General News
Poor working conditions: Medical officers coming here must be careful – Aggrieved Doctors at St. Anne’s Hospital
Aggrieved Medical Doctors at the Saint Anne’s Hospital (formerly known as West Gonja Hospital) in Damongo in the Savannah Region have served strong notice to doctors who have intentions of accepting posting or transfer to the facility.
According to them, the general working conditions especially payment of allowances among others are in bad taste.
“We only want to tell them before they take the risk in accepting posting here like we did few years ago because we are in a fix. And so, we have agreed that this time around, we are tired because for almost a year, we have not been paid our allowances.
“Not only that, our top ups are also in arrears from January this year up to date. Our fuel allowances are equally in arrears. Everything now seems to be in arrears”.
They continued, “we have written letters and proposals and all that and nothing meaningful has come out of it. And we want to say that, medical officers who want to come here, will have to be careful else, they will have themselves to blame”.
JoyNews sources at the Hospital shared a year long experience on failed negotiations and promises between the doctors and the Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, Mr. Peter Paul Aakyier.
They lamented that since July last year, they have not been paid their stewardship allowances despite series of engagements with the the Hospital.
They also indicated that not even the intervention by the Savannah Regional Minister, Saeed Muhazu Jibril for rectification has yielded any results.
“So, as you can see, it’s obvious that they are treating us like kids. Give us our money too, you don’t want to give it to us. But we need money to take care of things,” a source stated.
The doctors who are set to embark on a strike action, said they have shown enough goodwill but that has not been reciprocated by management, “and today when we want to go on strike, it will be like we are insensitive”.
They further indicated that, the Hospital has what it takes to settle their arrears because, “the facility recently auctioned cars and when you tell them, they say, they are going to do investments with the money. So, we also served copies of our letters and proposals to Ghana Health Service and the Regional Minister on our plights.
“First of all, we did the proposal and said, pay us 10 months installment and in the first proposal, the CEO agreed to pay the arrears and up to now, not even a single month has been paid”.
While responding to the question on the non-payment of arrears, the doctors responded adding, “they said it’s not visible meanwhile, health Insurance has been paying. And even currently, the health insurance has paid one month again including the cars they auctioned and we decided to go on strike”.
“But now, we want the Regional Minister and the MP to know that we are waiting for this month to end if they (Hospital management) don’t pay us, we will advise ourselves because if we are hungry, nobody will give us food”, the source added.
On other sources of income for their survival, the doctors said that , “when you are in Damongo you don’t have anything because it’s located in an area that makes it very difficult for one to have private engagement with other health facilities.
“As it stands now, the person who does the scans for the Hospital is gone. Meaning, the whole of Damongo we don’t have a Sonographer. He has left and there are rumors that one that just finished with his National Service from Holy Family Hospital has shown up and is likely to face similarly treatment like his successor”, they stated.
Meanwhile, management of the Hospital is mute on the matter. Also, JoyNews will continue to monitor the situation on the ground.
General News
Ghanaian fibre optics inventor, Dr Thomas Mensah passes on
Dr. Thomas Mensah, a renowned Ghanaian-American scientist and developer of fibre optics, died at the age of 74.
According to a statement published by the family on Thursday, March 28, the renowned innovator, who played a key role in revolutionising telecommunications and technology, died of sickness at Kumasi Catholic Hope Exchange Hospital.
“Dr. Thomas Mensah died on March 27, 2024, in Kumasi Catholic Hope Exchange Hospital. Dr. Mensah died from a brief illness.
“The family hereby informs the wider public of the unfortunate event. “Dr. Thomas Mensah died at the age of 74,” the announcement added.
The Adisadel College Old Boys Association’s official X account also announced Dr. Mensah’s death.
“He was known on the global stage for his significant contributions in the field of fibre optics and nanotechnology.”
Dr. Mensah’s ideas have had a significant influence on global communications networks, making substantial contributions to the field of technology.
His major innovation in fibre optics enabled high-speed data transport, revolutionising several sectors and contributing to the digital age’s success.
General News
Good news for teachers: 1 teacher, 1 laptop
Teachers in public schools will receive the laptops promised by the government in 2021 by the end of June 2024.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, said this on Adom FM’s morning broadcast, Dwaso Nsem, on Tuesday.
“I can tell you that the instructors will receive their computers by the end of June, as promised. They’ve already met with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and are figuring out how to get their laptops,” he said.
His remarks came after the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) expressed reservations about the Ghana Smart School Project, which debuted on Monday, March 25, 2024.
According to GNAT, since 2021, when the government launched a similar scheme for teachers dubbed the “1 Teacher 1 Laptop” project, over 100,000 instructors in public schools have yet to receive theirs.
However, Dr. Adutwum, a teacher himself, told teachers that his Ministry has their best interests at heart and will never fail them.
He indicated categorically that the instructors will receive their computers by the end of June.
Speaking about the Ghana Smart School Project, Dr. Adutwum emphasised its significance as a component of the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme, which aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning in public second-cycle schools.
He stated that these tablets, packed with necessary textbooks and previous questions, will be great instructional aids, improving students’ access to information critical to their academic endeavours.
General News
Create your own ‘dumsor’ timetable – Energy minister to critics
Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has challenged those lobbying for a load-shedding timeline from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to submit their own proposals.
His statements came amid the country’s current electricity issues, particularly in the Greater Accra Region, which affect both residents and companies.
Despite rising calls for a systematic load-shedding plan, ECG has maintained its opposition to creating one, citing the lack of a formal “dumsor” scenario and so judging a timetable unnecessary.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and numerous important personalities have repeatedly urged ECG to give a timeframe. They also urged the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to address the present power situation.
However, speaking to the media at the launching of the NPP campaign team in the Ashanti Region, Dr Opoku Prempeh urged detractors to create their own timeline if required.
He questioned the point of defining a timeline since ECG said that there is no such strategy in place.
“Ask those who desire it to bring it, if any. I have not seen any timeline. The ECG claims there is no timeline coming; why do you wish to bring one, and for what purpose? Why would someone wake up and want wicked and awful things for the country? You can’t inform the individual when it’s unplanned.”
Dr. Opoku Prempeh told the public that measures are underway to solve the difficulties facing the electricity industry.
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