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 By The Citizen Reporters
Dar es Salaam. A cross-section of healthcare stakeholders have appealed to the government and striking doctors to negotiate a way out of the crippling crisis that has caused the deaths of some patients, suffering for those denied treatment and anxiety by the broader public.In its statement issued yesterday, the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) asked the two sides to pursue dialogue in order to resolve their differences and find a lasting solution.
The statement, signed by TEF secretary general, Mr Neville Meena, reads in part: “We have reached at a point where this situation should not be allowed to continue. The government and doctors should find a common ground to find a solution to the problems. Each side should take into consideration the effects of the strike to innocent common people.”
Proposing a give-and-take approach, the statement says the government should respond to the demands of the medics, who, however, should take into consideration the State’s capability to meet them.
The TEF said the two sides should focus on restoration of the much-disrupted health services so as to save the lives of patients, and appealed specifically to doctors to acknowledge their strike is affecting patients who are not part of the problem. The editors further appealed to the government to rescind its orders against striking doctors, especially Prime Minister Mizengo’s Sunday directive that those who would not report for work on Monday should consider themselves sacked.
TEF said the two sides might reach a consensus on how and to which extent the doctors’ demands could be met and even set a timetable showing timeline of implementation of the agreement.
The editors also advised the government to review the salaries and other entitlements of public servants with a view to improving them to avoid similar crises in the future.
At a joint press conference, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and Sikika, asked the government to make sure that it reached a consensus with the striking doctors. Sikika executive director Mr Irenei Kiria, read a joint statement by the two NGOs, in which it calls on wananchi not to blame the doctors, arguing that apart from pressing for improvement of their personal welfare, they were pushing for the improvement of the health sector.
“We can falsely blame the doctors for lacking patriotism but we ought to know they are pushing for reforms in the health sector which was somehow neglected…most of the doctors have been lamenting that they haven’t been able to save lives because of poor facilities,” he said.
Mr Kiria dismissed PM Pinda’s claim that what the doctors were demanding was too much for the government to manage. He argued that statistics from the Controller Auditor General (CAG) show that much of public funds were not properly accounted for.
For her part, Dr Helen Kijo-Bisimba, LHRC executive director, called on wananchi to hold the government accountable. She argued that the reported decision by President Jakaya Kikwete to endorse the rise of sitting allowance for MPs from Sh70,000 to Sh200,000 proved that the government only cared for high-profile members of society.
Responding to questions from reporters who sought to know if there is any possibility for the government to be taken to the court of law, Dr Kijo-Bisimba couldn’t rule out the possibility.
Another appeal was made by Pastor Charles Gadi of the Good News for all Ministry who asked the Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) leaders to heed the government’s call for doctors to resume services while their problems were being addressed.
Speaking at Muhimbili National Hospital yesterday, Pastor Gadi noted that it was the poor who were hardest hit by the strike, as they couldn’t access treatment in private hospitals.
In another development, the Tanga-based Mwalimu Nyerere Ideology Conservation Society has said that although some of the doctors’ claims were genuine, their recourse to striking was tantamount to a betrayal to the public.
The Chairman of the society, Alhaj Dr Muzammil Kalokola, said going on strike and demanding payment of salaries and other benefits amounting to Sh17 million monthly for senior consultants, was absurd.
“The doctors are being self-centred and have decided to exacerbate the plight of the poor people of Tanzania. How do you leave a dying person unattended and go on strike? Would they demand such exorbitant salaries if they were working in private hospitals?” he asked.
Meanwhile, some 15 military doctors took charge at the Emergency department of the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) and started receiving and treating patients.But wards at the country’s leading medical facility were virtually deserted, as many people had withdrawn their ailing patients.
The Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) outpatients department was not operating.
The Executive Director of MOI, Prof Laurence Mseru, said the department was closed due to critical staff shortage, but explained that services were being offered in its emergency section as well as in the wards.
Professor Mseru said before the strike, 60 doctors, divided equally between senior cadre and junior ones, were working, but lately, only the seniors were available.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the striking doctors, Dr Stephen Ulimboka, told The Citizen that they were waiting for a government invitation for negotiations, after previous attempts to meet Premier Pinda failed because of disagreement on the day for meeting.
He said it was not that they had declined to meet Mr Pinda, but that the invitation was given at short notice, making it impossible for him to relay the information to members.
But according to prevailing laws, some cadres, doctors included, are barred from going on strike striking given the nature of their activities. Besides doctors, other professionals who fall in this category include nurses, aviation and fire brigade staff.
In related developments, reports from Dodoma say the government would issue an official statement on the crisis soon.
“The ministry of Health (and Social Welfare) is preparing which will be read in Parliament,” Mr Pinda told The Citizen.
Reported by Bernard Lugongo, Frank Kimboy and Rosina John (Dar), Lucas Liganga (Dodoma) and George Sembony (Tanga)
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