Editorial
Take advantage of SIM cards re-registration extension
The Ministry of Communications has announced that the deadline for the re-registration of SIM cards has been extended from March 31 to July 31, this year.
This is good news in view of the large number of people who could not have re-registered their cards by March 31.
The re-registration became necessary due to issues of fraud and deceit through the use of phones and even the internet system. For this reason, it became necessary for the state through the Ministry of Communications to take steps to address the issue of fraud. It is easy for anybody to pick up SIM cards that have not been registered to commit crimes against other people. Such crimes have become difficult to trace; so there is the need to take steps to address the issue.
To be able to do this effectively, all SIM cards, whether previously registered or improperly registered, were required to be re-registered. This time, the re-registration includes capturing the person’s name and others (biodata), so that tracing those who commit crimes in this way can easily be detected.
The exercise began in October last year and should have ended at the end of March, this year. Initially, many people did not take the re-registration seriously for which reason a large number could not have met the deadline.
Again, the re-registration could only be done with the Ghana Card. Unfortunately, many Ghanaians had also not been able to get their Ghanaian Identity Cards.
The Spectator is happy that the deadline has been extended to the ending of July this year.
We are, therefore, appealing to everyone to take the new deadline seriously and do everything possible to get their SIM cards re-registered.
Many re-registration centres have now been opened – and it is only prudent that everyone should take advantage of the situation to do what is honourable so that together, we can use the exercise to fight crime in the country.
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
