Currently, about fifty two veterinary doctors are unemployed due to government’s inability to absorb them into the system since 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”DqKNHZ7w41a9MQ6WmyA2awRtwdtQFsif”]According to the President of the Association, Dr. Kwasi Agyei Safo, their role in contributing to the success of the agriculture sector has been undermined.

He told Citi News they will resort to other means to express their displeasure if government fails to address their concerns.

“We finished our housemanship in August 2016 and we are home…We have not been employed. The second batch has also finished in August 2017, but they have not been paid their housemanship salary let alone being employed. The third batch is yet to finish this August so the whole programme is an avalanche of issues that need to be taken care of by government and the Ministry as a whole.

“We have exhausted all diplomatic means talking to our veterinary doctors, talking to the Minister of Agriculture so the next option was to petition the President so we have petitioned the President. What I understand is that government does not see the implication of the process in our society because they think our job is to go and treat animals and come home.”

‘We need employment’

In 2017, some trained veterinary doctors in the country similarly demanded immediate employment from the government.

The doctors had also issued a month’s ultimatum to the government, threatening that they may take legal action if the government fails to meet their demand.

One of the affected doctors, Dr. Emmanuel Kodua, had said all efforts to get the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to address the concerns had been unsuccessful.

“What we are demanding is that, for the first and second batch, we need employment… We have not been given our appointment letters. Meanwhile, we have finished our National Service and even we have sent our report to the registrar as he requested.”

“As we speak now, two batches are in the house; they’ve not been posted, and the third batch is doing their housemanship now, but they have not been served their appointment letters but have been asked to do their housemanship, so they are also demanding their appointment letters,” he said.

Graduate Nurses demand employment

The Veterinary doctors’ plea follows protests by some graduate nurses who were asking government to employ them.

The about 200 graduates who picketed at the Ministry on Monday, said several appeals to the Ministry of Health to engage them after they completed school in 2016, had not yielded results.

Some of the nurses were clad in red and wielded placards with messages that urged government to immediately address their concerns.

The aggrieved students were prepared to spend the night at the Ministry if authorities failed to post them, but they were dispersed by police personnel, only to return to the Ministry the next day.

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By: Marian Ansah & Zoe Abu Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Some Ghanaians who spoke on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, were hopeful for among other things, a drop in a number of taxes and levies, and the provision of jobs for  skilled but unemployed citizens.

A taxi driver, Lotsu Sitsofe, said that he was hoping for a reduction in the taxes and levies on petroleum products which would result in a reduction in fuel prices for commercial drivers.

According to him, the drivers who already struggle to make enough money for their upkeep daily, have to spend a lot of what they make on fuel purchases.

He also stated that, aside having to buy fuel for their cars, the drivers have to meet other financial commitments which additionally drains their incomes.

“My expectation is for government to reduce the fuel [prices] for us commercial drivers because we are suffering, and the taxes are too much. You buy fuel and have to pay tax so what exactly are we taking home? The drivers are dying, if you have a car owner and you have to make sales, how much can you make in a day? The tax alone; insurance, income tax and other individual taxes. The commercial drivers are holding the nation. They fill their tanks early in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evenings because they move around, while private car owners can fill their cars once in a week,” he lamented.

“We could make about 70 cedis after a whole day and have to pay about 20 cedis now for fuel. For drivers who have to pay car owners, they would have to pay about 50 cedis to the owners. You want your car to be in a good condition, and your car needs to have fuel everyday as a commercial driver. You need to feed your children – I have two – and the rest of your family.”

Veterinary doctors cry for employment 

Two unemployed veterinary doctors who have had to remain at home despite completing their housemanship requirements, also called on government to provide an allocation in the budget for financial clearance in order for them to be absorbed into the public service.

The doctors expressed dissatisfaction with government’s inability to employ them, despite the crucial role they play in general public healthcare.

Dr. Emmanuel Kodua, who graduated in 2016 and completed his housemanship in September 2017, stated that he had not been paid since completing the programme, and was struggling as a result, given the massive financial outlays he has had to make within the period.

“Formally, you are supposed to get appointment letters, but we weren’t given. And because it’s mandatory to do our housemanship, we went ahead and did it, and because we weren’t given our appointment letters, we were not going to be paid. We’ve finished the programme successfully without receiving the letters which means that I have finished the programme without being paid my due salary. I finished my housemanship programme in September and since then, I’ve been at home without being employed,” he said.

“It isn’t good that after devoting seven years of your life to study to benefit the nation, the nation thinks it’s not ready to employ you for the reason you went to school. This time that we’re in, things are very difficult with rent and utility bills. Even during our housemanship, you have to use your own funds for a place to stay and are not paid for it. We are being put at a point where we can’t breathe.”

Another veterinary doctor, Dr. Kwesi Adjei Safo, who has been unemployed since completing his housemanship in 2016, echoed the concerns with the ‘difficult’ situation they were in, particularly after the big commitments they had made to get trained in the first place.

He spoke of his struggles to complete his course and having had to rely on a philanthropist to pay his fees.

“I finished my housemanship in 2016, and haven’t been employed since then. The issue has got to do with financial clearance according to our authorities. Things are very difficult,”he said.

“Being trained as a veterinary surgeon is about three times more difficult and more expensive than being trained as a medical surgeon but then you come out and don’t have a job.”

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post #Ghbudget: Ghanaians demand fuel price reduction, jobs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They are also demanding the payment of their allowances which are in arrears.

Members of the Association are livid over what they say is the calculated attempt to delay the posting of three batches of veterinary doctors.

About forty-five of the affected doctors are also yet to receive their allowances after completing their housemanship in 2016.

The Treasurer of the Association, Dr. Emmanuel Koduah, told Citi News a further delay will compel them to resort to other legal means to get their grievances addressed.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3AgHUJyBSQAmntUn6hmI5fWJGewVXhtp”]“They are supposed to give us our license but they are aloof . They are not responding to anything just because they felt that we threatened them that if they do not respond to us , we will hit the courts about the whole issue. The leaders of the Council became angry that we wanted to exercise our franchise.”

“We wrote a letter to them and they told us that yes, we have a case, but our letter was not strong enough. We are not giving any ultimatum, but they should act with dignity. They should respect the position and call the doctors involved and post them.”

Attempts to get a response from the Veterinary Council and the Agric Ministry have so far been unsuccessful.

Ghana has only 32 practicing veterinary doctors – Council

It appears the Veterinary Council has been battling with a few challenges for sometime now.

The Veterinary Council of Ghana had earlier appealed to the government to resource the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Veterinary Medicine, to improve its infrastructure and faculty to advance veterinary training, research and healthcare delivery.

Dr. Jonathan Amakye-Anim, Chairman of the Council, said this was urgent since the country currently had only 32 certified practicing veterinary doctors.

He said at least 200 of such practitioners were needed to enhance effective veterinary care for the benefit of the nation.

Dr. Amakye-Anim, who was addressing an oath-swearing and induction ceremony for the School of Medical Sciences, Dental School and the School of Veterinary Medicine of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, called for a change in attitude towards veterinary education.

“About 70 per cent of all human diseases emanates from animals,” he noted, stressing that given the current shortage of veterinary doctors, it would be difficult for the country to effectively deal with the emerging challenges such as the outbreak of more sophisticated animal-related diseases.

Frustrated jobless Doctor writes to Citi FM, cries over neglect

Aside veterinary doctors, some trained, but unemployed doctors have questioned the efforts of the Health and Finance Ministries in absorbing them into the public service.

Some 245 doctors, who graduated in 2014, indicated that all efforts to secure financial clearance for their absorption have proved futile, while many hospitals lack doctors, putting the lives of patients at risk.

In a heartfelt petition to Citi News to highlight their plight, a doctor, John-Diego Kosoe, lamented the dire situation of his colleagues who are idle.

This, according to Mr. Kosoe has even compelled some doctors to leave Ghana for greener pastures.

The petitioner noted that, “out of frustration, I know 3 of my colleagues who contracted huge personal loans and left the country for Germany, just to hustle out there, to do German language courses and get absorbed into their system.”

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By: Marian Ansah & Pius Amihere Duku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Veterinary doctors demand payment of arrears, postings appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The doctors have also issued a month’s ultimatum to the government, threatening that they may take legal action if the government fails to meet their demand.

[contextly_sidebar id=”0zxlpRK4m03DJGM0afwPM3gJypwZ4Tbb”]Speaking to Citi News, one of the affected doctors, Dr. Emmanuel Kodua, said all efforts to get the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to address the concerns have proven futile.

He noted that, about 65 doctors, for three batches, were currently yet to be given their appointment letters although they had completed their respective academic studies.

He noted that, although the affected groups had submitted all relevant documents for their postings, they are yet to get a positive response from the government.

“What we are demanding is that, for the first and second batch, we need employment… We have not been given our appointment letters. Meanwhile, we have finished our National Service and even we have sent our report to the registrar as he requested.”

“As we speak now, two batches are in the house; they’ve not been posted, and the third batch is doing their housemanship now, but they have not been served their appointment letters but have been asked to do their housemanship, so they are also demanding their appointment letters,” he said.

“Even though we’ve finished, and the council is supposed to arrange for our license, as at now, they’ve not arranged for our license, which means that we are not supposed to do anything related to veterinary medicine because we do not have a license. We are looking for employment and also the appointment letters that have not been given, they should make that available,” he added.

The demands of the veterinary doctors come at a time when many different trained professional health groups are protesting against government for failing to absorb them into the public health system which has a huge gap in terms of human resource.

Some have had to picket at the Health Ministry before securing financial clearance to be employed.

245 jobless doctors get financial clearance after Citi FM’s ‘intervention’

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has finally cleared some 245 doctors after six months of being unemployed.

Earlier this week, the commitment of the government to absorbing these doctors, and healthcare in general, was questioned when one of the doctors wrote to Citi FM conveying the frustration of the jobless doctors who appear ready to serve the country.

The concerns of the medical doctors and the delays in financial clearance for these doctors and many other public sector workers, was also widely discussed on Ghana’s award-winning morning show, the Citi CBS.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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