Of the doctors’ strike, Bunge allowances madness and defending the indefensible

One evening a preschooler, John, and his parents were sitting on the couch chatting. John asked, "Daddy, you're the boss of the house, right?" His father proudly replied, "Yes, I am the boss of the house." But John added, "Cause Mommy put you in charge, huh Daddy?"

Family politics is as old as the institution of marriage and in most cases, the two partners concerned, the husband and the wife will strive to have some influential power over their families. It has been a norm, however, that men, because of their strong physical stature tend to rule over their partners.

They declare themselves bosses of the house and society has accepted it. Traditionally, men are known to be breadwinners and heads of homes where they take care of their families. It is unfortunate that in most cases, some men are irresponsible and fail to look after their family. This is so despite having a good paying job and a stable source of income.

Some men abuse their families in the sense that they prefer to spend their hard earned cash through other means such as beer drinking, prostitution, gambling and so on. There are many families not only in this country but the world over that are suffering because of their irresponsible bosses, who happens to be the father of the house.

It is painful for children to fail to go to school and live in abject poverty while they have a father who is capable of taking care of them but fails because they are not his priority. This painful reality has seen many families crumbling as wives and children will not bear it anymore.

It is unfortunate that some children cannot strike against their fathers because they have to be submissive but given a choice, they will do it. When fathers fail to set their priorities right, by preferring beer and other luxuries, and fail to control unnecessary expenditure, then their families will continue wallowing in poverty. It’s a matter of a sad case of a poor family with a rich dad.

This is the same situation that many people in this country find themselves in. Tanzania is a rich country in terms of natural resources, minerals and so on, but millions of ordinary citizens have nothing to show that they live in a rich country.

The recent events in this country clearly describe the above-mentioned situation. The government is still mulling to award legislators a hefty increment in sitting allowances while doctors have downed tools begging that their grievances be looked at.

The Prime Minister of this country, Mr Mizengo Pinda was quoted by the media as defending the Bunge allowances saga. He said the 185 percent increment was intended “to help ease the difficulties MPs are facing.”

Though this is being done in good faith, the Premier is defending the indefensible. The government has to set its priorities right while at the same time deal with unnecessary expenditures. This comes at a time when doctors, countrywide, have downed tools vowing not to return to work until their demands are met.

The impasse has reached a point of no return and the old age adage ,” where two elephants fight, the grass suffers,” rightly apply in this situation as wananchi continue to suffer while the two parties continue bickering without a permanent solution. The government by the time of going to press had ordered the doctors to go back to work while they look at their grievances but the doctors were adamant.

Firstly, it is very difficult for the medical practitioners to resume their duties without something concrete as the whole saga had been handled unprofessionally. Had the government dealt with the problems facing medical interns diplomatically, things could not have turned this ugly. And at this moment this is tantamount na kukumbika pango baada ya kunyeshewa. If only they had dealt with the problem in its infancy the damage could have been mitigated.

Lives of many patients are at risk as the doctors cannot attend to them. Finding solace in private hospitals and doctors is not an option for the poor as they cannot afford it. What boggles one’s mind is that the government had the audacity to ignore doctors’ requests, a move that led to the strike while they are aware that the country is facing a severe shortage of these special people.

It also remains an open secret that training a single doctor involves heavy investment of not only money but also time. This then means that, the country cannot afford to waste any doctor as it will be difficult to replace him or her. Our forefathers were right when they said “ulichonacho, kichunge kisikuponyoke,” but the government seem to be ignoring these wise words as failure to improve doctors’ working conditions and salaries will fuel brain drain and worsen the shortage of doctors in the country.

Someone in the ministry of health is not doing his or her job properly. Heads should roll in that ministry or to make it easier, those responsible, starting with the minister should just throw in the towel. They have shown that they don’t have the capacity to deal with this issue. The problem is not small as they might think and if it takes long without being solved, mark my word, the strike will spread to other medical practitioners such as nurses. As a matter of fact, it stands threatening to paralyse the whole civil service.

The government should, in good faith, chip in and urgently address this problem. In as much as everyone needs a good and caring father who is capable of taking care of the family, the government should make urgent decisions that will bring normalcy to the medical field. Failure to do that wananchi will continue to suffer. God help and bless us.