Doctors' Fury

We advised against propagandizing the doctors' industrial action threat. It appears though that some political activists within the ruling party see things differently, preferring however, to prosecute their myopic political agenda to the detriment of the larger picture.

They would rather like other issues they have always feasted upon on the airwaves, this too should be included in their terms of reference. After all, theirs is an industry paid for by their political masters for propaganda effects.

Labour issues, especially when they border on essential services, should not be infected by the obscene remarks of such elements who have little or no understanding of the implications of their parlous propaganda interventions.

Yesterday Dr. Frank Serebuor, General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), was compelled to say it as it should be when he opened his heart on the plight of doctors vis a vis the remarks of serial callers on the payroll of their masters.

The scribe could no longer hold his temper as he dished out unprintable insults on the man who sought to deride the doctors' demands and the first stage of the industrial action they have embarked upon.

Claiming that Ghanaians are fed up with the demands of doctors, as the serial caller said, does not reflect the reality on the ground.

Anybody who seeks to pour cold water over the situation of doctors or even try to subject them to contemptuous remarks as the man Dr. Serebour shredded to smithereens yesterday, is not being fair or contributing meaningfully towards resolving the impasse that threatens to bring public medical service to its knees – if it has not done so already.

We recall the doctor telling the serial caller whose ignorance and arrogance he could no longer stand, about how he and his ilk are being paid to churn out nonsense on the airwaves.

There is no doubt that Ghanaians have tolerated such conduct for far too long and continue to do so as very critical matters are given political colours and handed over to government-remunerated propagandists to run down through lies and deliberate slanting.

They insult anybody but their paymasters. We downplay the importance of our doctors at the peril of our health-delivery system. For those who are able to fly first class to the locations of the best medical facilities in the world, we do not make sense. Others, the critical mass, do appreciate whatever we are driving at.

Why has government not been able to manage the issue of doctors' demands and other labour challenges to date? They have been around for a while now and the inability of government negotiators to resolve them suggests that they are at their wits' end over what is by all standards a conundrum almost beyond their ken.

Things should not have taken this turn had government showed enough commitment towards exiting the doldrums that are represented by the many instances of labour unrests in the country.

In as much as propagandists remain active on the political terrain, so-called negotiations around ornate tables in conference halls can only spawn confusion in the health sector.