Bright Nudokpo -Honu,
Deputy National Youth Organizer Hopeful-NDC
A couple of weeks ago, I demanded from the government among other questions, to provide answers as to why the NHIS isn’t registering new members.
Though the government is yet to provide answers to my numerous questions, I found subsequent matters arising very revealing.
In August 2017, the president made an emphatic statement in which he [ads1]claimed the government has paid more than half of the debt accrued by NHIS. As a result of this claim by the President, service providers came out to debunk the claim. Service providers said they were yet to receive payment for services rendered to the Scheme.
A publication by starrfmonline dated April 23, 2018, captured the Vice President, Dr. Mahmud Bawumia also purporting claims of government’s settlement of about 98% of the debt owed the NHIS.
Reports have indicated that the scheme has accrued debts to a sum of about $1.2m and the government claimed to have paid $1m out of it.
However, the Health Minister, Dr.Kwaku Agyeman Manu made an interesting revelation just last week in an interview with Citifm where he said that “the scheme might collapse if investors are not brought on board to rescue it”. This was also backed by Dr Samuel Yaw Annor, the CEO of NHIA who revealed that the scheme had zero reserves and owed service providers huge sums of money”.
These views contradict the stance of The President and His Vice.
To this effect, it is evident that deception could and can always be used by desperate politicians to win power but can’t be used for governance. Nonetheless, the attitude of this government is only crippling our health system if not killing it.
Prior to the 2016 general elections, the NHIS featured prominently on the campaign promises of the NPP, and the Vice President was recorded to have said that his experience working with The Bank Of Ghana made him knowledgeable about the wealth of the country which could be channeled into its development regardless of the sector. It is still yet to be seen why the NHIS should be in debt with all the wealth at hand coupled with the fact that the “better managers” of the economy are currently in power.
I am, by this post calling on the government to give urgent attention to the NHIS and probably the health sector to fix the numerous challenges bedeviling it. One and half year out of the four years, tenure office should be enough to get these issues addressed.
Bright Nudokpo-Honu
NDC Deputy National Youth Organizer Hopeful.
0241839016