bringing back the economy, you know how to bring back economy, but you don’t know how to bring back lives,” he stated.
Speaker Bagbin warned that the human cost of economic downturns can be permanent. “The time you’ve lost the economy, you’ve lost so many lives that you can’t bring back.”
He concluded with an appeal for focus and responsibility, urging MPs to prioritise resolving the nation’s pressing challenges over political point-scoring.
“Please, let’s address the issue, what is confronting us now, and stop the politics,” he said.
