President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Opoku Adusei says President Mahama’s comment not to concede to the demands of doctors in 2015 means he [Mahama] is not well informed of the happenings in the conditions of service negotiation.
President John Dramani has given the strongest indication yet that government may not concede to the demands of the GMA over their conditions of service.
Reiterating his commitment during the 80th anniversary celebration of the Ghana Registered Midwives Association in Accra, President Mahama emphasized that he will not authorize the payment of salaries and allowances that have not been captured in the budget.
“Just yesterday, a friend was urging me to intervene and accede to the demand of the doctors. After all they are only 2,800 of them he told me.
“I will not authorize any expenditure on wages and compensation not provided for in the budget. Fiscal discipline requires that not a single pesewa is spent on remuneration outside what has been budgeted for,” he noted.
According to him, “this goes to both article 71 office holders and those on the single spine. It goes for the president as well as the lowest public sector employee. I’m determined to hold the line no matter the political cost. Our people have sacrificed enough,” Mahama added.
But reacting to the President’s comment, Dr. Opoku Adusei on Okay Fm’s "Ade Akye Abia" Morning Show reminded President Mahama that doctors are not demanding for salaries and that it is understandable if he [President] says he will not spend outside the 2015 budget.
“First of all, we are not talking about our basic salaries and we are still taking our salaries under single spine. Secondly, the agreement we have had with government's negotiation team is that whatever conclusion we come to will be factored into the 2016 budget and take effect in January 2016,” he emphasized.
He added that “maybe the President has been outside the country for sometime and so he has not been well informed of the happenings on the negotiation table. We are not saying we are taking something in 2015”.
He therefore urged the government's negotiation team to publicly come out with the agreement it had with the Ghana Medical Association, asserting that President Mahama may have made a general statement.
Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com.gh/E-mail: [email protected]
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