The policy is aimed at addressing issues of migration of health workers in the country.

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who announced this, said it would also ensure “financial and brain gain” from the overseas deployment of health professionals through beneficial bilateral agreements.

He was speaking at the opening of this year’s Annual Performance Review Meeting of the Health, Agriculture, Relief, and Development Services of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) in Accra.

It was on the theme: “Jesus Christ, the Alpha, and the Omega: Spreading the gospel through impactful social services”.

In attendance were the Moderator-elect of the PCG, Rev. Dr. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, and the Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rev. Dr. Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor.

The Minister said the policy was driven by the current health sector migration, a global issue that was creating challenges in the sector.

He said his outfit had also taken steps to improve the training, recruitment, and retention of health workers.

The Minister lauded the PCG for its role in the socio-economic development of the country over the years, especially in the area of healthcare delivery.

Mr Agyeman-Manu said the ministry, in collaboration with stakeholders, was also making efforts to provide the people with well-trained health professionals to offer prompt and efficient services.

He said health facilities of the PCG which were spread across the country had complemented the government’s efforts at improving quality healthcare delivery.

He gave an assurance that the government would continue to partner churches for the accelerated development of the country.

The outgoing Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, said the church Is happy to partner the government to enhance health delivery services in the country.

He expressed gratitude to the government for elevating the Kom Presbyterian Clinic into a district hospital.

Rt Rev. Prof. Mante also said that the church, in its 195 years, had been a Christ-centred, self-sustaining, and growing church that had used a three-pronged approach in its mission work — preaching, teaching, and healing.

The moderator added that the church was also undertaking a holistic mission by operating under three broad themes — spiritual, moral, and social witness.

He said the church had established some 60 health facilities, including specialized hospitals, across the West African sub-region.

Commendation

The Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), Dr Peter K. Yeboah, commended the Presbyterian Church for being the third largest health service provider in the country after the Ghana Health Service and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Director of Development and Social Services of the PCG, Rebecca Teiko Sabah, said the four-day event, which had managers of the 60 health institutions, six agricultural stations and relief organisations of the church as participants, also took stock of the previous year’s activities and charted the way forward.

She said the review meeting would also be used to adopt policy decisions aimed at injecting modernisation into its activities, as well as share decisions with policymakers to promote good agricultural and health practices in beneficiary communities.

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The Minister, who was facing cross-examination from defence lawyers, made this known on his final day of scrutiny by defence lawyers.

Dr Abdul Basit Aziz Bamba, counsel for Dr Forson, had asked if the Minister had sighted any document at his ministry which indicated that the first accused authorised the payment of the contract sum of the ambulances.

The Minister, who is the 3rd Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial, answered in the negative.

It was the case of counsel for Dr Forson that after the LCs (Letter of Credit) was established on August 18, 2014, he had not sighted any document that indicated that A1 (Dr Ato Forson) authorised payment to be made under the LC.

Mr Agyeman-Manu, who is the 3rd witness agreed with him, saying “I have not sighted any document to show that A1 authorised payment for Ambulances.”

On the last day of his scrutiny, the Minister also admitted that government failed to send its officials to inspect ambulances it was procuring before they were shipped to Ghana, contrary to the clear terms of the contract.

Under further cross-examination from lawyers for Dr Forson led by Dr Bamba on September 1, the defence confronted him with some exhibits, some of which he indicated he had not seen before.

Govt’s failure on obligation

The Minister also admitted that government did not perform one of its obligations under the contract.

“In my mind, I will say no. But my lady let me draw your attention to another fact. In that same bullet point, LCs on the sight of goods shall be established upon the signing of the contract for every 50 ambulances.

“My lady, Exhibit V that I have, speaks about purchasing brand new 200 medical ambulances. And so my lady, the contract for every 50 ambulances that clause 4.2 talks about, was never done. And therefore, the LCs should not have been established at all,” he told the court.

Asked again by Counsel Dr Bamba if he “will you agree that by the Government of Ghana not complying with clause 4.2.1 in terms of the time frame for setting up the LC, the Government of Ghana breached Exhibit V.“

The Health Minister said, “That is correct.”

Counsel again asked if the Government of Ghana conducted a pre-shipment inspection before the ambulances were shipped to Ghana. The Health Minister answered in the negative.

He subsequently admitted that the Health Ministry reached an agreement with the supplier on a plan for rectifying the defects in the ambulances. He added that some medical equipment for the vehicles shipped were never cleared from the ports.

Asked by Dr Bamba why the equipment were not cleared, the Minister said, the Ministry did not have the funds to do so and that, he had urged the supplier to clear the items, but the counsel stated that it was the obligation of the Ministry of Health to clear the items.

“The testimony that you just gave is not correct. It was the responsibility of the Government of Ghana to clear the equipment,” counsel said.

But, the Health Minister said, “I do not see it so.”

Minister discharged

The Minister has been discharged by the High Court in Accra after ending his testimonies.

After over two hours of cross-examination on Thursday, September 1, the court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, discharged him.

“Thank you so much for your corporation, you are discharged,” Justice Asare-Botwe remarked.

The case has been adjourned to January 10, 2023, for the 4th witness to testify.

Charges

Dr Forson, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Esiam, and the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, has been charged with Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health and Richard Jakpa, a businessman, for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase some 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.

They have all pleaded not guilty and are standing trial.

Under the Agenda 111 project of the government, the facility will be redeveloped into a new modern 220-bed Hospital within 18 months under the EPC Contract.

In an interview with JoyNews, the Director of the Facility, Dr Pinaman Apau, explained that the Hospital has a structure in place to ensure the reintegration process for the patients is done without major challenges.

“We just don’t take them back home but what we do is contact psychiatric nurses in the communities where the patient is being taken to. Our social welfare unit and some nurses would then take these patients into the districts for home where they are,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu has dismissed claims suggesting the Accra Psychiatric Hospital has been sold.

In a Facebook post on Monday, the Minister noted that “it hasn’t been sold. It is to be redeveloped under Agenda 111 into a new modern 220-bed Psychiatric Hospital under an EPC Contract.”

“Tenders have been received and are being evaluated currently. Afterwards, it will go for VFM, Cabinet and loan will go for Parliamentary approval,” the Minister stated.

The Dormaa Central Member of Parliament indicated that staff of the Hospital might be relocated to the Pantang Hospital “to make way for the redevelopment.”

“The authorities will ensure that until, and unless all steps towards getting the contractor on-site are completed and contractor is ready to commence work, there will be no relocation,” he added.

Minister-Designate for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has said it will be difficult for him to reveal the amount of money spent so far on the Covid-19 fight.

According to him, though the exact amount is not readily available, the government has already exhausted some $100 million dollars that was allocated.

However, he added the government is in the process to secure an additional $120 million loan from the World Bank to support the fight.

He revealed this while responding to a question by a member of the Appointments Committee, Eric Opoku and the ranking Member, Haruna Iddrisu during his vetting on Wednesday.

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“How much this country has spent will be difficult for me because we did some sectorial expenditure including the military and police and were in the process of securing the loan from the world bank,” he said.

He noted the Finance Minister had already given accounts of the expenditure, stating that any further details could be derived from him.

Listen to the audio attached above:

This, he said, forms part of efforts to fight the covid-19 pandemic and other health crisis.

He disclosed this when he appeared before the Appointments Committee for his vetting on his re-appointment.

When asked by the Committee on the number of hospitals built out of the 88 district hospitals President Nana Akufo-Addo promised to construct in July 2020, he said plans were far advanced.

“We wrote to all district directors of Ghana Health Service and district assemblies for them to allocate land and give us their site plans of where they wanted these hospitals to be sited.

“As I speak we still have about 13 districts who have not completed these procedures,’’ he explained

He said that contracts have been awarded and they are waiting for sod-cutting ceremonies to be held for actual work to start.

According to him, each hospital is expected to cost between 5 to 7 million dollars.

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He revealed that 24 additional hospitals will be constructed in the newly created regions and districts without hospitals.

Meanwhile, Mr Agyemang-Manu, on the state of already existing hospitals, mentioned that the Efua Nkwanta Hospital, located in the Western Regional capital, was under rehabilitation.

Information available indicates that the Minister has been receiving treatment at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) in Accra over the past week.

Multiple sources in the medical team at the hospital, who confirmed the information to Citi News, say the Dormaa Central Member of Parliament (MP) was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday and is “in a stable condition”.

Further checks by Adomonline confirmed his Covid-19 positive status.

Checks at the Health Ministry has corroborated the story as information there suggests Mr Agyeman-Manu has taken “a few days off from work” and has not reported to work all week.

The UGMC currently has four patients on admission at the Intensive Care Unit with several others in the main wards of the hospital’s COVID-19 wing.

The Health Minister, who announced Ghana’s first COVID-19 case in a night broadcast in March this year, would be the first high profile government official to have confirmed positive for the novel Coronavirus.

He is known for urging the public to be cautious of the virus during his regular appearances at the bi-weekly press briefings on COVID-19 by the Information Ministry which has been conspicuously put on hold for a while.

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The information is coming at a time the leader of government business in Parliament, Osei Kyei- Mensah has lamented how some MPs, Parliamentary Service staff and journalists who tested positive for the virus have refused to self isolate.

Although no names have been mentioned, his lamentations suggested more than one person in the House of Legislature had tested positive and this could include MPs.