Health Minister Kweku Agyeman-Manu is violating the terms of agreement reached between his ministry and members of the Ghana Association of Medical and Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) by making public statements on the contents of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two parties, the lab scientists have said.

The GAMLS, in a statement released on Monday, 16 July 2018 and signed by its Public Relations Officer, Dennis Adu Gyasi, said Mr Agyeman-Manu is granting radio interviews discussing the contents of the MoU on-air at a time he has failed to meet members of the GAMLS for discussions.

The GAMLS went on strike a few months ago over government’s failure to address some concerns they raised regarding their work.

The strike was suspended following the signing of an MoU.

But the lab scientists say the Health Minister is flouting the agreement.

“The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) wishes to inform its members and the general public of the bad faith with which the Ministry of Health through the Hon Minister is treating the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we signed with the MoH that enabled the group to suspend the labour unrest carried out on the 28th of May 2018. The Medical Laboratory Scientists have arrived at this decision of not trusting the MoH to give a fair implementation of the MOU for the following reasons.

“First and foremost, since 2nd June 2018 when the MoU was signed with the MoH, the Honourable Minister has never been available to meet the Laboratory scientists. Unfortunately, the Hon Minister who avoided dialogue with the Laboratory Scientists resorted to radio interviews to discuss matters of the MoU on 25th and 26th June 2018. In brief, the Minister, who, on several fora had sought to vary the content of the MoU, indicated why a Directorate for Medical laboratory Scientists in Ghana cannot be possible. He stated the professionals of the Medical laboratory Science cannot have their independence in just three days.

“The Honourable Minister is on record to have said he can discuss the MoU openly without GAMLS, who is a major stakeholder, with anyone who expresses interest even though we had all agreed to keep the MoU in secrecy while seeing to its implementation. GAMLS duly respected this agreement and withheld the MoU from its members. We remain resolute and will not allow the content of the MoU to be varied. The clock is ticking and Ghanaians need not to suffer another labour unrest.”