Editorial
SIM, Ghana Card registration – Smooth rough edges
Dear Editor,
The procedure requiring us to use the Ghana Card to re-register our SIM cards is becoming a bit cumbersome. At dawn people leave the comfort of their homes and queue at NHIS offices as well as the premises of telecom service providers to have their details captured.
The young and old are not left out of this scramble which I believe could be avoided. While at it, some of them fail to observe the COVID 19 safety protocols.
Those who wear nose masks lower them down their chins and some are not bothered at all about safety measures. It is not even possible to detect whether or not persons in the queue have been vaccinated. I believe these gatherings could be potential COVID-19 hotspots, considering the surge of the new variant, Omicron.
I am convinced the short grace period given for the SIM registration could be accounting for any‘stampede.’ I thought subscribers could complete the registration process on their phones but I am told we still have to go to the offices of our telecom service providers to finalise the process.
People who have subscribed to more than one telecom service provider are, therefore, compelled to move from one customer service location centre to the other to complete the process.
I believe this and other inconveniences of the SIM re-registration could have been avoided if subscribers were allowed to seamlessly key in details on their mobile phones and do not have to show up at any office to complete the process.
As the March deadline approaches, it would be appropriate to provide workable alternatives to subscribers as efforts are made to make the acquisition of the Ghana Card less hectic.
The object of these two exercises is, indeed, plausible but we need to smooth the rough edges.
From Priscilla Efriyie Ankapong, Cape Coast.
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
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