He said the government is committed to meeting the two-week deadline for clearing the supplies.
The Minister said this when he interacted with journalists in Accra on Thursday.
“We are committed to getting the containers out and for me personally, irrespective of the bureaucracies involved with government and all that I have given myself two weeks. In two weeks, I myself will not be encouraged if there are two more or one more containers left at the port.
“In fact, and this one you can take it from me. If by two weeks we still have containers at the port, you will not see me, I will be sitting rather at the port. I will sit at the port with them until everything comes out,” he declared.
This assurance comes in the wake of plans by health-centric Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to demonstrate for the release of critical Global Fund medicines for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV.
The Ministry of Health says it has received funds from the Finance Ministry to clear about 64 Global Fund outstanding containers at the Tema Port.
READ THE MINISTRY’S STATEMENT BELOW
GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES FUNDS FOR THE CLEARANCE OF LOCKED-UP GLOBAL FUND COMMODITIES AT THE PORT
The Ministry of Health is pleased to announce it has received funds for clearance of locked-up Global Fund commodities currently held at the port including TB medication.
The Ministry of Health received a total of 283 containers of various commodities from the Global Fund through the Tema port with the breakdown as follows.
In accordance with the above, the Ministry of Health with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance secured auction chits for the clearance of 219 containers, leaving an outstanding 64 containers without chits. However, the Ministry’s inability to clear the commodities at the port was as a result of third-party charges amounting to GHC 7,429,694.39
Further to the above, a request letter was sent to the Ministry of Finance to assist in the securing of auction chits for the outstanding 64 containers which comprises of one TB medication container the remaining mosquito nets and the outstanding third-party charges.
The Ministry of Health, has now received an amount of GHC7,429,694.39 from the Ministry of Finance for the payment 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.
It is expected that with the funds received, all outstanding containers will be cleared by the end of June 2024.
We therefore urge the people of Ghana and our stakeholders to continue to exercise patience as we work to ensure the clearance and delivery of these essential commodities for the good of public health.
The Ministry of Health reaffirms its unwavering commitment to promoting the interests and well-being of all Ghanaians through the provision of high-quality services, programmes and policies.