Govt withdraws appointment of Baffour Awuah as new Ghana Health Service boss

President Akufo-Addo has withdrawn the appointment of Dr Baffour Awuah as Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) MyNewsGH has been authoritatively informed.

The termination follows information forwarded to the seat of government by a Medical Team loyal to the New Patriotic Party that revealed the new GHS boss is an opposition NDC loyalist since 1992 but managed to warm his way into NPP after January 7th 2017.

Dr Baffour Awuah was appointed after the contract of Dr Anthony Nsiah- Asare, the former Director-General was terminated even though it had been extended to 22nd May 2020 earlier.

A deep-throat source at the seat of government told MyNewsGH.com that Dr Baffour Awuah has been officially notified of the decision to terminate his appointment with immediate effect. Before the termination, his appointment was already hanging pending the approval of the Public Service Commission.

Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu is said to be livid about the development as Dr Baffour Awuah before his elevation served him as a Personal Assistant.

Also instrumental in the decision, MyNewsGH.com was told, was Kofi Ofosu Nkansah (NPP footsoldiers’ leader) who carried social media grievances against the new GHS boss to the top following complaints he received on social media.

Komfo Anokye Hospital NPP caucus petition and counter petition

A team of doctors, pharmacists, nurses etc led by one Albert Opoku all working at the Komfo Anokye Hospital wrote a petition to the presidency detailing how Dr. Baffour Awuah who is a former Komfo Anokye Hospital Director frustrated them because of their NPP affiliation between 2008 to 2016 when he rose to head the top Ashanti regional medical facility.

Following the petition, Dr Baffour Awuah is alleged to have also instigated the formation of his own Komfo Anokye NPP Caucus to issue a counter statement to declare support for him which caught the attention of the presidency.

MyNewsGH hereby reproduces the original NPP Medical Team’s petition:

THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD, DR BAFFOUR AWUAH – RADIATION ONCOLOGIST AND FORMER MEDICAL DIRECTOR KATH IN THE ERSTWHILE NDC GOVERNMENT, THE WRONG MAN TO BE GHS- DIRECTOR GENERAL

Dr Baffour Awuah, a former medical practitioner at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, a consultant radiation oncologist and former head of oncology directorate before he became medical director at KATH. He served in the erstwhile NDC administration under Prof. Ohene Adjei and Dr Akpalu both CEO’s from the days of late President John Atta Mills’s time down to Former President Mahama till NPP won power in 2016 as the medical director for Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Dr Baffour Awuah served in the NDC regime because prior to his appointment he was a card bearing member of the NDC which dated as far back 1992, which proves his loyalty and long-standing membership with NDC at that time. The big question many of the NPP loyalists in health are asking is that since when did Dr Baffour Awuah switched to NPP. Is he a card holding member of NPP? What role did he play in the 2016 general elections? Or is it the case that someone is just imposing him on the party just to satisfy his ego and autocracy?

We the health fraternity and true party members of NPP would like to draw the presidents attention to this greatest mistake NPP can ever make in health, so is the party saying no faithful member is qualified enough to occupy the position of Director General-GHS after Dr Nsia Asare other than Dr Baffour Awuah we all know his party affiliations and biases, what happened to we have the men mantra we have always shouted.

So the NPP government led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo is telling the well-meaning Health workers who sacrificed everything and went against all odds that their efforts don’t deserve a reward by appointing a true party person to steer the affairs of this important office in health and take over from Dr Anthony “Drone” Nsia Asare.

Another question we want to ask Dr Baffour Awuah at this very moment is that he should just tell us the role he played in the 2016 general election or before, at the level of occupying the Director-General position you have to have the courage to mention your achievements out loud. We want to know how he managed to get his appointment as the medical director at Kath during the NDC regime?, which constituency he votes?, who is his constituency chairman, which NPP health or non health platform is he on and his contributions so far ever since NPP won power to shape the course of health in Ghana which requires rewarding him with such a position.

We will not attack any appointing authority for not making the due diligence before writing to him but would rather reecho what Dr Kusi Boafo said some months ago that “ a general who doesn’t recognize the soldiers he won a battle with must be prepared to lose the next battle”, maybe we don’t want to win 2020 elections that’s why we trying everything to shoot ourselves down other than that it’s so surprising why some selfish and self-centred appointees would want to push the party opposition just to satisfy their ego and whatever interest they only seem to know.

At this level it’s has reached enough is enough and we won’t treat this issue with kid gloves any more. We the NPP Medical Team wish to state our position clear that we will not work for the party again if the party goes ahead to appoint Dr Baffour Awuah as the new Director-General-GHS for some of the above-stated reasons. Our membership span across all the 16 regions of Ghana and with a regional chapter in all the regions.

We believe the 2020 general elections can be won with ease and less hustle if the current achievements and good name of GHS are not soiled by some of these unwarranted mistakes in politics. We state clearly our disappointment in the appointing authority and we wish to advise them to do something with immediate effect to help energize the health grassroots based on the party to continuously work for victory 2020.