The Minority in Parliament has sharply criticised the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, accusing him of misleading health professionals and the general public over claims that the government has secured fresh financial clearance for the recruitment of health workers and payment of outstanding arrears.
The allegations follow the Minister’s announcement at a press conference on Monday, October 13, where he stated that Cabinet had approved financial clearance for various categories of health professionals — including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists — who have been awaiting employment and the settlement of salary arrears.
However, in a counter press briefing, the Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and MP for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, challenged the minister’s assertions, describing them as “deceptive and misleading.”
According to Dr. Afriyie, the financial clearance cited by the Health Minister expired on December 31, 2024, under the previous administration. He accused the current government of failing to renew or act on it in a timely manner — despite budget allocations having already been made for the recruitment of 15,000 health workers.
He noted that by the time of the transition, only 7,000 to 8,000 health professionals had been engaged, with the remainder informally absorbed by the Ghana Health Service (GHS), even though their official clearance had lapsed.
“You didn’t tell institutions to reject them, and the institutions didn’t reject them either. They filled critical gaps and were needed at post. But now, ten months later, the government claims to be taking the matter to Cabinet — for what? The clearance had already been given. This is a cover-up,” Dr. Afriyie stated.
The Minority further criticised what they described as a pattern of delayed action and lack of transparency by the Health Ministry, warning that such misinformation only worsens the morale of health professionals already grappling with job insecurity and unpaid allowances.
Dr. Afriyie asserted that the Minister was “throwing dust into the eyes of the people” to mask what he called “a mess” in the handling of health sector employment.
“The government created a problem by not acting promptly, and now they’re using Cabinet approval as a smokescreen to fix what they failed to manage months ago,” he added.
The Minority has called on Minister Akandoh to clarify the status of all financial clearances, provide timelines for payment of arrears, and explain why there was a delay in engaging qualified health professionals who had already been accounted for in the previous administration’s financial planning.
They insist that Cabinet approval at this point is unnecessary and suggest the move is an attempt to politically repackage an existing arrangement.
The development adds to growing tensions between the Executive and the Minority over employment issues in the health sector — a matter of increasing public concern as thousands of trained health professionals continue to remain unemployed.
