Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health Collins Ntim has disclosed that Parliament will soon haul the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, before it to answer some questions concerning the Pantang land encroachment issue.
The Offinso North Member of Parliament and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development also believes that Parliament’s intervention will help end the encroachment around the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital.
Staff of the Hospital on Monday began a sit-down strike as way of registering their displeasure over the encroachment of their land by some private developers.
The staff have also threatened to turn away patients and subsequently hit the streets if government fails to address their concerns.
Explaining the rationale behind the sit-down strike action taken by the staff of the Hospital to Bright Kwesi Asempa on Onua FM’s morning show Yen Nsem Pa, Head of Communication of the Ghana Mental Health Authority Kwaku Brobbey stated that several calls on authorities to have the issue addressed have all fallen on deaf ears.
“We have been to the corridors of power, we have had several meetings with the former Minister and even the current minister, but nothing concrete had been taken. We believe the encroachment would halt if government should issue a warning against this impunity.”
However, while lauding the actions of the workers by describing it as an “act of patriotism”, Chairman of the Health Committee disclosed that the issue with the encroachers around the health facility has been one that seem not to end, adding that it is time Parliament intervened in order to ensure that workers have peace to work effectively.
“We will also look at the issue of acquisition to see if the land was acquired genuinely and all the other issues related to the matter. I’m promising you that we will deal with the issue,” he further told Bright Kwesi Asempa.
He disclosed that the leadership of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health will meet on Tuesday for consultations and deliberations on the matter, adding “I’m going to direct the Municipal Chief Executive of the area to go and assess and investigate the issues on behalf of the committee, so as to get a proper briefing on the matter”.
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