Ghana Health Minister Warns Boards Against Interfering in Day-to-Day Management

• Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Minister of Health, warns Boards against interfering in day-to-day management of health institutions.
• Effective governance depends on respecting boundaries between governance and management, preventing institutional conflicts, and improving accountability.
• Health institutions should exercise caution when approving expenditure, particularly for seminars, training programs, and official travel.

The Ministry of Health's High-Level Mid-Year Review Retreat in Ho has highlighted the need for effective governance structures within the health sector. The retreat, which brought together participants from various health institutions, aimed to strengthen governance structures and ensure that Boards and management teams understand their respective roles and responsibilities. According to Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Minister of Health, a clear separation between governance and management is essential to preventing institutional conflicts, improving accountability, and ensuring efficient operations. He emphasized the importance of respecting boundaries in governance, particularly when it comes to day-to-day administration.

Boards of health institutions have an oversight responsibility, but they should not take over administrative functions from management teams. This was the clear message from Minister Akandoh, who stressed that effective governance depends on ensuring that Boards and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) perform distinct but complementary functions. He encouraged participants at the retreat to use the governance training to gain a practical understanding of their responsibilities and avoid unnecessary interference in daily operations. By doing so, management teams can carry out their duties effectively, and institutional leaders can be held accountable for their decisions and performance.

Minister Akandoh also emphasized the relationship between good governance and prudent management of public resources. He said effective governance is necessary to ensure that state resources are deployed in ways that directly contribute to improving the well-being of Ghanaians. The Minister urged health institutions to exercise greater caution when approving expenditure, particularly for seminars, training programs, and official travel. Spending decisions should take account of Ghana's resource constraints and be guided by necessity, efficiency, and expected benefit to the health sector.

Health institutions in Ghana should exercise caution when approving expenditure, particularly for seminars and official travel, to ensure responsible financial decision-making and value for money.

Source: Original reporting via MyJoyOnline Ghana