President's Remark Was Misconstrued � GMA

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA), says its President, Dr. Emmanuel Adom Winful�s infamous remark; �people die anyway and so if doctors� strike results in deaths, there is nothing wrong with it� has been misconstrued. A press statement issued by the GMA and signed by the General Secretary Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey said neither Dr. Winful nor for that matter the GMA is insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians. The GMA President, following an industrial action embarked on by the association some ten (10) days ago, is said to have asked striking doctors to �step-up their industrial action by not attending to emergencies.� He is also reported to have said: �people die anyway and so if doctors� strike results in deaths, there is nothing wrong with it�. Following his utterances which some consider as �inhuman�, he was subjected to some severe verbal blitzkrieg by members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and social commentators. The NDC Youth Committee, a youth group in the ruling party led by Peter Boamah Otokunor and Fred Agbenyo, earlier this week, demanded that the GMA boss resign from his position over the unfortunate statement he made. Ghana�s Lord of Satire and host of �Thank God Its Friday� on Metro TV, Kweku Sintim Misa, disgusted by the comment from Dr. Adom Winful, also demanded his resignation, arguing that for some-one who has taken the Hippocratic Oath to direct members of his association not to attend to even emergency cases, is ill-fated. But speaking in an interview with Shamima Muslim on Citi Fm, Dr. Sodzi-Tettey explained that they are very much concerned about the lives of Ghanaians, adding that Dr Winful�s remark was in response to a question filed by a journalist pertaining to their decision to step up their strike action. According to him, a careful analysis of the reportage after the press conference shows the issues they raised have lost its meaning and value because the focus is now on the statement made by the GMA President. �It�s been a big concern that doctors are being labeled with all kinds of names�this did not form the key of the press conference�the president has been misconstrued�it is not really the issue that there is an attempt to punish the people of this country. I have listened to the reportage and from what was discussed at the Press conference, none of those issues have come up for discussions�it will never be his intention to create the impression that we don�t respect human sanity�,� he said. Asked why Dr. Adom Winful did not issue the press statement personally, Dr. Sodzi-Tetteh explained that the GMA exists as a group and if the General Secretary comes out with the release, it is on behalf of all of the members including its President, Dr. Adom Winful.