BAWKU HEALTH WORKERS URGED TO RETURN TO WORK (D/G Monday, August 18,2008 PAGE 36)

THE Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Bawku, Mr Abdulai Abanga, has urged health workers of the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital, especially nurses who have been absent from work for the past seven months due to the protracted ethnic conflict, to return to work.
Mr Abanga, who is also Chairman of the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), has given assurance of their safety when they resume duty.
He made the plea when he, together with members of MUSEC, paid a surprise visit to the hospital.
It came to light during the visit that almost three quarters of the nurses at the hospital were not at post due to insecurity at Bawku.
At a short meeting with the hospital management team and the workers, the Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Peter Mawong, assured them that all threats received by the police would be dealt with, with despatch.
He said: "I have personally received many threats on my life but I have discarded them because they are empty threats,” adding, “Someone will buy a new chip for his mobile phone purposely to threaten you and thereafter throw it away."
The officer commanding the Airborne Force at Bawku, Major Frank Walanyo Agbebo, reiterated the same message, that his men were on the ground with enough logistics 24 hours so the nurses should heed to the call to resume work in order to save lives.
The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Abdulai Abanga, noted with concern that the hospital, which had won national and international recognition, was gradually dying off because of the communal conflict.
He stressed that as the hospital was dear to the heart of the government and the assembly, they would do everything possible to preserve its status.
The new General Manager of the hospital, Mr John Abugri, advised the workers to exercise patience and tolerance by putting behind them what happened in the past seven months so that the hospital could regain its lost glory.
In a related development, the Director of Amnesty International, Ghana Section, Mr Michael A. Brigandi, has paid a two-day working visit to Bawku to assess first-hand the conflict situation in the area.
According to Mr Brigandi, his meeting with the opinion leaders of the Kusasis and Mamprusis at separate meetings, reviewed that both factions were eager to see the conflict come to an end.
He said the two factions were, however, looking up to the government to conclude its mediation efforts as soon as possible.
Mr Brigandi emphasised that their elders in particular, had shown so much interest to see to the end of the conflict in Bawku but the problem at the moment was with the youth who must be actively involved in the deliberations.
He said the situation in Bawku was pathetic, especially at Buabula where women and children were massacred.
He said both sides expressed concern about the high politicisation of the conflict and appealed to all politicians to be circumspect in their utterances on the Bawku conflict.
Mr Brigandi commended the Information Services Department and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for their sensitisation programme on peace promotion.
He called on the government and other stakeholders to give more resources to the two institutions to enable them to intensify their education.
He also urged the government to take up concrete steps in resolving the problem in Bawku as soon as possible.