Gov’t finally allocates funds to clear medical donations deteriorating at the Tema port
The government has released funds to clear about 64 outstanding Global Fund containers at the Tema port.
The Ministry of Health announced in a press release that it has received GH₵7,429,694.39 from the Finance Ministry to handle the payment of demurrage and third-party charges.
“The Ministry of Health has now received an amount of GH₵7,429,694.39 from the Ministry of Finance for the payment of demurrage for the clearance of all Global Fund outstanding containers at the Tema Port. This amount is expected to complement the payment of third-party charges as outlined above,” the statement indicated.
The ministry explained that the outstanding containers include one TB medication container, and the rest contain mosquito nets.
This explanation corrects the previous comment made by Isaac Offei Baah, the Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health, which clarified that all the remaining containers only contain mosquito nets.
READ ALSO: Locked Up Medical Supplies Are Mosquito Nets, Not TB And HIV Drugs – MoH Clarifies
The latest release also urged the public to continue to “exercise patience as we work to ensure the clearance and delivery of these essential commodities for the good of public health”.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health denied allegations that locked containers from the Global Fund at the Tema port contained essential drugs for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS treatment.
The Health Ministry’s response followed concerns raised by some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) regarding the government’s recent reluctance to clear some containers from the Global Fund.
The CSOs alleged that Ghana’s supply of medicines from the Global Fund was at risk if the government failed to clear the containers at the port.
In addition to the CSOs, the Minority in Parliament issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to clear all Global Fund consignments from the port.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, Ranking Member on the Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said Ghana currently owed $33 million in counterpart funding.
He also described “this level of irresponsibility” as “unprecedented, to say the least.”
“Even when the Global Fund was shipping these commodities to Ghana, they added something for clearing, and per my calculation, they added not less than $2 million, and Ghana government gets back to them, and he tells them that look, we have increased our port charges, and therefore, the money you have given us is not enough to clear these commodities from the ports. Who does this?
“Even the counterpart funding we are supposed to pay – and this counterpart funding it is not money that must be paid to Global Fund is ‘show me evidence of procurement, whatever you need, 15% of the money I’m giving you. So the 15% of the 248 go and buy whatever you need as a country and come and show me the evidence and I’ll continue to give you whatever you need. And even with that counterpart funding is a tug of war. As I speak to you now, we are owing in excess of US$33 million,” he noted.
Read the full press statement below:
