Information, Health Ministers should be stripped of national honours awards - Minority

The Minority in parliament has said the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu do not deserve the national honours conferred to them by Akufo-Addo.

According to Mintah Akandoh, the two ministers were cited in the Auditor General’s audit of COVID-19 funds hence the reason their awards should be stripped off.

He explained that the ministers do not deserve these awards and that to maintain the sanctity of the award and to prevent Ghanaians from shunning the awards, these ministers should be stripped off.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on March 14, presided over the 2023 edition of the National Honours and Awards event at the Accra International Conference Center (AICC).

Some members of the presidential task force that were awarded are; Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Dr. Aboagye Dacosta, Director of Health Promotions at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye, Director General of Ghana Health Service, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, Minister of Information, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Minister of Health, Henry Quartey, Greater Accra Regional Minister.

Reacting to this, Mintah Akandoh said he wondered why Information Minster and Health Minister will receive high honours of the volta even before his conduct is fully investigated and cleared by the parliamentary committee of enquiry.

“Some 6,543 of them who actually contracted COVID-19 with some dying in their line of service are still waiting to be paid those meagre insurance packages promised them since the year 2020. Their awards wait in perpetuity even as we hurriedly confer national awards on those whose actions are yet to be justified before a parliamentary committee of enquiry.

“The Minority in Parliament believes that awardees including the Minister for Health, the Minister for Information and others cited in the Auditor General's audit of COVID-19 funds and other undeserving awardees should be stripped of their national honours in order to maintain the sanctity of the awards otherwise we risk a situation in which deserving Ghanaians will shun the awards altogether,” he said in an interview.

YNA/WA