Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the Ministers for Health and Government Communications to brief Parliament on growing concerns in the health sector and alleged encroachment on lands belonging to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
Raising the issues on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Afenyo-Markin said there is increasing public apprehension over developments at the Ministry of Health, including complaints from healthcare workers and graduates of health training institutions over recruitment challenges.
According to him, Parliament remains the most important platform within Ghana’s governance architecture, and ministers therefore have a duty to account to the House on matters of national concern.
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“Our children have graduated. They want to be recruited. We hear interviews in the media without recourse to the House,” he said.
The Minority Leader also referred to reports of actions taken by the Health Minister against some executives of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), insisting that Parliament deserves to be fully briefed on developments in the health sector.
Mr Afenyo-Markin noted that the current Health Minister was highly vocal in demanding accountability from his predecessor when he served as Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee.
“He was very, very vociferous. What he did then was good for democracy. But now that he occupies that high office and is also a member of this House, we expect that he utilises the platform of Parliament for us to understand what is happening in the sector,” he stated.
The Effutu MP also raised concerns about alleged encroachment on lands belonging to GBC at Kanda, warning that valuable state assets are at risk.
He claimed that portions of the state broadcaster’s lands had previously been utilised for the construction of the headquarters of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which currently houses the Ministry of Finance.
Mr Afenyo-Markin urged the Minister for Government Communications to update Parliament on measures being taken to protect GBC’s assets and ensure they are put to productive use.
“It is not enough to say GBC does not have resources when it sits on very valuable assets and we are allowing encroachment,” he said.
Responding, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh defended his actions, insisting that Parliament has established procedures for holding ministers accountable and that he has always made himself available to answer questions from lawmakers.
He argued that the Minority Leader’s intervention went beyond a simple request for ministerial briefings and amounted to a lengthy statement that warranted an immediate response from ministers present in the House. He clarified that the actions in question at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital did not originate from him but were decisions taken by the hospital’s board.
Addressing the temporary closure of the hospital’s emergency unit, the Health Minister said no individual or public health institution has the authority to shut any part of a public facility without the consent of the state, particularly the Minister for Health.
He said he summoned the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, who admitted that his actions were inconsistent with government policy and subsequently apologised.
Mr Akandoh added that President John Dramani Mahama had directed that no emergency cases should be turned away from public health facilities under any circumstances. He explained that the decision for the Chief Executive Officer to step aside for two weeks pending investigations was intended as a deterrent and to reinforce access to emergency healthcare services.
On recruitment concerns, the Health Minister maintained that the Ministry of Health does not require parliamentary approval to open recruitment portals for qualified applicants. He stressed that Members of Parliament are free to file questions and summon him to the House for clarification.
Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on his part, assured Parliament that the government is taking steps to protect and reposition the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
He described the Minority Leader’s intervention as an opportunity to shed light on the challenges confronting GBC.
The Minister noted that although GBC is financially distressed, it possesses vast parcels of land in prime areas that constitute valuable state assets. He revealed that portions of GBC land north of the Jubilee House had previously been occupied by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) without formal acquisition or compensation, and were later earmarked for the Ministry of Finance headquarters.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu said he is engaging the Ministry of Finance on compensation for the acquired land and disclosed plans to present a redevelopment and recapitalisation programme to Parliament once approved by Cabinet.
He said the initiative is intended to leverage GBC’s assets to restore its financial health and reposition it as Ghana’s premier state broadcaster.