Dr. Ezekiel Agyekum Obeng, a senior member of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), has strongly criticized the Association’s plan to join Organized Labour’s upcoming nationwide strike over illegal mining (galamsey).
Speaking in an interview with Pure FM’s Evans Osei-Bonsu, Dr. Obeng questioned the decision of GMA to participate in the industrial action, warning that it could lead to more deaths than the galamsey crisis itself.
According to Dr. Obeng, GMA’s primary responsibility is to save lives, and abandoning healthcare facilities in protest would contradict the very principles they uphold. He described the decision to strike as “plain callousness,” arguing that it would place patients’ lives at risk, particularly those needing urgent care such as dialysis or surgeries.
“Are we saying these patients’ lives do not matter? We’ll end up killing more Ghanaians before galamsey does if we pursue this strike,” he remarked.
While acknowledging the importance of fighting galamsey, Dr. Obeng emphasized that the issue cannot be solved overnight. He urged the Association to explore alternative, less disruptive means to voice their concerns, such as dialogue and policy advocacy, rather than halting critical medical services.
He noted that the GMA has a history of influencing positive national policies through discourse, and expressed confusion over why the Association would choose such an extreme course of action. He also pointed out that political parties and the government are already working on solutions, with a presidential committee recently formed to address the crisis.
Dr. Obeng concluded by calling on both the GMA and Organized Labour to rethink their strategy, urging them to uphold the ethics of their professions and seek more humane ways to contribute to the fight against illegal mining.
Background
Organized Labour is preparing to embark on a nationwide strike starting Thursday, October 10, 2024, in protest of the government’s failure to ban small-scale mining. The strike, led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), follows the expiration of a September 30 deadline for the President to declare a state of emergency over galamsey. Labour unions are demanding an immediate solution to the illegal mining crisis.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
