A non-governmental group of professional Ghanaians under the aegis of, Center for Social Democracy, has expressed concern over the ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The body, on Tuesday, in a press statement signed by Joshua Tetteh, observed that the situation in the country was becoming worrisome.
According to the group, they have observed inconsistencies in the cost per coronavirus test as reported by government officials.
Read the full press statement by CSD………
We have noticed with a lot of disquiet, huge discrepancies in the cost per COVID-19 test reported by different leading government officials.
On Sunday, May 31, 2020, the Honourable Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on a JoyNews’ TV program Beyond the Lockdown with Emefa Apawu alluded that the cost per test was about US$50. The statement by the Minister was reported by myjoyonline.com in an article titled: “Mass testing will not solve any problem – Kojo Oppong Nkrumah”. The story quoted the Minister as saying “A test cost about 50 dollars so you test at-risk population and that’s what we’re doing currently.
We were amazed to read on the same portal; myjoyonline.com, another story posted on July 20, 2020, with the headline, “Government has spent $34m on Covid-19 testing – Deputy Health Minister”. In this news item, the Honourable Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye is reported to have told Parliament, “The higher the test per million per population, the more reliable the picture painted for that country. One PCR test costs an average US$100 meaning the Akufo-Addo government has spent over $34.6 million on testing alone, not to mention the expenditure on the expansion of testing capacity”
These two conflicting accounts represent a staggering discrepancy of 17 million USD.
We call on the Ministries of Information and Health to, as a matter of urgency to clarify to the good people of Ghana, the ACTUAL amounts spent on testing, and assure us with proof that no monies allocated to the COVID-19 response have been misappropriated.
This will help the government regain the trust of multiple Ghanaians with regards to their honest handling of resources allocated to the fight against COVID-19 and increase the impact of protective measures instituted by the government on the health of citizens.
CSD-Ghana commends the Trustees of the Ghana Private Sector COVID-19 Fund for the judicious use of donations to build the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre. We encourage Ghanaians to donate to the Fund.
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