Astute political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, says he has no intention whatsoever to go into politics, stating he can never be a politician in Ghana due to kind of politics done in the country.
“I teach politics but I can never do politics,” he told TV3 last Saturday when asked to respond to to claims that he has been nursing political ambition.
For him, just as “referees do not play football,” he as a political scientist, will not go into partisan politics.
Prof. Gyampo who is the Director of Centre for European Studies at the University of Ghana said this when he adopted the emergency ward of the Saltpond Hospital in the Central Region; a gesture he said was a way of giving back to his community.
He said the gesture must not be misinterpreted to mean he has political ambition, indicating that he does not have the temperament to indulge in the type of politics done in Ghana that is filled characterised by insults.
“Even if I will do politics, it will be outside Ghana where it is more sanitized” he told TV3.
The Saltpond Hospital, the first hospital in Ghana, lacks the required facilities for efficient healthcare delivery.
The adoption by Prof. Gyampo would pave the way for a major facelift of the emergency ward for effective healthcare delivery.
Prof Gyampo who is a native of Saltpond, recounted his childhood and formative years of how he was always rushed to the emergency ward for medical attention.
While thanking God for the gift of life, Prof Gyampo stressed on the need to ensure the effective running of the ward.
He therefore pledged to help ensure continuous supply and availability of the basic needs and infrastructure of the ward, and indicated his desire to assist in expanding it to cater for more patients.
On the occasion of the adoption, he also presented some computers to the hospital to facilitate its e-health delivery system.
By his adoption, Prof Gyampo takes over the responsibility of ensuring the smooth operation of the ward at all times. These include expansion, and providing other basic infrastructure and health facilities to keep the ward well-functioning.
Prof Gyampo noted that described the gesture as his “small contribution to his people”
“If you get the opportunity to serve your nation and the world, make impact. But do not forget to also impact the lives of people in your own hometown and land of your birth. You are a miserable failure if you do,” he stated.
He added: “Contributing to national development and neglecting one’s own local community doesn’t make you fully patriotic. We must be relevant to our family, the land of our birth, our nation and the world”.
He praised some natives of Saltpond who he said have demonstrated commitment to the town’s development and called on other young people from the town, especially those abroad, to take a cue from the pioneering role of natives like the late Sadick Arthur, Prof P. V. V. Ansah, Prof. Marian Awurama Addy, and Prof Francis Allotey
Prof Gyampo, who is also the President of the Saltpond Forum, added that it would be irresponsible on the part of the natives of the community to expect governments to tackle all challenges.
He called for a partnership arrangement that does not completely push the responsibility of rural development on government alone, insisting that indigenes and natives of rural communities must have a role.
Medical Superintendent of the Saltpond Municipal Hospital, Dr. Derek Akyampong Bonsu, expressed appreciation to Prof Gyampo for his gesture and act of magnanimity.
He noted that even though the hospital has witnessed some improvements in its infrastructure, several units and wards, particularly the Accident and Emergency Ward lacks support and the provision of basic infrastructure to make it work and offer prompt and effective health delivery to patients.
He called on other natives of the community to emulate the gesture and thanked Prof Gyampo for the computers donated to aid in the hospital’s e-health delivery system.
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