Editorial
Make banking easy, flexible for all
Dear Editor,
Please permit me through your space to engage the various banks in the country about their operations and how their quest to digitalise have left a few of their customers exposed to activities of fraudsters.
I feel that in their bid to fully embrace Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), a number of their customers have been left behind.
A number of this group are those that are not ICT inclined and people who are not lucky enough with formal education. These people donot know their way about some of the new trends in ICT.
I came into contact recently with a customer of a bank who had difficulties operating a new App he was ‘forced’ to download and use.
According to this ‘yam’ phone user who had to give his son pressure to buy him an android phone, so as it were he could browse and handle his bank issues conveniently at home, he has no idea as to how to navigate around this App.
In so doing, he engages people he trust to help him and in the process, he gave out every single detail supposed to be confidential.
The point I am trying to make is that much as we must all embrace technology, there are some people who would definitely be left behind, and with such people, there must be a way for the system to take care of them.
Imagine this man had employed the services of someone who is not genuine or trustworthy, the worst could happen to him.
So I want to appeal to the banks that much as they try to introduce some of these measures, there must still be a place for those who want to go about their banking activities the traditional way.
Maxwell Boye,
Accra
Editorial
Kudos to Ho Teaching Hospital staff, but …
Dear Editor,
If there is any group of professionals that get bad-mouthed the most, then you are referring to nurses and medical doctors assigned to public hospitals across the country.
For this particular letter, I want to sing the praises of this same group of professionals that work at the Ho Teaching Hospital, famously known as Trafalgar.
Despite the work load and the mass casualties received at the emergency ward of the hospital, the welcoming nature of the nurses and the professional touch by the doctors can’t be ignored. My personal experience has got me travelling from my base in Accra to seek medical services from these professionals.
Special mention has to be made of the likes of Precious of the Pharmacy Department, Dr Brandon Banor (a maxillofacial resident) of the Dental unit, male nurse Justice assigned to the female surgical ward. Words cannot really do justice to their affable, professional caring nature. A simple thank you is all that I can say.
In the same vein, I can’t but call out the bad attitude of the auxiliary staff and contractors of the hospital.
Chief among them is some of the contracted bank staff that handle the payment section of the hospital and the patient registration section (those that check the status of the patient as to whether they are fee paying patients or NHIS sponsored).
The attitude at times leaves a bad taste in the mouth. One such occurrence was a night staff of the registration section who had her legs on the office table whilst talking to patients.
The CEO of the hospital needs to shine his torch light on this support sections before they erode the awesome performance of the direct medical staff of the hospital.
Thank you for the space.
Kwesi Manu
Accra
Editorial
Develop policies to address disability concerns
Dear Editor,
AT the beginning of the year, when I went to the bank to deposit money into my uncle’s account, I observed a very sad situation where a man in a wheelchair struggled to navigate his way around the facility.
This is because the structure is disability unfriendly.
As I stood and watched how the man struggled to move his wheelchair, I felt sad and wondered if this is how the life of a disabled person should be. It becomes worse if there is no one to offer help.
In Ghana, People With Disabilities (PWDs) are often treated differently and are often subjected to all forms of discrimination.
Most of these people find themselves in such a situation as a result of unfortunate happenings such as accidents and injuries.
It is, therefore, not appropriate for anyone to discriminate against them. Discrimination against such persons take many forms, including how buildings are constructed.
Most of the public structures are not disability friendly and impede their movement.
As a country, we should consider the PWDs in designing our structures. I also think that there should be a national policy that seeks to address this issue.
I have a strong conviction that when such a policy is developed by the government, people with disabilities would feel appreciated and also promote social inclusivity.
Ray,
Kasoa
