Wa, June 26, GNA - Mr. Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), on Friday gave the assurance that government would not sack staff of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as being rumoured in parts of the country. He, however, said the authorities would not hesitate to get rid of people who were liabilities and could not make any meaningful contribution towards the growth and development of the scheme. Mr. Mensah who gave the assurance during a stakeholders' meeting at Wa, said the NHIA would review issues that were impeding the effective implementation of the scheme in the country. "We shall work hard to change certain attitudes such as delays in processing identity cards, high administrative expenditure, high cases of complex malaria and have clinical auditing to plug the identified loopholes in the entire scheme", he explained. The Chief Executive Officer condemned the practice whereby Board members of various schemes out-numbered official staff of those schemes and said that it was a drain to government coffers as the board members were drawing sitting and monthly allowances. He said under a review system, every member of staff would be given a target to meet and those who would not be able to accomplish this would be re-located where their services would be needed. Dr. Benjamin Kunbour, Deputy Minister of Health said the proposed one-time payment of National Health Insurance Scheme premium would be feasible because pregnant women and over-aged persons were already enjoying free medical care throughout the country. "For now the aged and pregnant women are enjoying free medical care and if we count them out, how many people will be left to be carter for? We have done our research work and we know that it is workable and feasible".

He warned that government would not tolerate incompetence and mismanagement to the detriment of patients, and people found culpable of such offences would have to make way for the more serious ones to take over their responsibilities. Mr. Mahmud Khalid, Upper West Regional Minister, said the regional secretariat of the NHIA had acquired a piece of land for the building of permanent office. He appealed to the people to avoid divisiveness and contribute to the development of the region.