The Minority in Parliament has demanded an apology from Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, accusing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of failing to deliver on its pledge to remove the funding cap on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Speaking at a press conference on March 4, Dr. Ayew Afriye, MP for Effiduase Asokore, condemned the government for reneging on its campaign commitment.
He indicated that the previous administration’s cap on NHIS funds had hampered the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), a policy the NDC had promised to reverse.
NHIS funding cap
Dr. Afriye took issue with the Finance Minister’s recent statements at the National Economic Dialogue, where Dr. Forson blamed financial constraints and NHIA mismanagement for the ongoing cap.
The MP called these claims a weak justification for the government’s shortcomings.
“The NDC campaigned against the NPP’s funding cap, promising full access to NHIS revenues. Now, the Finance Minister is using mismanagement as a scapegoat instead of admitting their failure. It’s simply not credible,” Dr. Afriye said.
He stressed that NHIS allocations are statutory and have been consistently approved by Parliament with bipartisan support, undermining the Minister’s allegations of misuse.
“If mismanagement wasn’t a problem before, why is it now an excuse under his watch?” Dr. Afriye questioned.
The Minority MP insisted that Dr. Forson owed Ghanaians an apology for the unfulfilled promise and urged the government to ensure all NHIS funds are allocated to the NHIA in the upcoming budget, warning that anything less would be intolerable.
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com