Incentives in COVID-19 fight; Reflections of Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh

When at the end of November 2018, I was elected Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), I resolved not to make personal comments about public issues, such that, if any matter appeared before the commission on the media, there would be objective assessment and evaluation in the public interest.

However, certain developments regarding the excessive demand for material incentives in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic have forced me to come out of the self-imposed hibernation.

There is a Ghanaian saying, "se woannya biribi amma w’ase a wommo no krono", translating loosely as: if you are unable to offer a gift to your in-laws you do not steal from them.

There is no doubt that health workers and many frontline operatives, including journalists, are crucial and in the fight against the dreadful pandemic.

However, the best incentive that could enhance the fight and motivate our people is not material or monetary, but the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Reliefs

That all categories of health workers have commended the government for the provision of tax relief and 50 per cent monthly allowance of basic salaries of some of them, but that they must all be included under the offer, even at the time that they complained of inadequate PPEs suggests a misplaced priority.

A story is told of a young boy who was taken to a health facility in one of the regions and for close to four days, he was left unattended on the suspicion that he might be suffering from COVID-19, at a time when no positive case of the disease had been recorded in that region.

In between, the mother pleaded to be allowed to take the son home to die. At the end, when the results came, it was negative.

The reason why the hapless boy was virtually left abandoned was that there was no PPE at the facility. It was only when there was certainty that the boy did not have the disease that he was attended to.

This boy could have died in a needless and avoidable way. The tax waiver and allowance could not have helped without the PPE.

The last time I was interviewed about incentives for journalists, I said I would fight for journalists to be included in any package for the provision of PPE but not monetary gain. I would equally support an insurance package but not enhanced allowances.

That is why I do not understand why groups within the health sector and even outside are clamouring for rewards, as if we no longer have obligations to the work we are employed to do.

There are even mutterings within the Ghana Police Service (GPS), for instance, suggesting that personnel are not satisfied with the quality of food they are served on operational duties, forcing the authorities to point out that they offer quality food.

Obligation

We all have obligation to ensure that funds provided for the fight against the disease will be used solely for that purpose and that no individual will seek to profit from the provision, including donations and gifts.

In many jurisdictions, ordinary workers are voluntarily sacrificing to cut part of their salaries to help their government and health institutions fight the pandemic or to help their employers and companies, who are reeling under the pandemic, to continue to exist and bounce back, when we rid ourselves of the  disease.

We must learn from these examples and if we must fight for motivation beyond equipment and treatment, it must be those aimed at all of us, including the subsidy on water and electricity.

There must also be increases in existing welfare packages, such as, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), allocations to people with disability and such other vulnerable groups, as well as prompt payments for services under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Reflection

Just before the lockdown in Accra and Kumasi and around the time that markets across the country were disinfected, traders increased the prices of mainly foodstuffs overnight.

There were many Ghanaians who condemned the market women for unjustifiably exploiting the situation for unmerited and undeserved gain. Some even rained curses on them.

There is no difference between those demanding monetary incentives, under the guise of motivation and risk mitigation in doing what they have been employed to do and the market women.

This is the time for all of us to make the right sacrifices so that we give meaning to the government's agenda of Ghana beyond aid.

But for the fact that the COVID-19 has no cure, requiring that we pay strict attention to all the outlined protocols, we should not think that we must just mortgage the future of our country because of COVID-19.

For even as we speak, Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) has killed more people than COVID-19 in Ghana.

Anyone of us who has at any time pointed accusing fingers at players of the Black Stars for putting self before nation, especially what happened in Brazil in 2014, who is demanding monetary rewards before performing their routine duties must eat humble pie.

Appeal

I would also want to appeal to those in philanthropy, helping the needy and vulnerable with food and other essential items, including the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), to diffuse their operational bases so that we avoid crowding to defeat the objective of social distancing.

Although I will not suggest that the government should withdraw the incentive packages that have been announced, I suggest that any additional incentive must be that which offers the public relief, rather than that which enriches individuals.

I offer no apology to those who would be exorcised by my reflection, because one thing that we all appreciate is selfless sacrifice in times of need; hence, the saying, “a friend in need is, thus, a friend in deed."

The writer is the Chairman of the NMC