Let’s set the record straight. Hon. Minta Akandoh is not the problem. The disrespect aimed at him with some medical professionals insulting him and calling him names like ‘Stormzy’ for doing his work must stop.
Having had the opportunity to work in the healthcare delivery system of this country for eight years, I at least have a bit of information on how our national healthcare delivery system works, just compare the playbook. When the Akosombo machines burnt and ‘dumsor’ threatened the grid, Hon. Jinapor acted. He instructed the GRIDCO CEO, to step aside, overhauled ECG leadership in Ashanti and gave the public a two-week timeline. He delivered. The lights came on and stayed on. A hardworking NSS officer even got recognised in the process. Citizens saw results. That is what accountability looks like.
Now look at health.
Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital-KATH, the referral lifeline for Ashanti and the Northern belt, shut down its Emergency Unit. This happened after the Ministry issued a clear directive: no patient should be turned away. In emergencies, a doctor’s timely word, a quick recommendation, an immediate intervention, can save a life. Whether a patient is on a stretcher, on the floor, on a bed, or anywhere else, access to a doctor matters. Shutting the Emergency Unit denied patients that access. It undermined the Ministry’s directive and professional responsibility.
Hon. Akandoh responded with restraint and purpose. He instructed the KATH CEO to step aside for two weeks to allow investigations. Two weeks oooo. Not a purge. A pause for facts.
The counter-move was telling. Doctors at KATH declared a strike. Nurses followed, in solidarity with the suspended CEO. That signals where some priorities sit: protecting the office over protecting patients across Asanteman!
This is the pattern. A few months ago, leaders of the nurses and midwives council publicly criticised and insulted the Minister. Now, some doctors at KATH question his authority to suspend a CEO for two weeks pending investigation. The message is clear: certain actors do not want Hon. Akandoh to govern.
I wish every minister carried the “A plus” posture. The “I do not care about what they say, mine is to provide positive results” posture. The “you cannot manipulate or sabotage me” posture. Ghana does not need ministers who bend to pressure. It needs ministers who bend the system toward positive results.
The Health and Finance ministers inherited a mess. Citizens have one job: support, encourage and collaborate. Not resist, not obstruct, not sabotage.
I am an ordinary citizen. I pay taxes. I vote. I want RESULTS. I do not care how those results are delivered, provided they are lawful and serve the public interest. If people must be dismissed, suspended, transferred, or replaced to make healthcare work efficiently, then so be it. Enough of the SABOTAGE!
Hon. Akandoh is doing the hard work. The least we can do is defend his mandate and demand accountability from those who think their titles place them above the lives of patients.
In my local dialect, we will say “Akandoh Toa do! K) do b) edwuma dzin” which translates “Akandoh carry on, don’t be deterred nor intimidated; continue to provide us with positive results.”
Writer: George Merkel Abuah
