I’m disturbed with nominations at health ministry- Sulemana Braimah

Executive Director of Media Foundation for West Africa has expressed concern with President Akufo Addo’s appointments to the health ministry.

Mr Braimah says it is disturbing that the substantive minister and his two nominated deputies are all without health background.

The substantive Minister, Kweku Agyemang Manu is an accountant and none of his two designated deputies, Tina Mensah nor Mahama Sieni has a health background either.

In Mr Sulemana’s opinion, at a time when the world, including Ghana is battling a health crisis with COVID-19, the President should have appointed at least one person with health background to the ministry.

Mr Sulemana who was speaking on the Saturday April 24 edition of Newsfile, monitored by Ghanaguardian.com, told the host, Samson Lardy, that he is “disturbed” by the development.

“I’m quite disturbed or not so happy with health for example where you have a substantive minister who doesn’t have a health background and the two deputies who have been nominated do not also have health background and I would have thought that at a time when we are dealing with COVID and how we come out of it and so on and so forth it would have been great to have somebody who have expertise in health policy, who comes from within the field”, he said.

He referred to when the President brought in Oko Boye to deputise for Mr Agyemang Manu, saying it was a good move because is a Medical Doctor who understands the dynamic in the “field and understands the practitioners and whatever challenges they may be going through.”

Mr Sulemana reiterated that the health sector is very critical at this stage, for the nominees not to have backgrounds in health matters.