Appointments Committee vets three deputy ministers designate
Three more deputy ministers designate — for Health, Railways Development and — Aviation appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday, where they each pledged their support to their respective substantive ministers to achieve the government’s vision for their sectors.
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A Deputy Minister designate for Health, Mr Kingsley Aboagye-Gyedu, who was the first to appear before the committee, spoke to the issue of whether or not the National Health Insurance Scheme had collapsed, as claimed during the electioneering campaign.
He said the scheme owed service providers huge sums of money and that impacted negatively on its operations.
Health financing
On health financing, Mr Aboagye-Gyedu spoke about the need for preventive programmes to be put in place to reduce the country’s health bill and pledged his support for the substantive minister towards that end.
Asked about the report on the fire that gutted the Central Medical Stores last year and the plans he had to implement that report, the nominee said he was not privy to the report for which reason he could not talk about it.
He, however, promised that he would study the report once he got to the ministry if his nomination was approved, and see the way forward.
When asked what legacy he wanted to leave at the ministry as deputy minister, Mr Aboagye-Gyedu, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bibiani-Ahwieso-Bekwai, mentioned his contribution to the successful restoration of the nursing training allowance as promised by the government.
Infant mortality
Responding to a question on what he made of the infant deaths at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi and other health centres across the country as reported in a documentary by Joy FM, and what support he would give to his minister to curb it, the deputy minister nominee said the sector minister was currently in Kumasi to engage stakeholders on the matter and added that the government would endeavour to work on the maternity block of the KATH to help address the situation.
It had been reported that babies were dying at the KATH due to severe congestion at the maternity block, a development that had affected the safe delivery of babies.
On the springing up of unaccredited institutions of nursing, Mr Aboagye-Gyedu proposed that students who graduated from such institutions should be made to do a top-up or six months training to qualify for the job market.
Deputy minister designate for Railways
The next to take his turn was Mr Kwaku Agyenim-Boateng, the MP for Berekum West, who described the GH¢518 million allocated to the Ministry of Railways Development in the 2017 budget as a remarkable improvement over what the ministry received in the past.
He said railway investment was huge, and added that a promotion centre would be established to attract private investment into the sector.
Answering questions on a possible integrated light rail transport system for the country, the nominee said it was the vision of the government to develop various rail transport systems, including light rail to ease traffic in the urban areas.
He said Accra and Kumasi would be considered in that respect, noting that light rail as a mode of transport would complement road transport and ease traffic.
On the encroachment of railway lands, Mr Agyenim-Boateng alluded to what the sector Minister, Mr Joe Ghartey, said during his vetting when he stated that he would collaborate with the district assemblies and the traditional authorities to help resolve the issue of encroachment.
Deputy minister designate for Aviation
At the turn of the Deputy Minister designate for Aviation, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, he pledged to support the minister to make Ghana an aviation hub in the sub-region.
The Ranking Member on the committee, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, enquired from the nominee whether the government intended to continue with the Tamale Airport project. In response, he said the second phase would be carried out. According to him, the sector Minister, Ms Cecelia Dapaah, would be travelling to the Northern Region to assess the work done so far on the project.
The MP for Takoradi, Mr Darko-Mensah, spoke about embarking on an aggressive marketing of the country’s airports to attract more business partners into Ghana.
