Anaba on transfer, not fired - Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has denied dismissing former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ridge Hospital, Dr Thomas Anaba.

Dr Anaba was appointed amidst controversy on 1 February, 2016 by President John Mahama. His appointment was to last until 2020, after which he would have had the option of reapplying to stay on.

He was allegedly served with his dismissal letter on Monday 15 May and asked to vacate post in two hours. He is demanding to know if his dismissal had the blessing of the Public Services Commission and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Council.

Speaking to Class News, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Robert Cudjoe denied the medical doctor had been dismissed. According to him, Dr Anaba had only been transferred.

“He has not been dismissed. He was in an acting capacity, he was from UDS and he’s just being transferred back to UDS and in his letter, there is nowhere stated that ‘you have been dismissed’. That word is not in the letter,” he stated.

“He has just been transferred and that is the fact. He remains a doctor so he is going to continue what he was doing before he was posted to be the head of Ridge Hospital. As a public servant, this is how the system works. You could be transferred anywhere at any time depending upon the need for your service at a particular location.

So this is simple public service administration procedure which has been done. So the question of he being dismissed doesn’t come in at all, he has not been dismissed. It’s just a transfer. Change is bound to happen.”