President of Ghana, Akufo-Addo has been lambasted by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure and former Minister of communications, Dr. Omane Boamah over the ban of elevator use at Health Ministry, on their respective social media handles
The Ministry released a memorandum dated 31st March, 2023 explaining the reason behind the directive and further clarified that the elevator will not be used from the 1st to 3rd floor and no use on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The memo released by the Ministry categorically stated that the directive had become imperative due to ‘economic restructuring that has impacted on Government’s financial releases’.
img 6182
This has sparked criticisms from Ghanaians and notable individuals including the former Minister for Communications, Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah and Manasseh Azure Awuni who both have described the directive as disadvantageous and a joke respectively.
According to many Ghanaians, the size of government and other huge government spending could have been cut to help government in its quest to stabilize the state’s finances.
In a Facebook post, Dr. Omane Boamah emphatically said the directive will negatively affect those who are vulnerable such as pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, elderly and hence must be rescinded.
No elevator/lift days at the Ministry of Health ‘sɛn’? I mean, how! So, how does your government expect these vulnerable people, including pregnant women and children, to access the affected parts of the building that houses Ghana’s Ministry of Health (MoH) with the no-lift days policy?
Therefore, I urge you Mr. President to cause the Ministry of Health to immediately reverse the policy of “no elevator/lift…” at the Ministry of Health in the best interest of people living with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women and for that matter children,”
The Ministry and your government as a whole must rather cut costs in a manner that does not impact negatively on the vulnerable. Downsizing the number of appointees serving in your administration is one way to enhance overall efficiency without impacting negatively on equity,” Dr. Omane Boamah posted.
img 6186
Ghanaian investigative journalist and Editor-in-Chief of the Fourth Estate, Manasseh Azure Awuni on the other hand described the move as joke as he blamed president Akufo-Addo for it.
The Akufo-Addo administration has taken the joke to a matchless level, he captioned his tweet on Twitter.
img 6185
Some people surprisingly have defended the action and said it’s a good idea to conserve energy as one Twitter user commented.
Other opinions however, have been politically motivated in the defense of the directive by the Health Ministry.
img 6183
