Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the ranking member of Parliament’s Health Committee, has denounced Kwaku Agyeman Manu, the Health Minister, over his inability to reopen the Korle Bu Renal Unit.
According to Mr. Mintah Akandoh, the Minority Chief Whip had urged Mr. Agyeman Manu to instruct the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to reopen the kidney unit right away on the floor of parliament, but the minister had neglected to make the directive.
Since May, the Korle Bu Renal Unit has been closed, and hospital administrators have attributed this to the elimination of the exemption from taxes and excise duties on medical supplies.
The hospital now owed four million cedis as a result of this.
The hospital had previously attempted to raise the dialysis prices, claiming that the center would not be able to remain operational for longer than a week if the previous fees were maintained.
Approximately 19 renal patients have died since it closed in May.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Newsnight, Mr. Mintah Akandoh stated that if the minister is unable to guarantee the center’s reopening, he ought to be removed from his position.
“Assume the minister could issue a directive, and as I speak to you that directive had not been adhered to, what’s he doing in the ministry?” he quizzed.
He said that the Akufo-Addo administration’s silence on the matter is shocking and that they have not shown any consideration for the impacted kidney sufferers.
“I don’t see the commitment at all. They’ve closed the unit since May. I didn’t speak on the matter May, I didn’t speak on the matter June, did you hear the minister speak about it until some of us came in? Did you hear it become topical until some of us came in?
“Where is the commitment, including the president himself? There’s somebody who is vice president wanting to become president of this country, all he cares about is internal politics and how to become president, he doesn’t care. Hasn’t he heard that people are dying?
“And nobody, absolutely nobody seems to care. We in the minority side are not the holders of the public purse, so what we can do is to hold the executive to account and we’re doing our best under the circumstances.
“If you have an incompetent, an insensitive and unconscionable government this is what you go through,” he fumed.