"Cash-&-Carry" To Go At Snail Pace

For the umpteenth time, the Kufuor government has changed its position on the 'Cash and carry system' it pledged to abolish on assumption of office.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) then in opposition saw everything wrong with the system, which required patients to pay before they receive medical treatment.

It pledged during the campaigns to abolish the system, but has since their coming into office, changed the decision point several time. Opponents of the Kufuor administration have criticised the government for failing to the campaign promise.

At a public lecture on healthcare financing organized by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Vice President Aliu Mahama said government will fulfill its promise to replace the cash-and-carry system, but did not say when.

Over the past months, the rhetoric on cash and carry has and continues to change.

Whilst the tone was radical during the campaign, when Ghanaians were promised that cash and carry would be abolished as soon as possible, it was changed to, "we would abolish the system before our term ends."

A minister for health also announced later that the system will be out in five years. The Vice President now says the cash-and-carry system would be phased out gradually, and invited proposals for a workable scheme to replace the system.

A public health specialist, Dr Nana Enyimayew, who gave the lecture on the history and assessment of the cash and carry system, said the system had its advantages and a purpose, which were not fully met.

Dr. Enyimayew said, the decision to replace the system is laudable, but criticised government over its changing rhetoric's on what it wants to do and the time frame for the replacement.