The Minority in Parliament is calling for an apology from Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson over the government’s failure to honour its pledge to uncap funding for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The Caucus accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of not fulfilling its campaign promise to remove the cap on NHIS funds.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, March 4, the Member of Parliament for Effiduase Asokore, Dr. Ayew Afriye, argued that the previous administration’s decision to cap funding had adversely affected the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
Dr. Afriye also criticized the Finance Minister’s recent remarks at the National Economic Dialogue, where he attributed the continued capping of NHIS funds to financial shortfalls and mismanagement within the NHIA.
He dismissed this explanation as an excuse to cover up the government’s inability to follow through on its commitment.
“The NDC convinced the nation that the NPP’s capping of NHIS funds was harmful. They promised to uncap it and make all revenues available to the NHIA.”
“Now that they are in power, the Finance Minister is struggling to uncap the funds and is instead citing mismanagement and financial shortfalls. That claim is untrue,” Dr. Afriye stated.
He argued that NHIS funds are statutory allocations approved by Parliament with the support of both the Majority and Minority, making accusations of misuse baseless.
“For years, Parliament has approved NHIS budgets without any concerns about mismanagement. Why is this suddenly an issue just because he is the Finance Minister?”
“He should acknowledge that they cannot uncap the funds and apologize to Ghanaians,” he said.
Dr. Afriye emphasized that the Minority expects the next budget to allocate all NHIS funds to the NHIA, warning that any shortfall would be unacceptable.
