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)
