COVID-19: Incentives, Insurance packages due health workers will be paid – Okoe Boye

A Deputy Minister for Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has assured that all frontline health workers who qualify to benefit from the government’s tax-free allowances, would be duly paid.

According to him, those who are beneficiaries of the 50 percent basic salary allowance will also receive their payment.

In addition, all health personnel who are yet to benefit from the fully-funded insurance packages for those who become casualties along the way, including the families of those who have died, will be duly compensated.

“An insurance package was signed for all health workers that unfortunately contracted the virus and suffered some deformity. And we are still working out all the processes so that all those who have passed can benefit from the life insurance. As you all know, health workers across the country benefited from the tax exemptions, and we also put in place a fifty percent basic allowance for frontline workers and largely we have made progress. Most of them have been paid and there are others who have made their case, and we are still working on it to make sure that all those who have sacrificed are rewarded and appreciated”, the Minister said in a Citi News interview.

The President first announced the three-month tax holiday for the health workers at the beginning of April 2020.

Although the free tax  package has been implemented, that of the 50 percent allowance is yet to be carried out given the seeming controversy over the definition and qualification of a frontline health worker.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the incentives form part of the government’s commitment to ensuring that health workers are supported as they deliver essential services to the populace especially amidst the outbreak of Coronavirus.

In June, President Akufo-Addo extended the incentive package for health workers for three more months as they continue to lead the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.