President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has called for a fundamental shift in how Ghana treats its essential service workers, particularly nurses, teachers, and doctors.
His comments come in the wake of the just halted Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) strike, which disrupted healthcare services nationwide.
Speaking on the broader implications of the industrial action on Channel One TV's The Big Issue on Saturday June 14, Cudjoe stressed that the country cannot demand productivity from these professionals without first giving them the respect and resources they deserve. "I think we do not necessarily value these rather important professions in the country," he said. "Nurses, teachers, doctors are three of the very important professions that we must actually respect." He explained that respect goes beyond rhetoric-it involves ensuring that these workers are adequately resourced, fairly compensated, and supported in their roles. "When I say respect, I mean making sure they have the tools to work with.
They are rewarded adequately, and then we demand of them productivity," Cudjoe noted.
