Editorial
National Unity Is What We Need
One Important Thing That Is Necessary For The Development Of This Country Is Unity On The Part Of Everyone In Order To Ensure That We Are Able To Get To Our Destination Socially, Economically And Politically.
Division In Any Form Must Be Eschewed By Everyone And All Groups Of People.
We All Need To Study The Purpose Of Peace As A Vehicle For Socioeconomic Development In The Country.
It Is, Indeed, Very Surprising That We Hear Of Conflicts, Disagreements And Fighting In Different Parts Of The Country. Such Negative Tendencies Ought To Be Avoided So That Together We Can Live In Peace And Harmony.
Any Time We Allow Divisions To Occur Among Our People, The Clock Of Progress Becomes Retarded.
In Our Socioeconomic Dispensation, We Expect Our Chieftaincy Institutions To Unite And Come Together For A Common Purpose. Our Chiefs And Elders Must Always Support The Truth And Refrain From Intervening In Matters That Could Go Against The Travesty Of Justice.
At The Same Time, All Ghanaians Must First See Themselves As Belonging To The Country First And Foremost Before Any Other Considerations.
Our Identity As Ghanaians Must Run Paramount To Any Other Things In The Country.
We Also Expect People Of Various Faiths To See Themselves As One People With A Common Destiny.
If This Is Done, Unnecessary Disagreements And Conflicts Would Not Occur.
This Explains Why Various Ethnic Conflicts In Different Parts Of The Country Should Be Seen As Needless. These Conflicts Do Not Promote Socioeconomic Development.
It Is Also Important To Note That Political Actors Must See Themselves As Friends Or Brothers And Sisters But Not Enemies. Each Political Group Must Feel Free To Come Out With Its Ideas Without Fear Or Favour.
It Is Also Important For These Political Parties To Refrain From Insults And Atrocious Attacks.
They Must Come Out With Programmes That Are Convincing Enough To Influence People For Their Votes
Ghana Is A Beautiful Country That Must Be Maintained As Such For The Present And Future Generations. The Children Yet Unborn Must All Come To Experience The Culture Of Unity So That As One People, We Will Be Able To Attain National Progress, Development And Unity.
We All Have A Responsibility Towards This Purpose. For This Reason, We Must All Be Responsible Towards Each Other In A Peaceful And Cordial Manner.
Our Parliamentarians Are Included In This Desire Even In The Light Of Enjoyment Of Parliamentary Immunity, Which Can Exempt Them From Certain Sanctions. Let Each Of Us Work Hard Towards The Attainment Of Unity, This Invaluable Ingredient Of National Development, For The Positive Transformation Of This Noble Country.
Dear Editor,
I WRITE to condemn the circumstances under which an accident victim died recently after three major hospitals reportedly turned him away due to what has earned a place in our local parlance as ‘no bed syndrome.’
Reports suggested that this motor rider who got knocked by a vehicle was taken to three major hospitals – Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), and the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital – but they all claimed they had no beds.
But one may ask, would there ever be beds?
Such is the treatment Ghanaians endure every now and then when one visits our hospitals, especially the public ones which are run with the taxpayers’ money. Many a time when one visits the hospitals, the sight of patients admitted and lying on benches, and some sitting on chairs while receiving care, is visible to all; making one wonder why this particular motor rider was not admitted at any of the facilities, looking at his condition.
This leads to the reason for this letter, which is to bring out a perceived apathy against these motor riders, the majority of whom are referred to as ‘Okada’ riders.
Due to their recklessness on the roads and the inconvenience caused to commuters, people always speak ill about them; drivers equally have no regard for them. Every user of public transport would attest to this. These riders are blamed for every offence, even when it is obvious drivers may be at fault sometimes.
Motor riders have become like orphans on the road; people care less about them, and when they are unfortunately knocked down, no one cares about them.
This is the mischief our authorities and agencies, including the police, must seek to cure to make the road safe for all users.
These are young folks that want to make a living for themselves, and with no skill or education, ‘Okada’ rides have become their source of livelihood. They need the protection accorded drivers and commuters as well.
In other countries, some facilities have been provided to make their work safer, but in Ghana, we lack them, leaving them with no alternative than to share the available space with the cars.
What has happened should serve as a wake-up call on our authorities to aim to take a second look at the ‘Okada’ menace. With the numbers increasing, there should be a way to regulate them because no government would have the guts to ban it totally.
Drivers should be made to accept the reality that they are sharing the roads with them, and therefore the need for patience and tolerance.
For some of our hospitals, I suggest the Ministry of Health conduct their own investigations to see what patients go through in accessing medicare, which is even not for free.
Thank you, Editor, for the space.
F. Morgan, Kokrobite
Dear Editor,
THE heartbreaking death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah in a hit-and-run accident has exposed once again the failures in our health system.
Even more painful is the fact that his father had previously donated beds to some hospitals, yet when his son needed urgent care, he was moved from one facility to another because there were ‘no beds.’
This is not only tragic but unacceptable. How can a country lose its bright young citizens simply because hospitals cannot provide emergency treatment? The ‘no bed syndrome’ has become a national disgrace, and Charles’ death is a reminder that reforms cannot wait.
Our hospitals must be equipped to handle emergencies, and accountability must be enforced. If donations are made to improve facilities, then those facilities must serve the people when it matters most. Ghana cannot afford to keep losing lives to negligence and poor infrastructure.
Charles Amissah’s death should be the turning point. Let us honor his memory by fixing the system so that no family would suffer this kind of preventable loss again.
Princess Wonovi
Accra
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
