News Analysis: The 'Adwuma' Budget And 3-Years Unemployed Vet Doc

Dr Kwasi Agyei Sarfo would watch more than 2 hours 30 minutes presentation of the 2018 budget by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta with some sense of resignation.

And he would watch post-budget interviews where minister waxed lyrical about the nation's good fortunes while New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs keep scripted praise.

But the veterinary doctor, he still can't find his job in the 176-page document and would be asking himself, when will I get a job?

Ghana has a precious clique of only 32 vets. Twenty are in the office and 12 are scattered in the 216 districts.

The apparent lack of attention is trans-governmental, leaving the Dr Sarfo with no job after seven years of training.

"It has not been easy," he said on GhanaConnect and explained that since 2015 he and others are yet to obtain financial clearance.

He kept a respectable despair in his voice for someone whose nation feels no need for him after training him.

"The gaps are there, the jobs are there, the availability of the veterinarian but government is not ready to employ".

Professionally he is not allowed to set up private practice until he clocks four years on the job. But if he manages to join the 32 vets in 2018 to make 33 it may require a miracle.

Doctors for pets and animals are in acute shortage but doctors for humans are not yet Uhuru either.

The Chairman of Ghana Coalition of NGOs, Gabriel Gbiel Benarkuu revealed Ghana needs about 40,000 doctors according to WHO guidelines.

"Right now, we have a little over 3,000," he revealed.

If Ghana does not like the WHO guidelines, there is the Commonwealth option measure of 20,000 doctors, he pointed out.

Here too, Ghana falls far below this measure.
"We are heading towards another crisis," he said.
He said a promising sector in the budget is Agriculture sector. But it appears the nation is investing more in food and less in healing.

Government has suggested it is in a crisis of its own when it comes to finding the money from taxes to pay public sector employees.

Ghana’s total revenue is consumed by three main budgetary lines: wages and salaries, interest payments and amortization and statutory payments. These three items alone account for 99.6% of government revenue.

Chances of recruiting more doctors appear slim. But government in what looks like a temporal measure launched the Nation Builders Corp to tackle graduate unemployment.

This is jobs for 100,000 graduate in five different modules. Teach Ghana, Feed Ghana, Heal Ghana and Revenue Ghana which will ensure these graduates support schools, farms, hospitals and revenue-collection agencies respectively.

So maybe, just maybe Dr Kwasi Agyei Sarfo could - a small could - get a job.

Listen to the discussion:

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com