SOME PREGNANT women were held hostage at the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital and La-Poly clinic for their inability to settle their hospital bills after delivery despite the Free Maternal Healthcare policy introduced by the erstwhile John Kufuor administration.
The policy was introduced under the John Agyekum Kufuor administration to help women who have not registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme have free delivery, but according to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the policy was collapsing under the present administration thereby making pregnant women helpless.
According to the NPP, �during the festive season, about 27 women were held at the maternity ward of the Korle Bu Teaching hospital and La-Poly clinic for 3 weeks for non-payment of bills. A private company had to come to their rescue by paying their bills to ensure their release.�
These remarks were contained in a news release from the party office after General Secretary of the NPP; Kwabena Agyepong granted an interview to Adom TV to assess the performance of the 6 years administration of the NDC government.
The statement further added that the pro-poor policies such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Free Maternal Healthcare which began under the erstwhile NPP administration were on the verge of collapse.
According to him, they �expected that the NHIS and Free Maternal Healthcare which began under the NPP administration would have been strengthened 6 years into the NDC administration; however, the reverse seems to be the case. Without money, people cannot access free and quality medical care.�
The statement further noted that the �party will ensure that there will be true transparency and accountability in the financial management of the country.�
General Secretary of the NPP noted that �it is not possible for government to use $29million for the resurfacing of the runway. As an Engineer, I have done civil works at the airport and I know what goes into it.
�The NPP is going to write and request for the details of the project. Ghanaians demand value for money and not to be short-changed,� he added.
�Government has refused to make statutory payments to the healthcare authorities. Other statutory payments such as the district assembly common fund, GETFUND etc are all in arrears even though citizens continue to pay their taxes,� he added.
Touching on the oil revenue, he said that the government has refused to be transparent with the actual revenues being generated from the oil exploration and how much has been accrued into the heritage fund.
He believes that the government is being secretive as far as the oil management and its finances are concerned.
Mr. Kwabena Agyepong disclosed that the European Union (EU) has withheld its support to Ghana as a result of the corruption and dubious nature of the government pay-roll system.
He was convinced that the government officials have not shown clarity and consistency in the finances of the country.
Failed Promises
He stated that the President Mahama administration �has been a government of failed promises� and �is only interested in elections instead of the management of the economy,� adding that the NDC believes in public deceit and propaganda just to win elections.
�In 2009, President John Mahama led a team to South Korea to negotiate with STX Korea to build 200,000 units of houses for the security agencies and other public sector workers; however, till date not a single house can be shown for that. This notwithstanding, the country had to pay for insurance and commitment fee for the loan it negotiated for the STX housing project�
According to him, the government lied about the one-time health insurance premium promise they made to Ghanaians and that no country in the world has been able to implement such an insurance policy.
Mr. Kwabena Agyepong urged the President to sit-up and work for the betterment of Ghanaians and also stop the wastage of public funds within the system.
He was however confident that the NPP will win the 2016 general elections and form the next government.
<<Print>>