On Striking Doctors and The Way Forward

The sad reality of a crying mother, watching her 30 year old son die

at a hospital without any medical assistance or that of a man who

spoke passionately about his sick mother dying and also that diabetic

woman who laid unconscious at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as

narrated on Joy Fm's midday news is worrying, pathetic and sickening.

We all have families and relatives in Ghana. Some known and others

unknown. Each could possibly suffer similar fate and die miserably

should they fall sick at this crucial moment of doctors striking and

our President unwilling to meet their demands.

Truth be told, I am passionately against any group of professionals

using the sensitivity of their profession to hold an entire nation

ransom and unfairly demanding what the nation cannot provide. So also

must it be noted, that doctors are like any other Ghanaians who prefer

chicken soup to that of 'Keta school boys. ' They have wives and

children to feed, accommodate and meet their numerous demands in

today's Ghana where the Cedi keeps dancing Azonto and kowtows to the

Obama dollar and the Queen's pounds sterling. Like any other Ghanaian,

the doctors too have electricity bills to pay in today's Ghana where

electricity bills keep imcreasing even though power supply keeps

dwindling. They have to fuel their cars in today's Ghana where fuel

prices are increased every two weeks though world market price of

crude has been reducing since the insurgency of ISIS in Iraq and Syria

and Vladimir Putin's invasion of eastern Ukraine with so called

separatists.

When it rains, it surely doesn't fall on one man's roof. Whether we

are NDC or NPP, CPP, PNC, PPP or belong to madam Akua Donkor's Ghana

Freedom Party, we all stand to die should we fall sick and denied

medical attention. What every sensible Ghanaian should be praying for

and working towards, is the return of the striking doctors to the

theaters and consulting rooms. Provocative reactions by party

communicators and footsoldiers who can't even boast of an "O-level"

certificate will only annoy the striking doctors and prolong the

strike. Innocent Ghanaians have already died and we can't afford

losing more lives because of a strike which could have been easily

avoided.

Whether their demands are outrageous or insensitive, government should

try resolving the health crisis by bringing the doctors to the

negotiation table and reaching a deal with them. We voted them into

power to solve our problems and challenges not to complain about them

on radio. Afterall, this is a nation that pays Fatau Dauda and Albert

Adomah 15,000 dollars for just 90 minutes of unproductive football and

spends millions of dollars air-lifting party footsoldiers to Brazil

and Equatorial Guinea for football fiestas.

Our president, we have been told is a communication expert. A

president who cannot provide us electricity, employment for unemployed

graduates and even buy chalks for basic schools can be forgiven.

However, there would be no space of forgiveness in our hearts for him

if our mothers, fathers, grandparents, uncles and other relatives die

at government hospitals due to his failure to resolve this crisis. He

should for once, put his much acclaimed asset- communication skills,

to work and help bring the striking doctors to the consulting rooms.

There is only one way to resolving this crisis and it involves the

return of the striking doctors to the consulting room.

May God bless our homeland Ghana and save the poor from avoidable deaths.

Michael Kwadwo Nketiah

(politicalnketia@gmail.com)