Strip Oppong Nkrumah, Agyeman-Manu of National Honours – Minority to President

The Minority Caucus in parliament is calling on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to strip Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Minister of Health Kwaku Agyeman-Manu of the national honours conferred on them on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

The two ministers were part of 47 Ghanaians who were decorated with medals and sashes in three categories under the Order of the Volta by the president for their role in the fight against COVID-19.

According to the Minority, the Order of the Star of Volta award conferred on the two ministers reeks of corruption since they are the subjects of a parliamentary probe.

The Minority Spokesperson on Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said this while addressing a press conference on Wednesday, March 15.

“In as much as the Minority agrees with the principle of duly recognising the effort of deserving awardees, we are of the opinion that yesterday’s event lowered the high standards previously set and maintained by previous awardees.

“For the first time in our history, persons whose conduct are being probed by a committee of inquiry were publicly decorated with high honours in a desperate attempt by the President to finalise the corruption-clearing process that he began during the message of the State of the Nation Address in Parliament,” Mr Akandoh said.

Mr Mintah Akandoh said ministers who flouted Ghana’s procurement laws in the award of COVID-19 contracts and cited several times in the Auditor-General’s Report over allowances paid to staff are not deserving of such national honours.

The Minority also asked the president to immediately strip Frontiers Healthcare Services Limited of its honours.

The company was also awarded for its role in ensuring that COVID-19 did not spread from arriving passengers into Ghana.

Meanwhile, before presenting the awards, President Akufo-Addo, in an address, said the awards were purely a national event, devoid of partisan, ethnic or religious considerations and organised solely for the recipients whose work and contribution had benefited the country.

Justifying the awards for those who gave their best during the COVID-19 pandemic, he recounted the difficult times and the comprehensive strategy the government adopted to secure the health and safety of Ghanaians.