Kambia Government Hospital to Go On Strike

Volunteers at the Kambia Government Hospital have resolved to go on strike for the non payment of stipends (incentive) for four months now. Thirty eight in number, consisting of Lab Technicians, cleaners, securities and more, the volunteers demand that their monies are paid or they would bring the operation of the hospital to a standstill.

According to findings, the two months of the four month money owed the volunteers had been processed and released, amounting to two million three hundred and thirty thousand Leones (Le, 2,330,000) but the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Doctor David Sesay held onto the money on the pretext that he is taking the money to the Head Ministry in Freetown so that the volunteers could be absorbed as full timers and start to have regular payment from the Ministry.

“Ever since our monies were held onto by the doctor, we do not seem to be having headway into the solving of our problem; many vain promises have been made and we cannot put up with them any more and we are therefore requesting immediate payment of our money,” the head of the group, Mr. Lanzor Kamara told Sierra Express in Kambia.

He related that many people have intervened in the matter but that a solution does not seem to be forthcoming.  Mr. Kamara mentioned that the Chief Administrative Officer, Anthony Sesay, of the hospital had called them offering to solve the problem but that it resulted to nothing.

Speaking to the Finance Officer Idriss Kamara, the finance officer in the Government Hospital said before the arrival of the Medical Superintendent Doctor David Sesay, in December last year 2008, every month volunteers got paid their full stipend (Le.40,000) per month. His arrival and undue interference into the payment issue has set forth many problems that are now responsible for the current action of the volunteers that may bring the hospital to a standstill.

When contacted on the issue, Dr. David Sesay claimed that the volunteers are not grateful and that he has spent up to six million Leones (Le.6,000,000) at the Health Ministry in Freetown so that the said volunteers could be absorbed as regular staffers in government. He related that the process of the absorption of the workers is ongoing but blamed the slow nature of the whole process that has resulted in such embarrassment, he said.

The question the doctor could not answer is whether monies are collected at the ministry in Freetown as he claimed so that people are absorbed into the system.

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