Hot!
Don’t leave Ghana; stay and help the people – Gov’t appeals to nurses
The Government of Ghana has appealed to nurses and other health professionals not to leave Ghana to other countries to seek greener pastures.
Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare has told the nurses that Ghanaians are looking up to them to meet their health needs in the country hence they should stay.
His comments come at a time the General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Titus Beyuo earlier revealed that medical doctors and nurses are leaving the country in droves.
Dr Beyuo said brain drain has returned to the medical profession in Ghana.
Speaking on the New Day show on TV3 Wednesday May 11, Dr Beyuo said “…as we speak, doctors, nurses are leaving this country in droves, brain drain has returned in full swing.
“I know that because I am the General Secretary of the GMA, I wont give you figures immediately,” he said when asked by host Roland Walker to mention how many have so far left the country.
He added “But I can give you some examples, I will give you a unit in one hospital I won’t name, a big hospital in Accra, from January till now, five doctors have left that unit
“We need to do something about it deliberate in this country.”
Addressing nurses and other health professionals during the International Nurses Day, in Accra on Thursday May 12, Dr Nsia Asare said “I think the unethical way that the developed countries are trying to take our scarce health resources of this country is not the right thing to do. Ghana, like other developing counties, is seeing an increase in migration of our professional nurses to high income countries like United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and other countries as a result of the global shortage of nurses, caused partly by the impact of the coronavirus.
“This trend is quite worrying and it amounts to massive public subsidy to the wealthier nations, so we are subsidizing their health care system, given the fact that nursing education in Ghana is is mainly publicly financed , it also threatens to worsen the nurse-patient ratio and for that matter our ability to accelerate our progress towards universal health coverage which is a top priority of this government .
“I know many of our professional nurses continue to yearn for greener pastures beyond the shores of Ghana. I wish to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to stay like us and to contained to the development of our country health sector. Bear in mind that Ghanaians are looking up to you in their quest to maintain their health.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
More more more
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
