Financial Clearance: ‘Going to Cabinet is a No-No’ – Manhyia North MP Slams Akandoh

The Member of Parliament for Manhyia North and a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Akwasi Konadu, has criticised the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, over his decision to seek Cabinet approval for the payment of health professionals’ arrears and employment clearances.

His comments come after the Minister announced during a press briefing on October 13, 2025, that Cabinet had granted financial clearance for the recruitment of health workers and settlement of their outstanding arrears across multiple categories — including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

However, the claim has been challenged by the Ranking Member on the Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, who argued that the previous administration’s financial clearance expired on December 31, 2024, and that the current government failed to renew it. According to him, while funds had been allocated to recruit 15,000 health workers, only 7,000 to 8,000 were employed before the change of administration. The remaining positions, he said, were filled directly by the Ghana Health Service, even though the clearance had lapsed.

The Minority caucus has therefore accused the government of misleading the public, demanding full disclosure on the status of recruitment and arrears payment.

Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Tuesday, October 14, MP Akwasi Konadu faulted the Health Minister’s approach, arguing that the government should have made adequate budgetary provisions for the recruitment of health workers in the 2025 national budget.

“A prudent government every year makes a budget and ought to have included these individuals in it in 2025 because the budget ought to have accommodated for them,” Konadu said.

He further accused the government of politicising the welfare of health workers, describing the decision to take the matter to Cabinet as “unnecessary” and indicative of poor planning.

“You did not do that. You left them for political expediency that will create a certain level of agitation in the system, which you could have blamed on the erstwhile NPP government. That is not going to fly this time around,” he stated.

“So we are telling the Minister: going for Cabinet approval is a no-no. It obviously tells us that you are in a certain political mindset of how you wanted to deal with the situation.”

The Manhyia North MP’s comments add to growing pressure on the Health Ministry to clarify the true status of financial clearance for health workers amid widespread frustration among unemployed nurses and other medical professionals.