Is Akandoh teaching the Teaching Hospitals a Lesson?

My basic understanding of who a leader is suggests that a leader is one who can steer his followers towards the set objectives. Thus, in leadership, two (2) variables are constant; ‘followers’ and ‘objectives or vision’. At this point, I wonder if the Hon. Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has followership among the people in the Ministry he leads (apart from his Spokesperson and his appointees, not sure about his Deputy, but that’s by the way)? If he has, do they align or subscribe to his vision for the Ministry of Health, if there be any?

The real question of the day is, “What have the teaching hospitals done wrong to Mr. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh?”. The Minister of Health, Hon. Mintah Akandoh, has ‘faced it off’ with three out of the six teaching hospitals in Ghana, at different times, in the last three (3) years.

It started with his face-off with the Korle-Bu doctors in late 2024 as the then Ranking Member of Health, which was a matter known to many and widespread. Then came Tamale Teaching Hospital in April 2025, where the Minister flew to Tamale to go and sack the CEO after he felt disrespected by a medical officer who stood his ground and explained facts surrounding an alleged case of negligence. The doctors in the facility suspended their services and the Minister was unfazed and the matter fizzled out like the gas in an opened carbonated drink. One year, one teaching hospital ‘mangana’.

In June 2026, the baton fell on the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, where the Minister in a press release couched as a letter, suspended the CEO (at least he was not sacked) for allowing his staff to turn away referrals due to ‘no-bed syndrome’. Minister says CEO should have ensured that the issue was contained at any political cost, to his benefit. Yes, as confusing and unreasonable as it may seem, that is the reality of the famous former Dining Hall Prefect turned Health Policy expert. This has led to the doctors at KATH going on an indefinite strike, with the nurses and midwives set to tow the same line, until the reinstatement of the suspended CEO. The Ministry has defended its unwarranted action despite calls from stakeholders, like the Minority in Parliament through Hon. Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, Ghana Medical Association, voices of conscience, doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and real health policy experts.

The bigger picture is that this indirectly puts the ‘fear of the Lord’ in all other CEOs or leaders of government hospitals to put the political image ahead of the people’s wellness. How and why should a CEO be fired for the unavailability of beds in the hospital he administers, when the Minister who is supposed to ensure that such a crisis is avoided, is still at post? Make it make sense to me! Some say, it was the no-bed syndrome in KATH that led to the Ashanti Regional Minister’s wife finding a bed in a maternal ward in another country, supposedly (that was by the way though as politicians on both sides of the divide are guilty).

His time in office has been fraught with so much negative press about the Ministry of Health getting it so wrong with the stakeholders in the health sector. If it is not the Minister himself irking a group, then it is his spokesperson, Tony Goodman (I do not know whether the people in and under the Ministry think he is a ‘good man’ though), doing a bad damage control.

Some discerning Ghanaians do not know whether he is paying for the sins of his propaganda as Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, because his predecessors, whose works he bastardized, have been better performers and managers of the health sector. Instead of focusing of the daily health challenges confronting us in Ghana, the Minister seems to find so much pleasure in antics and optics. Instead of completing the Agenda 111 Hospitals and handing over the completed Agenda 111 and remaining Euroget hospitals, we are back to celebrating CHPS compounds in 2026.

Two years into the eight-year tenure of the Nana Akufo-Addo – Bawumia administration, the government had successfully launched the Zipline Medical Drone Services, handed over the Twifo Praso and Fomena Euroget Hospitals, purchased over 300 ambulances for the National Ambulance Service, revitalized the National Health Insurance Scheme, operationalized UGMC Phase I and launched the UGMC Phase II project, begun constructing regional and district hospitals across the country and putting up of polyclinics to increase access to primary healthcare. If we want to talk about the full eight years and the remarkable achievements, it will be a long write-up.

The flip in the first two years under the new NDC government has been the Minister of Health and his appendages ‘beefing’ doctors, nurses, midwives, lab scientists and other allied health professionals in Tamale Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Accra Ridge Hospital on all sorts of matters which they have little or no control over. The list includes press conferences or releases (that outnumber the number of health interventions), CHPS compound updates, recycling existing health initiatives, demonstrations, strikes and threats of same, among others. It has been talk shops, empty promises, ‘blogger-followed surprise visits’ and ‘settings’.

My questions in conclusion are: which teaching hospital is next to face the Minister’s ‘lesson’? Is Ghana’s health policy in the right hands and direction? Most importantly, were all of these ‘dramas’ necessary?

We need a Health Minister who will not sacrifice the health of the ordinary Ghanaian to paint a good political image. In the words of my brother Dr. Jay in reaction to news of the Ministry’s call for dialogue four (4) days after the KATH fact, he writes that “Why do you do what you want and then when there is a reaction, you call for dialogue... Then the decision making of the ministry is poor!!! As a leader, your thought process in decision making is poor. How do you make decision without thinking of the possible effects and then choose one that will bring things to this point……. It was the same at Tamale Teaching Hospital. You did what you wanted, broke infection prevention protocol by bringing in the media, wrongly accused and humiliated the senior specialist and then later called for dialogue when issues escalated…… You can't eat your cake and have it. In all your getting, get wisdom!”. This one of thousands of similar sentiments.

 In fact, you do not need to be a health professional to effectively lead the health sector. Hence, when an opportunity is given let us not stir up the angst of the people who take care of our health but meaningfully contribute to the development of the health sector. It is my hope and fervent prayer that what you, my dear reader, thinks needs to be done, to solve the problems of our health sector, will be done.

Yah guide!

By: Kofi Opandoh, The Tamed Bear

THE PRESIDENT GHANA HAD, INDEED – AN OPEN LETTER TO GHANAIANS

File photo of President Akufo-Addo. Source: LivingStone

January 06, 2026 marks exactly one year since His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left office as President of the Republic of Ghana. He left office, handing over in a statesmanlike manner to Ghana's only comeback President, His Excellency John Mahama. Over, the past weekend, a good number of leading traditional and social media outlets did a review of the ended year. In all of that a number of plaudits were going to the current government, which is deserving given the year end results. One thing, however, stood out in all of the analysis for me, that the foundation for the new government was not sinking sand, as of January 07,2025.

The Akufo-Addo – Bawumia government was seemingly at its lowest ebbs in the embers of its tenure. This was due to immediate harsh consequences of the tough and hard decisions for which the benefits thereof, for the country, were remote and to be manifested long after the government’s exit. Unfortunately, the unfortunate turn clouded the many successes chalked and were being chalked, before Election 2024. The cumulative effect of the successes of the erstwhile government formed the foundation upon which the current government built its 1st year success stories, to a large extent.

Permit me to, briefly, take you through some of the gains of the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government, which rippling effects are evident in the current government:

1. The Free SHS Policy is one of our most underrated biggest blessings, as a country. This policy brought a paradigm shift in our education system as a whole. Today, the least qualification the majority of ordinary Ghanaians between ages 18 – 25 years possess is a WASSCE certificate. Today, the crusaders of ‘Progressive Free SHS’ have cause to speak of their gains made in the Free SHS policy without any prefix adjectives. Due to this solid foundation, today the current government can claim their initiatives at the tertiary level of education are far-reaching and impacting many....... Definitely because many were able to go through the secondary level.

2. Shoring up gold reserves and backing our economy with our resources. I watched the GoldBod CEO, my learned senior Sammy Gyamfi, tout how much the Gold for Reserve program has significantly contributed to the stabilisation of the economy, which assertion was debunked by the learned senior, Kofi Bentil to the extent of the degree of contribution. We saw the current President, the Finance Minister and the Governor serve in the first administration of President Mahama. If they had considered implementing such a policy, we would have heard. Thankfully, His Excellency Dr. Bawumia as Vice President together with Governor Addison, under the auspices of His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, rolled out the Gold Purchase program in 2021, which formed the basis of the work of the now GoldBod. Solid Foundation! In this vein, let me state that save the pumping of dollars and stifled disbursements/ expenditure/ releases, the economic gains today are, to a large extent, as a result of the good and some harsh policy decisions and actions of the Akufo-Addo government.

3. As of January, 2025, Ghana’s road infrastructure had improved significantly from as it was in January, 2017. In fact, it is important to acknowledge the effort of the Nana Addo government in not only thinking, but starting work, to give facelifts to all the major roads which lead outside the nation’s capital – Tema-Akuse, Tema-Prampram, Adenta-Dodowa, Pokuase-Nsawam and Kasoa-Winneba. Beyond these I speak of the completion of road rehabilitation and construction across the country including Accra (East Legon Boundary Road/ Tunnel expansion, East Legon-East Airport Motorway Flyover, Tema Interchange, Tema town roads, Adjiriganor-School Junction-Borteyman Roundabout, School Junction to Lakeside Junction thro’ East Legon Hills, Ashiyie-Sucasa-Katamanso, many town roads overlay), Ashanti (Town roads in Juaben, Effiduase, Bekwai, Ayeduase New Site, Atonsu Dompoase, etc, Atonsu-Esreso Dual Carriage, Ejisu-Juaben, Ejisu Junction expansion, remodelling of the roundabouts at Anwomaso, Oduom and Tech Police Stations, Adansi Dompoase to Assin Fosu, projects underway including Suame Interchange, By-pass at Konongo among others), Volta (Eastern Corridor Roads, Town Roads including Ho and Hohoe, dualization of Sokode-Ho) and Eastern (Koforidua Town Roads, Kyebi Town Roads, Apedwa to Linda Dor, ongoing projects such as Osino By Pass, Anyinam By-Pass, among others). I am tempted to hold my guns here as I seek to not do more than 2 pages for this eulogy. This is a solid foundation which is easing movement of goods and people across the country.

4. Infrastructure of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs) were improved under the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo significantly. Between 2017-2024, we witnessed the construction of the office complexes for Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Annex, Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, Ministry of Communications, BOST, Foreign Service Institute, Offices of the Heads of Local Government and the Civil Service respectively, NPA Head Office Annex, Africa Trade House (housing AfCFTA, Ghana Exim Bank and GEPA), GOIL Head Office, Ghana Maritime Authority building, GETFund Head Office (now housing the OSP), RCC buildings for the new regions and offices for some MMDAs. Some facilities got massive facelifts like the Ministry of Finance, Kwame Nkrumah Park (which offers night tours now as part of 24 hour economy due to the upgrade). These infrastructure projects have greatly helped in saving huge rent and other overhead costs, adding to the aesthetics of our capital, giving dignity to the public sector and created enough room for some of these entities to employ more than 100 people and accommodating them.

5. In the area of health, the boldest health intervention was taken with the initiative to build 111 new, not upgraded, hospitals across the country. Now thi k of our current health system and the addition of one hundred and eleven more. That definitely will change a lot. Further, the aged Euroget hospitals including Twifo Praso and Fomena were not only completed but operationalized, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital saw the return of contractors to the 508-bed Mother and Baby Unit, among others across the country. That bilateral Agreement with Barbados for the export of nurses, didn’t just take off some of the nurse employment pressure but saved a country. Much like how the excellent management of COVID-19, by the same Akufo-Addo led government sav3d the country.

Above is only a fraction of the solid foundation laid by the erstwhile NPP government under the leadership of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. I just realised I’m a few lines beyond 2 pages. Maybe, next year we can continue. Yes, there were a few lows of the government, some of which stung so deep. However, some of our highs today are as a result of those lows. Looking at it through a logical microscope, the Akufo-Addo – Bawumia government laid a solid foundation, like that held firmly by the biblical Cedars of Babylon. My deepest prayer is that Ghanaians come to appreciate the solid and immense work done between 2017-2024 over the failings and consequences of the tough decisions that had to be taken. Thank you, Mr. President and your team.

The President Ghana Indeed Had....... President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo aka Addo Showboy aka Addo Dee aka Akyem Billy among other monikers. To get the realtime razzmatazz, you may play Daddy Lumba’s Nana Yɛ Winner.

Authored by Kofi Tetteh Opandoh in celebration of the legacy of President Nana Akufo-Addo (former President of the Republic of Ghana, 2017-2025) on the 1st Anniversary of his leaving office.