The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has opened up about his struggles with ill-health in recent times.
There have been speculations about the Minister’s health due to changes in his physical appearance in public for some time now.
Speaking on Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV on Thursday, November 19, 2021, Mr. Ofori-Atta said he has been managing liver disease for some time now.
He spoke a day after presenting the government’s 2022 budget statement to parliament.
“I got COVID-19 somewhere in November and then got out of a hospital’s emergency. I came home on the 10th of December, things were pretty good when I came. Then I began to feel jaundiced. I was later diagnosed and told my liver was inflamed and required some work to determine what was really happening.”
“It took some time to find the probable cure, which involved steroids and all of that. I went back for review in August. The information was that it’s pretty much gone. They are now titrating to see how to bring the steroid down, so I can get back to normal life.”
The Minister however insisted that he is fit enough to discharge his duties.
“Essentially, I’m pretty much mended. I need just to manage my rest, sleep and exercise and have some good food.”
“We are grateful to God and other people who have us in prayers. But clearly, the DNA is strong enough to do the work I have to do.”
The Minister was away from his post for weeks in the first quarter of 2021 after contracting COVID-19.
He was flown out of the country to the US to receive medical attention from complications of the virus
Mr. Ofori-Atta left for the US on Sunday, February 14, 2021, on orders of his personal doctors.
