Health workers receive 126 cars from MoH

Daily Graphic, Spread. Saturday, May 09/09

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

THE Ministry of Health yesterday handed over 126 saloon cars to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) for distribution to health workers.
The 126 cars comprise 120 Honda Civic from the Honda Place Ghana Limited and six VW Polo from Universal Motors and they are the first batch of 600 cars that have been ordered for the year.
The cars, each of which costs between GH¢18,000 and GH¢23,000, are payable over an 84-month period.
The presentation is intended to alleviate some of the transportation difficulties facing health professionals, especially doctors.
At the handing-over ceremony in Accra, the Minister of Health, Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, announced the readiness of the government to embark on a housing project for health workers in the country.
The proposed project, he explained, was part of the government’s efforts to make life more comfortable for health professionals and, therefore, called on health professionals to reciprocate the gesture, trusting that the government was addressing their concerns.
He also called on doctors and other health workers to ensure that they worked diligently to help move the sector and the nation forward.
Last week, junior doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi embarked on a strike to demand the payment of their fuel allowances which had been in arrears for the past 18 months.
Dr Yankey called on doctors not to withdraw their services at the least instance, saying that just as taxpayers’ money had been used to educate them and make them comfortable with the provision of cars and other incentives, they should also endeavour to reciprocate that gesture by giving of their best to serve the public.
The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias Sory, who received the cars on behalf of the benefiting health professionals, said since 1997 3,138 health personnel, made up of 1,223 doctors and 1,915 health staff, across the country had benefited from the Ministry of Health Staff Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme.
He said the scheme, which had been categorised into three — tax waiver, hire purchase and outright purchase — had been made possible through the ministry’s car revolving fund.