The Minority on the Health Committee in Parliament has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to President Nana Akufo-Addo, demanding the immediate clearance of 200 containers of drugs sitting at the Tema port for over a year.
Ranking Member of the Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, accused the government of gross negligence and lack of prioritization of the health sector.
He was speaking to the media on Wednesday, June 12 after a meeting with officers from Global Fund.
“Health must be prioritized in this country,” Akandoh emphasized. “Unfortunately, it is one of the sectors this government hasn’t prioritized. It is quite disheartening to hear that foreign donors put huge sums of money together to give us grants, they buy commodities and drugs for Ghana, they get to Ghana, and these medicines are kept at the port for more than a year without being put to good use.”
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage, and invest additional resources to end the epidemics
Stressing the severity of the situation, Akandoh noted that the Global Fund had shipped drugs worth about $45 million to Ghana. Yet, there are still 182 containers awaiting clearance because of port charges.
“Don’t forget that these drugs have a lifespan and some of them will expire. I knew and I’ve always known that this government is irresponsible, but I didn’t know this level of irresponsibility. This level of irresponsibility is unprecedented, to say the least.”
Akandoh criticized the government’s handling of the port charges, stating that the Global Fund had included an additional $2 million to cover clearing costs. Still, the government claimed the amount was insufficient due to increased port charges.
“Who does this,” he questioned and argued that the government could have easily waived these charges.
He disclosed that the National Health Insurance formula for 2023 included an allocation of not less than GH¢18 million to clear these same containers of drugs and yet the situation remains unresolved.
“We could have waived these taxes and duties about a year ago but we didn’t do that. Now we’ve incurred demurrages and have to pay about GH¢7 million for keeping these containers at the port for all this time .”
“This country is not for them. This country is governed by the taxpayers’ money and the taxpayers’ money must be put to judicious use. We demand immediate action. The President and his vice must make sure that these drugs are cleared from the port to save lives in this country.”
“Within the next 24 hours, we must hear something positive regarding the clearing of the containers containing the drugs from the port,” the Ranking member stated.