Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member Parliament for… Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has rated the current Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu as the worse performing Minister under the Akufo-Addo-led Government.
According to the Ranking Member, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by this Government under the watchful eyes of the Health Minister, leaves much to be desired.
He was addressing journalists in Parliament on Thursday, June 11, 2020 in reaction to the current confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. Official information from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) put the figures on the positive coronavirus cases in the country at a little over 10,801 with 3,755 recoveries and about 48 deaths.
“The Health Minister is a recalcitrant Minister. This Minister, I think that he is the worst Minister we have ever had in this country. Let me tell you why I am saying this; the Speaker of Parliament directed that Parliamentary Select Committee on Health should be in touch with the Ministry and brief Parliament subsequently.
“So we met the Minister and indicated to the Minister that we were going to have meetings almost every week. Since the outbreak, the Ministry has engaged the Committee only on three occasions. On two occasions, the Minister was not even present. And up till now, we have even filed a question and the Minister has not even appeared to respond,” he said.
Mr. Akandoh expressed the view of the Minority that the Government has not handled the COVID-19 case properly due to the persistent increase of the number of positive cases after the lifting of restrictions and its spread to all the 16 regions in the country.
“We think that the persistent increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in this country is evidence to the Minority’s position that the NPP Government is not handling the management of this pandemic properly. President Nana Akufo-addo has not listened to the many expert advice to be cautious about the lifting of the restrictions on the COVID-19,” he said.
The Minority also cautioned that there were emerging signs that the health system will soon be overwhelmed by this pandemic given the trajectory of the confirmed cases in the country contrary to what Government would want people to believe.
“The Medical Director of the Ga East Treatment Center is reported to have said that, The Hospital has begun to receive many symptomatic cases as compared to the initial a-symptomatic cases. That those who are showing signs are becoming more than those who are not showing signs. This is contrary to government’s position that they are doing well in testing and actively identifying people who are a-symptomatic,” he indicated.
Source: Clement Akoloh || parliamentnews360.com