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Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Minister jabs striking doctors - Considers bringing in Cubans to break the strike - Ghana

Minister jabs striking doctors

Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, has launched a
verbal attack on the leadership of the Ghana Association (GMA) for
allowing its members to embark on what he termed as "killer strike action."

Describing the leadership of the Association as "intellectual dishonest
medical professionals," Mr. Ofosu Kwakye could not fathom why they
(leadership of the GMA) should spearhead the striking action of the doctors.
According to the NDC firebrand, it is inhumane on the part of the GMA to
embark on such an action.

"Look at the huge sums of investment President Mahama and his National
Democratic Congress (NDC) government were investing in the
infrastructural development projects and programmes at Ridge Hospital,
37 Military Hospital and Tamale General Hospital among others in Ghana.

"...and the doctors and nurses were aware that if all these projects are
completed it would go a long way to improve the conditions of service of
medical workers...but the doctors still went ahead to embark on strike
to demand money for better conditions of service," Mr. Kwakye said this
on Accra based Radio Gold's Alhaji-Alhaji programme .

Besides these, the NDC outspoken minister stressed that government
cannot put all its resources into the emolument of doctors only in Ghana.

According to him, his outfit's investigations have unravelled that
majority of the doctors who are certified members of GMA were not aware
of the final decision taken by the leadership of the Association.

He claimed that the action by the leadership of the striking doctors was
instigated by some politicians from some opposition political parties to
discredit the ruling NDC.

Mr. Ofosu Kwakye further claimed that the leadership of the doctors was
also making undue demands.

Members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) embarked on strike last
week Wednesday after government failed to meet their demands for better
conditions of service.

Since the declaration of the strike, various people including the
Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mr. Ade Coker, have
criticised them and called on government to consider employing more
doctors from Cuba to take over their positions.

Earlier, deputy Communications Director of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC), Kwaku Boahen, claimed that 90% of the leadership of the
striking doctors were politicians who were only pushing a political agenda.

"I can bet my last penny on the fact that about 90% of the leadership of
the doctors are just pushing their political agenda ... hence the
reasons why they are making these undue demands," Boahen said on Asempa
FM's Kukurantumi programme.

"If these doctors' demands persist, then I urge government to just go to
Cuba and recruit doctors into the country and pay them. It's about time
we told our doctors, enough is enough! The people of Ghana must rise up
against them...," Ade Coker said.

National Communications Director of the NDC, Solomon Nkansah, also
described the striking doctors as "nation wreckers" who were making
demands based on their political leanings.

And these accusations, Mr. Boahen said, were a true reflection of the
behaviour of the leadership of the Ghana Medical Association many of
whom are politicians who work to push their political agenda."

He further claimed that he was surprised the doctors have not acted on
their earlier claims to resign en mass.

"I thought they said they would resign…. why are they still working?
There are some in private employment so why are they still at post…?
According to him, the doctors were just making undue demands.

But these comments, Nasara Coordinator of the NPP, Kamal Deen, who was
on the show, said were unfair as the government can never do away with
the services of doctors.

"Is government going to employ monkeys in the new hospitals they claim
they are building? Certainly not, so why insult them like that? These
comments are unfair," he said.

Source: Minister jabs striking doctors | General News 2015-08-04 -
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Minister-jabs-striking-doctors-372850

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