The Head of Public Affairs at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Ametor-Quarmyne has reacted strongly to Mr Kwabena Bobie's allegations of malfeasance on the part of management by stating that the dismissed official should be grateful to the authority for not yielding to agitations made by NDC youth activists to remove elements viewed as NPP supporters.
According to Mr. Ametor-Quarmyne NDC youth activists in the country were protesting because they wanted individuals whom they believed to be members of the NPP flushed out of the public sector to make way for NDC youth activists.
He said management however stood firm on the back of President Mills' pledge to be a father for all, irrespective of political affiliations and did not kow-tow to their demand.
"It is not just in recent months that NDC youth or irate youth across the country have been agitating for the removal of some scheme personnel across the country."
Mr. Ametor-Quarmyne added that "from day one, when this NDC government came into office, this agitation has been on for the simple reason that most of the employees of the National Health Insurance Scheme across the country…are perceived to be NPP activists…some of them executive members of constituencies across the country." "Infact Bobie should be praising management for standing firm and not yielding to such pressure and protecting their work…and their employment as Ghanaians," the Public Affairs Head said.
Mr Bobie, who was the NHIS chairman of Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF) was dismissed on December 6 2010 for comments he made against management of NHIA on a recent interview on Joy FM. Some of the comments he made were that; management of NHIA was being controlled by NDC youth and dismissal and employment of employees were subject to the youth's agitations; that management was allocating for itself fat salaries to the neglect of the health insurance scheme; and that the health insurance scheme has been starved of funds and the absence of government intervention will eventually cripple it.
According to Mr Ametor-Quarmyne, these allegations made by Mr. Bobie were false and was the reason behind the termination of his appointment.
He said a platform was offered Mr. Bobie to defend his allegations but according to the NHIA head, he is yet to do so after a number of invitations. But in a response to Ametor-Quarmyne, Kofi Davor, General Secretary of the UNICOF insisted that Mr. Bobie was dismissed unlawfully.
He stated that Mr. Bobie made those comments on behalf of the union and not as an individual in his right.This he said should have rather focused management's wrath on the union if they felt aggrieved and not Mr. Bobie.
Mr. Davor alleged that the NHIA Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah made similar comments, alleging that there was corruption within the NHIA and if Mr. Bobie was fired on such grounds, then the same should be done to the chief.
"This same statement has been made by the Chief Executive before. This same Chief Executive has gone on air to say that his employees are corrupt, his employees do not have talent…all these statements he has made, what can bring an organisation's name into disrepute?…So if these statements can end in somebody's termination, then the first person [whose appointment should be] terminated is the Chief Executive himself," Davor said.
However, Ametor-Quarmyne differed on Davor's opinion, insisting that Bobie has refused to explain his actions when called upon to do so and a communiqué was not made available to indicate that he acted on behalf of the union.
Source: myjoyonline.com
