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Opinions of Tuesday, 19 November 2019

Columnist: theheraldghana.com

Is Kwaku Agyeman Manu still the Minister of Health?

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu

The recent story of the arrest of unemployed nurses, who picketed at the Ministry of Health, demanding to be posted, has recalled the penchant of Police Officers, who as law enforcers, rather take the law into the hands and exact their own kind of justice.

This unacceptable practice has long been part of the country’s policing. In such situations, there constitute themselves into the judge and jury. The minister of health and his deputies, whom the nurses have gone to see, have up till today, not said anything about the way and manner the nurses were treated.

The recurring menace of unemployed nurses picketing at the ministry for job, is not new to this administration. What is, however, new in the opinion of this newspaper, is the way they are welcome anytime they attempt to get the authorities to hasten the processes to get them posted.

Kweku Agyeman Manu, who was all over pretending to work and accusing his predecessors of not doing much to improve the health delivery system, has fizzled into nothingness less than four years after his appointment.

Figures have churned out regarding the number of nurses who have been employed since the coming into office of this administration, but the reality on the ground indicates a different story.

The ministry of health is one of the important ministries in the country because it is a sector, which provides the essential services need of the country.

It is a sector that should not be politicized but Kweku Agyeman Manu, instead of concentrating to complete the uncompleted hospitals left behind by the previous government, decided to turn the ministry into a political arena.

At the time, when he is to stand up and be counted, he is nowhere to be found.

In the opinion of this newspaper, we should have a national dialogue on the way forward regarding how to handle the unemployed nurses and the picketing.