126 Vehicles For Health Workers
Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey As part of its motivational package to improve the working conditions of health workers in the country, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service, has presented 126 saloon cars to health staff as part of the Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme.
This is the first batch of the six hundred cars ordered for distribution to health workers under the scheme throughout the country.
The cars, which included 120 Honda Civic and six VW Polo cars, were provided to improve the mobility and comfort of health workers under the scheme.
The Minister of Health, Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, presented the cars to the Ghana Health Service in an address, indicating that the cars were distributed to motivate health workers to improve on their conditions of service.
“This is to demonstrate the Ministry of Health's commitment in supporting all health workers to be able to be mobile in the delivery of your work.”
He revealed that the cars were not for particular workers under the Ghana Health Service but all health workers covered by the scheme.
He called on doctors whose demands have not yet been met to show a bit of tolerance to government since they are in the process of meeting their needs.
“The public needs you, that is why they supported you with their taxes in your education so you must also make sure that you attend to them in your various hospitals.”
Elaborating further, the Health Minister urged healthcare workers to always make sure that their demands be made within the national budget and urged them to be patients, tolerant and make reasonable demands.
Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey also revealed that plans are underway to launch a housing programme dedicated to all health workers.
He reiterated the ministry's support to continually ensure that all health workers benefit from the package.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Elias Sory, who received the cars on behalf of the beneficiaries, indicated that since1997, the Ministry of Health introduced the Staff Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme to give mobility to all health workers in the country.
He indicated that in all, 3,138 workers have benefited since 1997, tax waivers' 1,673 high purchase getting 1,348 cars and 125 people assisted to purchase outright.
He also revealed that over 4,000 motor bikes have been allocated to junior health workers as incentive to improve upon their conditions of service.
He noted that the allocation of cars to the various regions was more heavily weighted towards regions with more rural areas.
“We want to make sure that life become bearable to those health workers in the rural areas,” he added.
Meanwhile, beneficiaries are supposed to have worked for about three years whilst they are expected to pay within seven years time.
By Linda Tenyah,Cat Koo and Marika Inhoff