A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School says genuine concern of Ghanaians about the health condition of presidential aspirants should be entertained in the nation’s body politic.
Dr Kobby Mensah says if Ghanaians would be interested in the tax records and assets declaration of politicians, they should equally be concerned about the health records of the candidates in the upcoming general election.
“The political process has evolved. Sometimes it is not good to talk about the health bill of people, however, we all know about the importance of health bill. I don’t think there is something wrong with it but making it look bad for propaganda purposes is wrong,” he told Evans Mensah, host of Joy FM’s Newsnite programme Monday.
Making the health condition of presidential candidates in Ghana has been part of the country’s body politics. In the lead up to the 2012 general election, the then Presidential Candidate of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), late President John Evans Atta Mills came under attack from sections of his party and the opposition parties over his health condition.
This resulted in a window-dressing attempt by the party to have him jog at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) when he returned from a 10-day trip to the United States of America to prove his physical fitness.
Later President Mills was declared dead after he was rushed for an urgent treatment to the 37 Military Hospital.
With barely 100 days to the December polls, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been battling several speculations about his health.
An article in the African Watch Magazine says Mr Akufo-Addo is suffering acute cancer. The author of the article quoted a hospital in the UK as the source of his information.
Addressing NPP supporters in Bolgatanga, Mr Akufo-Addo dismissed the claim as propaganda aimed at distracting Ghanaians from the real issues affecting the country.
“They said I was a dwarf it didn’t work. They said I was in a wheelchair, it didn’t work. They said I was a murderer it didn’t work. They said I will die in June it didn’t work. They said I was a dictator it didn’t work. They said I was intolerant it didn’t work. They said I was violent it didn’t work. They said I have a secret agenda to destabilise the country it didn’t work and now they are saying I have cancer it will not work,” he said.
He appealed to his detractors to focus on his ideas for the country and not on things that are not relevant.
But Dr Mensah says the health condition of aspirants is important but cautioned the use of this discussion to score political goals.
Politicians, he said, can delve into health bill of their opponents but they should desist from digging into the gutters and putting a spin on it.
Sign up for Ghana Star News to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
