By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
The Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Damien Punguyire has given an assurance that his directorate will continue to collaborate with all unions in the region to ensure a peaceful working environment. He said the collaboration will enable the Service to further deliver quality health services to the people of Upper West.
Dr Punguyire was speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony for the acquisition of land for the members of the Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG) at Sanchiga in the Wa Municipality of Upper West.
In this write-up, GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo says per the land use plan, the 50-acre land has been parcelled into 200 plots apart from the scheme making provisions for educational, commercial, and security posts among others.
Dr Punguyire recalled the mistakes some people made whilst in active service and advised workers to start preparing for where they would settle after retirement the very day they get their first pay.
He observed that, “Many of our senior colleagues made terrible mistakes and they have regretted. There are some who have gone on retirement and they are still occupying government bungalows. We want them to move out so that we can get staff to occupy but they don’t have any place, they have not prepared for retirement and because of that they are stranded and when you force them to go out and within a very short time, as a result of stress, they lose their lives”.
Dr. Punguyire urged the leadership of UPNMG to make sure that they get the right documentation for the land acquired from appropriate authorities to avoid problems in future. He also used the occasion to advise health personnel to rededicate themselves to serving humanity.
One of the landlords, Saaka Salia who spoke on behalf of the Land Owners, gave an assurance that the land being acquired is ligation-free and urged UPNMG not to entertain any fears in executing its housing scheme projects.
The National President of UPNMG, Maxwell Oduro Yeboah commended Upper West for being one of the regions that have embraced UPNMG’s policies wholeheartedly and indicated that the first building on the land will be a clinic and regional office complex of the Union.
He stated that the housing scheme is in tandem with the government’s objective of providing shelter for the citizens.
Mr. Yeboah stated, “In the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, psychological needs which include, air, water, food,clothing and shelter form the base of the pyramid. So, in acquiring the land and eventually helping nurses and midwives to own houses, we are not only helping our members but also supporting the government to achieve its objective of providing shelter for its citizens”.
In a message, the upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih commended UPNMG for the housing scheme project, describing it as a laudable initiative.
The Public Relations Officer of the Regional Coordinating Council, Cletus Awuni who delivered the message stressed the necessity for the leadership of the Union to arrange housing loans for their members.
The Acting Upper West Regional sent of UPNMG, Kenneth Naaeder said since the formation of the Union in 2017, it has made a lot of waves with a membership strength of 1,303 in Upper West.
The Principal of the Nurses Training College, Wa, Dr George Y. Segnitome reiterated the need for the Land Owners to prevent people from trespassing land acquired by UPNMG.
