‘Ashanti police stooges of NDC’

STORY: FROM JAMES APPIAKORANG JR., & RUTH ANDY, KUMASI, A/R

The Ashanti regional command of the Police Service has been accused of being manipulated by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration to prevent opponents of the Health Insurance capitation policy piloted in the region from duly embarking on their constitutional rights.

The police have therefore employed various tactics, unsuccessful though, to try to stop any group, particularly the Asante Development Union (ADU) from doing anything contrary to the implementation of the capitation policy in the region.

Members of the Asante Development Union made this observation during their second in the series of demonstrations against the NHIA’s capitation policy in the region.

Furious members of ADU who spoke to our reporters in separate interviews during their demonstration in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi yesterday, stated boldly that the conduct of the regional Police Commander, DCOP Patrick Timbilla, was unprofessional and left much to be desired.

According to them, having tried unsuccessfully to stop them from embarking on their first demonstration by forcing them to go into an unscheduled meeting with authorities from the NHIA so they could stop them from their intention of demonstrating against the policy, DCOP Timbilla this time around instructed his men to do everything possible to stop them from embarking on the second one.

The attempt by some 20 police personnel from the Kumasi Central Police station to stop the demonstrators who were already in a fiery mood at the Prempeh Assembly Hall from embarking on the protest march resulted in a heavy commotion with the law enforcers taken unawares by the resilience of the irate protestors.

For close to three hours, the police personnel who were receiving orders every now and then from their Motorola walkie-talkies in a Hollywood movie style, kept pushing and shoving the protestors in their bid to prevent them from starting their protest.

Tried as some journalists did to ascertain the reason for their refusal, no police officer was ready to offer any explanation except one who quietly told our reporters that “we are only acting on orders from above.”

Having failed to carry the supposed “orders from above,” the police personnel backed down on their stance and succumbed to their constitutional obligation of escorting the protestors.

The about 500 demonstrators who were clad in red apparels with some wielding placards reading, “Atta is a wicked messiah,”  “Ashanti Region now the grave yard for Ghana,” “Cash and Carry back again,” “Capitation is a Gargantuan killer,” among others, marched through the principal streets of the central business district to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) where they presented their petition.

The spokesperson of the group, Edmund Oppong-Peprah, who presented their petition to the Regional Coordinating Council Director, S.O. Kusi Appiah, observed that the capitation policy which is being piloted in the region is detrimental to the health needs of the people.

“We are therefore calling on the president to, as a matter of urgency, order the NHIA to withdraw this ‘killer policy’ immediately to prevent our people from further dying.

…We are also calling on all well-meaning Ghanaians to join us in this fight for our rights for quality health care and safeguard their fellow brothers and sisters on whom this inimical policy is being forced,” the ADU coordinator said.

He also called for the immediate dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, Mr. Sylvester Mensah, for what he described as the Mr. Sylvester Mensah’s poor handling of the crisis that has arisen as a result of the introduction of the capitation policy.

Receiving the petition, Mr. Kusi Appiah promised to give the petition to his boss immediately he comes back from a scheduled meeting at the time.