In a scathing critique of Ghana’s leadership, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, a renowned pathologist and academic, has raised pressing concerns about the tendency of public officials to seek medical treatment and education abroad while neglecting the country’s healthcare and educational infrastructure.
His remarks, which challenge the moral and political legitimacy of such leaders, bring to the fore a long-standing debate about Ghana’s healthcare and education systems.
The former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), speaking with visible frustration, questioned why senior public officers and politicians continually travel abroad for medical care rather than investing in and utilizing Ghana’s healthcare facilities.
“Why should any public officer, politician, or senior public officer be allowed to travel out to seek healthcare? Do they disrespect those of us who are medically qualified professionals in this country? Do they disrespect us?”.
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa
His concerns are rooted in both economic and ethical considerations. According to him, the cost of external medical treatment for government officials is exorbitant and places an unnecessary burden on the national budget.
Professor Akosa’s comments reflect broader frustrations with Ghana’s underfunded health sector. Despite consistent promises by successive governments to improve healthcare infrastructure, many regions lack basic medical equipment such as beds and MRI scanners, among several others.
“Why are we not prepared to make sure that there are MRIs in every region? Whether you like it or not, health is expensive. And when they go out, they pay through their nose—or through their nostrils. So why can’t we develop here? Why?”
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa
His remarks echo the sentiments of many Ghanaians who believe that public officials should be subject to the same medical conditions as ordinary citizens.
He challenged the notion that Ghana lacks competent medical personnel, suggesting instead that political leaders deliberately avoid local hospitals out of neglect or lack of confidence.
“If the president is not well and is admitted to UGMC or Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, what will happen? Is it that there are no competent doctors to look after them?”.
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa
Ghana’s Taste for Education Abroad
However, Professor Akosa’s critique was not limited to healthcare. He extended his concerns to education, taking issue with the widespread practice of government officials enrolling their children in foreign schools while making policies for local students.
He argued that such practices erode trust in the country’s education system and make a mockery of leadership.
“If you are appointed as a politician and your children don’t go to school in this country, His Excellency the President should ask questions. You want to put a policy on education, and your children don’t go to school here?”
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa
He described it as hypocritical for leaders to formulate and implement educational policies while refusing to subject their own children to the same system.
“Why should it be that everybody’s child is outside, and yet somehow, those of us who remain here must leave our children in the system? I brought my children from the UK. I didn’t keep them there.
“I brought them here to go to school. They came here. They went to the tail end of primary school. They went to secondary school here. They went to university here. What is wrong with that? Today, I believe that wherever they are, they can conquer the world.”
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa
His words strike at the heart of a key issue in governance: accountability. By failing to invest in or trust local institutions, politicians send a clear message that Ghana’s healthcare and education systems are not good enough for them or their families.
This, in turn, weakens public confidence and diminishes the urgency for reforms. Professor Akosa made it clear that he does not believe leaders who refuse to use local healthcare and education facilities deserve to hold office.
“If you are somebody who’s been put in a political class and a political position and your children don’t go to school here, you don’t attend healthcare here, I don’t believe that you deserve to lead the people.”
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa
His remarks resonate deeply, especially at a time when Ghana continues to struggle with infrastructural deficits in both healthcare and education.
Public hospitals often lack basic drugs, equipment, and personnel, leading to preventable deaths and a lack of trust in the system.
Similarly, public schools continue to grapple with inadequate funding, overcrowding, and deteriorating infrastructure, while politicians send their children abroad to receive quality education.
The hypocrisy of leaders who fail to commit to the very institutions they oversee raises fundamental questions about leadership and governance in Ghana.
If public officials were required to seek medical treatment in Ghanaian hospitals and enroll their children in local schools, would they be more committed to improving these systems?
Would they ensure that medical facilities are well-equipped and that schools provide quality education? These are the critical questions that Professor Akosa’s remarks bring to the fore.
His concerns are not new, but they remain relevant. For years, Ghanaian civil society groups and activists have called for policies that hold public officials accountable in this regard.
Some have suggested legislation that would require government officials to use local healthcare and education systems as a condition of holding office.
Others believe that transparency measures—such as publishing the medical expenses of government officials—could help curb the excessive spending on foreign medical trips.
Regardless of the approach, Professor Akosa’s remarks serve as a wake-up call to both leaders and citizens.
Ghana’s development depends on its ability to build strong institutions, and that process begins with leadership that is accountable and committed to local systems.
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