GRi in Parliament 19 – 01 - 2000
Pre-registration examination for foreign-trained doctors necessary - Adibo
Accra (Greater Accra), 19th January 2000
National unity and reconciliation took the centre stage on Tuesday when debate on this year's sessional address opened in Parliament.
Most members held the view that a more pragmatic and realistic approach should be given to the issue and not to subject it to partisan considerations.
President Jerry John Rawlings apologised in Parliament for the excesses of his rule especially, during the revolutionary era.
Moving the motion for the house to thank the President for his address, Mr. Fuzzy Dapaah Torbay, NDC-Okere, said " The president was very conciliatory and it is hoped that all of us will reciprocate his gesture.
"Our utterances should be devoid of any acrimony. We should criticise where need be but this should not be done on a tone meant to embarrass or score cheap political points."
Mr. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, NPP-Asante Akim North, who seconded the motion, said all those who lost relations and possessions during the revolution should be compensated.
"The President can not just say ' I am sorry' and leave it like that."
He said past sessional addresses including the latest one are filled with unfulfilled promises which must be tackled if such addresses are to be taken seriously.
"In 1996, the President said the judiciary will have computers and recording systems. What happened to it?,.. the Konongo water system is said to have been completed but we still need two million pounds sterling to complete it."
Mr Baah Wiredu said the President's worry about the nation's recorded unbalanced budgets over the years could only be corrected if the Auditor- General's report is taken seriously while the ministries stop their culture of over-expenditure.
He blamed the Accountant-General for not reporting expenditures to the house thus creating a big data vacuum which does not augur well for the monitoring of the national expenditure.
Mr Baah Wiredu said 101 billion cedis was over spent by government agencies in 1999 and asked that "this culture of over-expenditure should not be allowed to continue because it is unconstitutional."
On Education, he said a lot of children in the country do not have access to good educational facilities and called for the opening of more schools in the rural areas for the benefit of those who live there.
Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Minority Spokesman on Health, said pressing problems that should be tackled are, environmental pollution, poverty and poor nutrition.
He said although the indices provided by the President were encouraging, issues of industrial unrest and brain drain which retard the growth of the sector were ignored in the address.
The ranking member asked the government not to be involved in the proposed health insurance scheme because this would under value the venture saying that the main actors should include the Trades Union Congress, the Employers Association and the District Assemblies.
On the cash and carry system, he said exemption committees made up locals of should be formed in all communities to advise health authorities on " who is needy and who is a pauper".
Dr Addo-Kufuor criticised the President for calling the sector a "visionless" one and said " there exists a five year programme of work which contains all the strategies and vision of the sector."
Mr. Emmanuel Zumakpe, NDC-Nadoli-South, called President Rawlings a " colossus" who would always be a point of reference and a sign post whenever the history of Ghana is read.
He said the President, being frank and honest, has laid to rest all speculations, rumours and fears about his political future.
Mr. Zumakpe said a way should be found to retain health personnel in order to accelerate the growth of the sector.
The member for Aowin Suaman, Mr. J. K. Ackah, said the President is leaving behind a legacy of democracy and constitutionalism which should be protected by all.
Mr. Osei Prempeh, NPP-Nsuta-Kwamang, said probity and accountability should be seen in the President's actions and not as mere rhetoric.
He said " freedom and justice for all " should have a place in the nation's attempt to broker a pact on unity and reconciliation.
Mr. Prempeh said the practice where minority MPs are frustrated when it comes to the allocation of their funds should cease.
" We need to stop the little favours and discriminations if we are to co-exist as one people."
Mr. Doe Adjaho, Majority Chief Whip, said all atrocities meted out to citizens of Ghana during past regimes should be looked into.
He said the nation needs this holistic approach in setting the agenda for complete national unity.
GRi
Pre-registration examination for foreign-trained doctors necessary - Adibo
Accra (Greater Accra), 19th January 2000
Dr Moses Adibo, deputy Minister of Health, on Tuesday told Parliament that pre-registration examination of foreign trained doctors is to ensure the quality and basic clinical skills of the applicants to safeguard the health of Ghanaians.
He said, "pre-registration examination is now world-wide, it obtains in both developed and developing countries. Our West African neighbours have it too".
Dr Adibo, who was answering questions relating to the health sector, said the consensus is that a pre-registration examination would not discourage foreign-trained doctors from coming back home to practice.
He said the concern that such an examination might discourage these doctors from coming to Ghana to work, which has been under discussion for some time now, is unfounded.
Mr. Kwakye Addo, NDC-Afram Plains South, had asked the Minister whether the decision that foreign-trained medical doctors, including those with specialist qualifications, intending to practice in the country, would be required to take a pre-registration examination.
He also wanted to know whether the decision, though well intentioned, would not further worsen the doctor-population ratio and access to health services generally.
Dr Adibo emphasised that the pre-registration examination requirement will not adversely affect the doctor-population ratio.
Another question was whether medical students trained at the University of Development Studies (UDS) will be absorbed into medical practice on completion of their studies, because it is believed that the medical curriculum content will not allow them to practise in the country.
Dr Adibo said the curriculum is called the "blueprint" and if the university goes by it, then there is no doubt about the students practicing in the country, adding, "anybody who completes medical school in Ghana can practice".
Dr Adibo was asked about the rationale for deciding to rehabilitate the Koforidua hospital and re-name it "Regional Hospital" when there is not enough space for expansion; and when a proper regional hospital befitting the Eastern regional capital would be constructed.
In answer, the Minister said the options appraisal done on the Koforidua Hospital took everything into consideration before the decision to refurbish it was taken.
He said a report on the project recommended the refurbishment which entailed the construction of additional facilities and re-equipment, thereby raising its status to a regional hospital.
It is envisaged that upon completion, the hospital would offer all the specialised services that are required of a regional Hospital, he explained.
On the Ministry's policy regarding the use of ambulances in the health delivery system in the northern sector of the country, Dr Adibo said ideally, every hospital should be provided with an ambulance.
He gave the assurance that ambulances will, therefore, be provided as and when funds become available, saying that last year, a new ambulance was sent to Sandema in the Upper East Region.
Asked how many ambulances are there in the three Northern Regions, Dr Adibo said he did not know and requested to be given time to furnish the House with the information.
The Minister announced that there are three pilot projects under way in Sekondi, Takoradi and Kumasi, to put ambulances at strategic positions to be called when needed.
He was asked what plans the Ministry has to provide a clinic at Nakpayili in the Nanumba District of the Northern Region to serve the farmers in the area.
Dr Adibo replied that since the Bimbilla Health Centre is being upgraded to a full district hospital, constructing a new health centre at Nakpayili, which is about 13 kilometres from Bimbilla, is not currently under consideration.
The Minister was questioned on the immediate steps the sector is taking to avert a possible outbreak of chest related diseases in the Tamale municipality, due to persistent dangerously high level of dust pollution caused by slow pace of road works.
In reply, he said under the advice of the authorities at the ministry, the roads are watered regularly to reduce dust.
In addition health personnel would continue to monitor the health status of the inhabitants to detect and control any outbreak of lung diseases.
"Under the circumstances, we can only hope that efforts will be made to complete the road works soon", he said.
On the commencement of the upgrading of Bimbilla Health Centre to a district hospital, Dr Adibo said the selection of consultants and contractors is in progress according to the guidelines of the funding agency, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
He said after the selection process, the contract would be awarded and all being well, work will start by mid-2000.
In answer to a related question, the Minister told the questioner that the Kuntanase District Health Centre has been earmarked for upgrading into a district hospital, when the current upgrading of health facilities is completed in 2003.
GRi