Government’s holdup in releasing cash to local pharmaceutical companies after they have supplied critical drugs to state hospitals is negatively affecting the operations of the manufacturers.

David Klutse, Managing Director of Intravenous Infusions Plc., who disclosed this to brokers and journalists on the Ghana Alternative Market (GAX) Thursday in Accra, said the situation had obstructed the importation of chemicals needed for the manufacture of the companies’ range of products.

In the case of Intravenous Infusions, he said it has been forced under the circumstances to mobilise GH¢6.6 million through private placement to transact its business.

“We are trying to bear with the government because there is a national challenge ….but at the same time we are in a strategic industry, and if we don’t have cash to run the business, we can’t just close down. People are in the hospitals, they are dying. We have to keep going,” he mentioned.

Mr. Klutse appealed to government to help stabilize the situation through prompt payments to pharmaceutical manufacturers in order not to halt their operations.

He added: “I know the Minister of Health has promised to work very hard on this, but I am pleading that they release the money to help the industry.”

Intravenous Infusions Plc was listed on the GAX in 2015 to raise GH¢12.4 million to help it expand. However, the appeal only yielded GH¢6.4 million.

SEC board

Kofi Yamoah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), in a remark, commended the company for sustaining its operations.

He also pleaded with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to constitute a board of directors for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to help run the commission efficiently.