By Maxwell Ofori
A group of livid, trained, health practitioners, yesterday picketed at the Ministry of Health to demand an answer to the delay in posting them.
The group, calling itself ‘Coalition of Unemployed Bonded Diploma Nurses February 2015, is demanding that the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, give them the financial clearance to be posted.
Clad in their uniforms, both male and female health personnel went to the Ministry, after all possible avenues to enable them have their problem solved failed. As at 10am on Tuesday morning, the group had already converged at the Ministry’s car park, expressing their anger through songs.
When this reporter got to the scene, the Minister of Health had come out to listen to their outcry.
One of them told the Minister why they had come to him, which had to do with the fact that they have been staying at home for a long time after completing their course, without being posted.
Another personnel, who gave his name only as Seth, told this reporter that they had followed all procedures expected of them to be posted, but they were yet to see their postings. They, therefore, wanted to meet the Minister over the issue.
According to Seth, they should have been posted somewhere last year by the Mahama-led administration, but that never materialised. Information gathered indicated that some have been in the house for more than 12 months, and are still waiting to be posted.
Others have undertaken their national service and had complete about five months ago, but unfortunately, they have not been posted.
In a phone interview with the secretary of the group, Haruna Fuseini, he indicated that the group could not understand why their postings had to delay for that long, and yet, the Ministry of Health was not saying anything to them.
According to them, the Minister told them that he was not aware that they were still at home. “We have been following patiently almost every week just to meet the Minister, but he will not meet us. We will write petition, but he will not even respond to the petition, and that is why all these things are happening.”
According to Haruna, the previous government failed to add their names to the list of those to be posted. He said they are numbering about 937 who completed in February.
Explaining the ‘mistake’ the Mahama-led government did, he said they had been informed by the Health Ministry that the National Medical Association (NMC) submitted the names of those who did hack and community nursing only for posting, but the bonded diplomas who completed in February 2015 did not have their names included.
When asked whether they had gone to the NMC to find out why their names were not added, Haruna said they went, and the list was given to the Ministry of the Health, but they failed to forward it to the Finance Ministry for financial clearance.
“The current Minister [Kwaku Agyeman Manu] has the list; he has our names; he told us he has given the list to the Finance Ministry,” Haruna said, but pointed out that the Finance Ministry had debunked the claim.
“We want the Minister to sign the clearance. We are giving him this to see that our names are cleared that’s all, or he should tell us why he’s not clearing us.”
He lamented bitterly that their colleagues who completed November 2015 had been cleared, but those who completed in February are still at home, and they want the Minister to explain to them the reason for that.
Meanwhile, the Minister, who had to excuse the group to rush to Parliament for his Ministry’s budget estimate approval, made a few comments about the issue on the floor.
He used the opportunity of commenting on the budget estimate of his ministry to appeal to the group to exercise restraint, while this government works to resolve their issue.
He urged the group to be calm, and assured them that the budget has certain provisions to take care of their needs.
“But they are problems that have been created, and I don’t think all of them can be resolved immediately, we will have to do them gradually and gradually.”
The post Health personnel picket at Health Ministry over delay in postings appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.
By Maxwell Ofori A group of livid, trained, health practitioners, yesterday picketed at the Ministry of Health to demand an answer to the delay in posting them. The group, calling itself ‘Coalition of Unemployed Bonded Diploma Nurses February 2015, is demanding that the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, give them the financial clearance […]
The post Health personnel picket at Health Ministry over delay in postings appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.
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