News
Exposed! NHIS card holders collect drugs for unregistered relatives in UWR
Some National Health Insurance Card holders in the Upper West Region are said to be using their cards to collect medicines from health facilities for their sick relations who are not beneficiaries of the insurance scheme.
“We have had instances where a family member who is healthy rather goes to a health facility with the symptoms of a sick relative who is not rolled onto the scheme, collects some drugs for free and take them to the sick person at home’.
Mr. Samuel Lobber, Upper West Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) who disclosed this in an interview with The Spectator again said that other clients also visited hospitals on regular basis just to collect drugs and keep at home for future use.
He described these practices as unhealthy and affront to quality healthcare delivery in the region and the nation in its entirety.
“I condemn such acts without hesitation as they are inimical to the operations of the NHIA and risky to the health of the clients,” he emphasised.
Over 32,000 persons in the Upper West Region have been registered for free under the National Health Insurance Scheme between January and June, 2021.
These included pregnant women who could not pay for healthcare services, children captured under the School Feeding Programmes, beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme and other indigents who qualified for social services.
The Jirapa Municipality presented the highest number of more than 6,000 registrants whereas the Wa Municipality had the least number of registrants with a little over one thousand.
Explaining the rationale for the inclusion of indigents in the scheme, the Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority, Mr Samuel Lobber, said that the Authority was to attain nationwide coverage and to promote the agenda of universal health coverage.
“Although we pat ourselves on the back for the achievement, we are mindful of the need to increase the numbers in areas with less development and evident poverty so that such people are not left out of access to quality healthcare”, he said.
He stated that it was incumbent on the staff to adopt the innovative ways of identifying and reaching out to the target clients for this package and as well get them registered as some of them might be oblivious of the package that was due them.
He explained that even though the NHIA had captured over 77 per cent of the population in the region on the insurance scheme, revenue generation for the authority at Wa was lagging behind owing to the face that over 32,000 of its members were registered for free.
“The region is not doing so well when it comes to revenue mobilisation because of the high numbers of indigents but we should not throw our hands in despair because we can do better and must do better”, he said.
He advised clients to desist from abusing the scheme and ensured that they used the cards only when they genuinely required healthcare.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
