DOCTORS ARE FERIOUS ABOUT their salary arrears and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has launched an appeal calling on them to return to work without even giving them assurance about how their arrears would be paid.
“RECENT DELAYS IN PAYMENTS reflects the need to make changes in the currency of payment, in reflection of the serious financial situation in the country,” President Sirleaf said.
MADAM PRESIDENT, GOING BACK on and forth on a problem every year is absolutely a recipe to inflaming a situation that needs a long term solution. Why can’t the system adopt a new approach to ensure we don’t go through such an embarrassing situation like this?
THERE ARE TOO MANY PROBLEMS the country faces and coming back of a health crisis like Ebola, it will be the last thing many would expect. It is a complete embarrassment for the government to go through considering the support it has received from the international community.
DOCTORS ARE PEOPLE AND they too have many socio-economic responsibilities to perform for their families, especially in a country where he cost of living is increasing on a daily basis while the economic conditions are deteriorating. When other top government officials are paid handsome salaries for work they fumble to effectuate, doctors are on the other hand complaining – and they are the ones that save lives.
THE DOCTORS ARE SERIOUS ABOUT their concerns, “If the government does not make payment of our salaries, we will take a strike action, we will gather at the Ministry of Foreign Affair where the President resides,” the aggrieved doctors said through their spokesman on Monday, October 14.
THE AGGRAIVED DOCTORS ARE CLEAR about their dissatisfaction! The biggest question is: why is the government ministry failing to ensure we don’t have a repetition of such disaster? Has the government learned from the incident of Ebola and how a strike by health workers caused the life of thousands of Liberans?
FOR US, IT IS AN IRONY for government to consistently ignore the plight of doctors and other health workers when the whole country is aware that the health system is in daring need of reform and doctors are the ones that can make the amends.
REGRATABLY, THE GVERNMENT IS struggling to remedy this problem which has been looming since the end of the Ebola outbreak. Failing to put a better system in place to ensure health workers including doctors get pay is very disappointing on the part of government and in other words a mockery to the much publicized resilient health system it claims to be building.
DESPITE THE SUPPORT, the Ministry of Health is unable to get it right. Despite significant allocations in the country’s budget with support from international partners, MoH continues to struggle in sorting out an efficient system to ensure the regular payments of health workers including doctors that are already scarce in the country.
WE ARE CONCERN ABOUT how the MOH budget is expended amidst these concerns. In the 2015/16 fiscal year, the sector received an allotment of over US$114 millions out which US$72.61 million was given in grants and loans from donors while US$72.62 million was in direct budgetary appropriation and it this year budget US$ 77.4 million was allotted in the national budget but the ministry still complains about money.
WE THINK THE MONEY SHOULD be spent on the right purpose; those that will ensure health care for the Liberian populace instead of sponsoring the fancy life style of top government officials including those at the MoH.
MANY LIBERIANS ARE CONCERNED about the poor condition of the country’s health system and to witness a drama which is continuing with unfavorable dialogue between the two actors, it is absolute a shame.
WE CALL ON THE MOH to take the right decision now! This should not be a lip service as always, but they must going beyond a need-jerk solution in time of crisis. Damage control is becoming a habit for this government. But it needs to stop especially when it comes to dealing with serious issues like health.
MADAM PRESIDENT, TALK SERIOUS talk to the doctors and don’t beg; tell your lieutenants to get it right, and let doctors do what they love doing best – saving lives.