The Ministry of Health, now Ministries of Medical Services (MoMS) and Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS) offices are some of those places you will find yourself frequenting more frequently than you ever thought. It does not matter whether you are in public service or in the private sector; once in a while you need services at the ministry headquarters as well as the board. If you are a civil servant, then those are some of the places you are condemned to, and you will still need the people there to sort your issues whether you like them or not. So what are these things that make a visit to Afya house and related offices, a harrowing experience?
First of all, there are no clear directions given to a person who is new to the system. And even with that hurdle done away with, the biggest headache you will still have, and a potential time waster if not a real one, is getting the service you need. Let us not hide behind words here; getting service here means finding the person who provides the service. Even before this gentleman serves you, he would have to do the impossible, to convince himself that he is actually supposed to serve you. You will realize that making your approach formally doesn’t take you nowhere, just find out where he hangs out 'baada ya kazi'. That will take you somewhere, because his service is at his discretion; it is not, I repeat, it is not your right.
The most ideal situation for a pharmacist is when you need nothing from them, or even better still when they need something from you. In that case they will come to you, and depending on your side of the law and fortune, you can arm-twist them to meet your demands or cajole them out of your tight situation and fund better future ‘linkages’ with them. The second strategy is an art that you can only learn in your ownbest way over time, depending on your personal experiences; and that is not for rookies.
Woe unto you if you are demanding to be paid something, whether it is your salary or your company provided a service or delivered goods and you’re waiting for your cheque. That is when you will realize how many people we have in our midsts who like to reap where they have not sown. I think I will just leave it at that because this is a common knowledge issue, unless you are uninitiated. That is when those lazy fellows, who not only look hopeless, but actually are, suddenly wake up from their deep slumber. God, if only this 'innovativeness' could take them somewhere! The only sad end to this is they will remain hopeless to the last hour to their retirement, and then retire in wretchedness.
You go to the Board (Pharmacy and Poisons Board) and you will think what seriousness! That is when you are seeking to licence your private pharmacy practice. Then walk down the streets of the Kenyan towns, and see for yourself the fruits of the ‘hard work’ of your Board, and you will think what a waste! And that is, if you are very conservative, unlike me. Then you realise that all that drama they created when you were registering your own pharmacy was just mere posturing and that hard cash from the corrupt suddenly changes the rules. That is not about to change soon so long as people want to earn big for minuscule input. We have so many unproductive pharmacists who sit in that Board and in many other areas in the ministry where pharmacists are allowed to have a bed space. All these people will have lost all their childhood dreams to make an impact to the world by the time they book themselves accommodation in these ‘resorts’, with an exception of one dream, to be rich and successful. Now that is where the spanner works are thrown in, and the poor pharmacist wants to be rich, if not wealthy, by whichever means. The same story is repeated almost to the last man in many of the government agencies we have.
There is not better motivation than to have a massive benefit for little or no input; that is what we used to call 'efficiency', yes! It would have been manageable if only a few of us were seeking these shortcuts, but this is an epidemic because I really have to look hard to find those who don’t fancy the shortcuts. Isn’t this a dangerous trend, where your income is not supported by fundamentals? What if everybody chooses this path? Are the prospects here limitless?
Why is it that no one wants to pioneer a change that actually begins to reward working hard and/or working smart with success? Why are we tapping on a ‘resource’ which is rapidly diminishing? What happened to the brains that we used to have?
Everybody wants to be very successful and very wealthy, but if you do not create wealth on your way to becoming wealthy, then this strategy could turn out to be one big bubble. No one will need to break that bubble, it will burst itself. And those who reeled in it will be ruined.
3 comments:
I dont think that this problem will end soon.
A young, un-corrupted mind is trained by these lazy folks. If the young mind does not behave like the trainers, the trainers will see him like a potential whistle blower. This will lead to expulsion of the young mind.
A strict leader can reform such practises SLOWLY. If done drastically, the strict leader will be bundled out, since these positions are held by politically-correct individuals.
Whoever clears this mess, without seeking assylum or dying poor, will surely have his name nominated for the nobel price!
On the role of PPB, I attempted as a district pharmacist to make sure that 'private pharmacies' in my district had proper documetation. I even borrowed the checklist forms from RPSGB website and modified them a bit as PSK are yet to reach that level.
I took advantage of the district health sector stakeholders forum (DHSSF) to woe them to the mainstream. Only the big health institutions and NGOs attended. Private pharmacies gave the meeting a wide berth.
I realised that they do not owe their practices (i'll prefer to call them 'their businesses') to any sort of responsiblity and professionalism. They seem to know that they bought their way to those 'businesses' and that the seemingly polite language from the district government officials must be suspect.
One 'good' one even pulled me aside and mumbled something like, it is dangerous to play with their children lives or the affected someone is bound to make sure that i'll pay for it somehow.
That was very scary because the town I lived in had stories of suspect 'road accidents' for people who crossed others paths.
That is what corruption begets; it is a high stakes game for the one who tries to correct the wrongs that were bought at a price.
These changes must be seen as policy reforms from the government and not be associated with an individual. Lest that person wins the nobel what(may be peace) prize posthumously.
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