The Minority Caucus in Parliament has demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the unlawful closure of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) office in Ejisu, Ashanti Region.
Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, at a press conference on March 16, condemned the action as a direct attack on public order and an unacceptable disruption of essential healthcare services.
“This is getting out of hand, so I’m sorry to use this phrase, but I’ve used these words strongly: ‘This nonsense protest must stop,’ because under President Mahama, law and order seem broken,” he stated.
Some aggrieved supporters of the National Democratic Congress stormed and locked up the district office of the NHIS over the appointment of Alex Nimako, former PRO for the NHIA at Effiduase, as the new manager for the Ejisu-Juaben office.
The protesters justified their action, citing what they described as the neglect of party loyalists in government appointments.
They allege that hard-working party individuals who contributed to the party’s efforts during the 2024 elections have been sidelined in government appointments.
But Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie stated that such a protest is not the right approach to seek employment from one’s own government and emphasised that no political issue justifies closing down a public health facility.
He mentioned that this trend has continued since the NDC government assumed power, pointing to the closure of the NHIA office in Kadjebi, Bosomtwe, and Tema Central.
“This is not the first time such an incident has occurred since the NDC government came to power. If you recall, in September last year, their supporters stormed the NHIA office at Kadjebi in the Oti Region, beat up staff, and chased them out of the office.”
He pointed out that a similar incident occurred at the NHIA offices in Tema Central and Bosomtwe this year, where they protested the appointment of a non-indigene and a non-NDC member as manager.
The Member of Parliament for Effiduase/Asokore expressed worry about the continuation of attacks on the management and staff of public health institutions.
According to him, the manager of the Ejisu NHIS office was fortunate to have been absent when NDC supporters stormed the premises; something bad could have happened to him, considering the extent of the vandalism.
“Supporters of the ruling NDC stormed the Ejisu NHIA office today, heading straight to the manager’s office and vandalising it to gain access. Imagine what could’ve happened if he’d been there,” he said when addressing the press at the forecourt of the locked Ejisu NHIA office.
Dr. Ayew called for an end to the violent protests and urged authorities to work towards resolving the underlying issues peacefully.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com