Revoke Information & Health Ministers national honours awards – Minority

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

Sandra FrimpongLast Updated: 15 March 2023

Mintah Akandoh, speaking on behalf of the Minority in parliament, has stated that the national honours bestowed upon Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu by President Akufo-Addo should be revoked.

This is because the two ministers were implicated in the Auditor General’s audit of COVID-19 funds. Akandoh argued that in order to maintain the integrity of the award and prevent the public from rejecting it, these ministers should be stripped of their awards as they do not deserve them.

On March 14, the Accra International Conference Center (AICC) hosted the 2023 National Honours and Awards ceremony, which was presided over by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Among the individuals awarded at the National Honours and Awards event presided over by President Akufo-Addo on March 14, were members of the presidential task force including 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), and Henry Quartey (Greater Accra Regional Minister).

Mintah Akandoh questioned why the Information Minister and Health Minister were awarded high honors when their conduct is still being investigated by the parliamentary committee of inquiry.

Mintah Akandoh expressed his disbelief that the Information Minister and Health Minister received high honours at the National Honours and Awards event, especially since their conduct is still being investigated by a parliamentary committee of enquiry.

He pointed out that there are 6,543 health workers who contracted COVID-19 and some even died while serving, but they are still waiting to receive the insurance packages promised to them since 2020. According to him, their awards are still pending while others are being conferred with national honours.

In an interview, Mintah Akandoh of the Minority in Parliament expressed the view that certain individuals, including the Health and Information Ministers, who were awarded national honours, should have their awards taken away due to their involvement in the Auditor General’s audit of COVID-19 funds.

He argued that failing to do so would undermine the credibility of the awards and discourage deserving Ghanaians from accepting them in the future.

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