SOME MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs) are rejecting moves by the Minister of Finance to make allocations from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) without an approved formula in accordance with the law.
Debating the Committee of Health’s report yesterday for approval of the Health Ministry’s 2016 budget estimates, New Patriotic Party MP for Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Owusu stated that the Minister of Finance has no authority to make allocations from the Fund.
Mr. Osei-Owusu noted that “the report is asking us to endorse an illegality. It is the reason the report should be rejected.”
The Bekwai MP further explained that there is a formula for disbursement of the fund, but the Finance Minister is trying to make allocation without the formula.
MP for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh also stated that the committee’s report should be thrown out because of that portion on the allocation of the fund because it is an illegality.
But, the Chairman of the Committee, Joseph YielehChireh in response stated that the Finance Ministry explained that the money was to be taken after “this and other funds have been appropriated by the House.”
Mr. Chireh noted that there is nothing wrong with what they are seeking to approve and he therefore urged the House to approve its report.
According to the report, members of the committee rejected the explanation offered by the Ministry of Finance on the allocation of GH¢1.4 billion to pay service providers and other incidentals under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
The report indicated that the “NHIF allocation is insufficient to meet the expenditure of the NHIA and it is even grappling with a funding gap estimated at GH¢417 million which the committee has been prompting government to address.”
Observations
The Committee observed that total Government of Ghana allocation for Goods and Services amounting to GH?3.6 million is inadequate for the effective running of the Ministry.
The report said “the technical team from the Ministry of Finance, mindful of the big reduction in the budget of Goods and Services, intends to allocate an amount of GH?92.8 million from the National Health Insurance Fund to support the Ministry in the areas of vaccines and other essentials.
“Agencies with Internally Generated Funds (IGFs) may be able to undertake their lined up programmes of activities. However, departments under the Ministry would have to innovate ways to fund their programmed activity,” the report added.
Potential Cholera outbreak
The Committee expressed concern about the cholera outbreak that hit certain parts of the country this year as a result of poor sanitation and non-collection of refuse, among others.
The Committee was worried that the inadequate budget sum of GH?3.6 million might not be sufficient to enable the Ministry contain another outbreak, adding that “Ministry is allocating the budget to buy vaccines; therefore, it was at a loss as to the readiness of the Ministry of Health to handle the Cholera outbreak, should it hit again.”
Use of IGF
The Committee was of the view that some institutions do not wholly use their IGF for its core activities but rather apply a substantial part of it to their non-core programmes and thus charged the Ministry to develop guidelines that would ensure that agencies use most of their IGF for their core functions.
“The Chief Director, however, assured the Committee that guidelines do exist for the use of IGFs and that agencies are allowed to spend up to 10 percent of their IGF on non- care activities, similar to the provisions in the National Health Insurance law,” it said.
The House finally approved the budget estimate for the Ministry of Health totaling GH¢386,762,864 for the 2016 financial year.
Other ministries and agencies that had their budget estimates approved were Ministries of Finance, Roads and Highways and Justice and Attorney-General’s Department and Office of the Head of Civil Service, Ghana Revenue Authority and National Development Planning Commission.
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