Koforidua, Jan. 13, GNA - Dr. Francis Osafo-Mensah, Eastern Regional Minister, said on Monday that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is meant to cater mainly for common ailments and does not include congenital diseases and major operations.

He said a technical committee working on the details of the scheme would spell out the participation of traditional medicine practitioners in the scheme.

Dr Osafo-Mensah said this in an answer to a question on the position of traditional healers in the NHIS at the start of the third Eastern Regional Peoples Assembly.

He said the implementation of the NHIS was one of the key pledges of the NPP manifesto for the 2000 elections, but told a questioner that the implementation of some of the provisions of the manifesto might not cover all parts of the country at the same time.

The Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Dr Oti Boateng, who chaired the forum, called on the political parties to meet over the issue of the new constituencies to agree on when to effect the EC's decision.

"There should be no dispute about the constitutional interpretation of 'the next dissolution of Parliament' to be January 7, 2005." He said in order to promote "distributive justice" in the representation of the people, "the earlier we implement the decision the better for us."

The Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Adjei Boateng, briefed the forum on the projects implemented by the Municipal Assembly over the three-year period.

On poverty alleviation interventions, he said, the assembly had disbursed over 1.14 billion cedis to group farmers under the Common Fund and Poverty Alleviation Fund and gave credit, totalling 160 million cedis to eight groups under the Emergency Social Relief Fund (ESRF). Nana Adjei Boateng also mentioned projects funded from the assembly's allocation of the HIPC and GETFund in the social services and the education sectors.

On the efforts to solve the Koforidua perennial water problem, the Eastern Regional Director of the Ghana Water Company (GWC), Mr Ebenezer Kobina Garbrah, said through a Spanish government support, work was going on to improve the treatment plant to supply 1.8 million gallons out of the daily demand of six million gallons, in the short term. He said, for the long-term solution, water was to be tapped from the Volta Lake near Asesewa at the cost of 41 million dollars, saying it would take three and half years to execute the plan when funds were secured.