Former Deputy Health Minister, Benard Okoe Boye has explained why Frontier Health Service Limited was allowed to commence testing for Covid-19 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) before acquiring a license.

According to Dr Benard Okoe Boye, the decision became necessary at a crucial time when there was an urgent need to deal with the pandemic in the country.

“We all agree that we are not in normal times. We are managing a pandemic that is new to us," he said.

"We were also looking at timelines and the fact that we had to open the airport but we also couldn’t compromise the safety of the populace. So we had some solutions provided that people who could perform come to us," he said.

Dr Okoe Boye's comment comes after Health Minister-designate Kwaku Agyeman-Manu admitted that Frontier, the company tasked with conducting Covid-19 tests at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) started operations without a license.

During Mr Agyeman Manu's vetting, Wednesday, he justified the move with a claim that, "in the pandemic, there were certain things that we had to do and try to rectify as we go forward because of the urgency of what we should do immediately".

This has raised questions as to whether the company went through the right processes, including procurement, before being offered the contract.

Providing further clarification, Dr Okoe Boye stated that Frontier met the standards required of them to perform the task, thus, the decision to award them the contract.

“My point is that we wanted a solution and we found someone who had a solution," he said.

"I would not be absolute about this and say it was 100% right or wrong but what I'm comfortable about is that the taskforce made sure the equipment to be used had been authenticated and validated by the FDA, and all the officials that were going to work at the facility were approved by the Allied Council," he added.