MP for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of attempting to shift responsibility after previously promising to uncap the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Fund.
According to the Minority, recent comments by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, attributing financial shortfalls and resource mismanagement as key challenges hindering the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), are an attempt to backtrack on their commitment.
The Minority argues that the current government had previously criticised the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration for capping the NHIA Fund but is now struggling to fulfill its own promise to uncap it.
“If you say the NHIA faces a shortfall, our expectation is that the NHIL is generating about 11 billion. We would want to know how much has been actualized; then we can determine the meaning of a shortfall. During the NDC campaign, as referenced on page 102 of their manifesto, and as stated by the current president, they promised to uncap the NHIL.
“What uncapping means is this; the previous government generated 8 billion last year but allocated only 6.4 billion to the NHIA, meaning the government used part of the Health Fund to support its budget.
“However, the whole world was made to believe that this practice by the NPP government was harmful, and the NDC campaigned on the promise that they would make all revenues available to the NHIA.”
Member of Parliament for Effiduase-Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye said this during a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
He argued that the government and the minister, after winning power and assuming office, have been confronted with the reality that their promise is not feasible and are now seeking to renege on their commitment to uncap the NHIA Fund.
“I think that after taking office, the Minister of Finance has realized that uncapping is difficult, meaning it is challenging to allocate the entire resource envelope from the Health Fund to the National Insurance Authority. The only way to justify this is by claiming there is misuse of resources and a shortfall. But that is not true; they are simply passing the buck,” he stated.
Dr. Afriye challenged the government and the Finance Minister to acknowledge their failure to deliver on their promise and apologize to Ghanaians.
“I want the Finance Minister to accept and admit, and to apologize to the people of this country that the promise they made to uncap cannot be fulfilled. In this budget, we expect nothing less than a full allocation of what was received in the Health Fund to the NHIA,” Dr. Ayew said.
He also refuted allegations of mismanagement under the previous administration, pointing out that NHIA budget approvals have always been conducted in Parliament with bipartisan involvement, including that of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson himself, who previously served as the Minority Leader.
“It is a statutory allocation, and it is done here in Parliament, unlike other state agencies whose budgets are approved by the Ministry of Finance; we approve the NHIA budget in this Parliament. It is a joint effort of both parties: the Majority and the Minority. If there was misuse, we have sat here for several years approving the budget without raising the issue.
“Why would you now see misuse only after becoming the Minister of Finance when you were previously the Minority Leader? I don’t see any misuse. It is simply a case of, ‘I have taken office, realized I spoke beyond reality, and now reality has caught up with me, so I have to maneuver around it.’ And that requires both an admission and an apology,” Dr. Afriye concluded.
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